Simmons First National Corp., having moved into Tennessee and expanded its presence in Missouri and Kansas, is now casting eyes on more neighboring states, CEO George Makris Jr. said Tuesday night.

In a presentation at the publicly traded company's annual banquet for shareholders at the Pine Bluff Convention Center, Makris showed a map of Simmons Bank's four-state footprint and then one that identified Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky as markets in which Simmons may be "dipping our toe" in the next two or three years.

In a gentle jab at competitors Bank of the Ozarks and Centennial Bank, Makris said he didn't expect to open any loan production offices in New York.

Every week, Makris says, the exceptionally well-capitalized bank — it has twice the Tier 1 capital ratio generally considered well-capitalized — gets "at least five opportunities to visit" with other banks interested in merging.

The company (Nasdaq: SFNC), like other Arkansas banks, has seen a growth spurt in recent years. In the first quarter last year, Simmons was wrapping up out-of-state, stock-swap purchases that increased the size of the company by 65 percent.

This year, Simmons converted from a national to a state charter, one of several Arkansas banks to do so.

The company issued its annual proxy statement in March.

Home BancShares Inc. of Conway on Thursday announced record first-quarter net income of $41.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, a 33 percent increase compared to the same period in 2015.

The publicly traded bank holding company (Nasdaq: HOMB), the parent company of Centennial Bank, said diluted earnings per share reached 59 cents.

The company also announced $212.8 million in quarterly organic loan growth during the first quarter of 2016 and a core efficiency ratio of 37.52 percent.

"As anticipated, the Company has started the year with another outstanding quarter," Chairman John Allison said in a news release. "During the first quarter of 2016, we have continued to achieve and, in some cases, exceed our internal goals … We are well-positioned and committed to making 2016 another remarkable year of maximizing the returns to our shareholders."

The company reported $19.4 million of non-interest income for the first quarter of 2016, compared to $14.7 million for the first quarter of 2015.

Non-interest expense, excluding merger expenses for the first quarter of 2016, was $45.6 million compared to $39.3 million for the first quarter of 2015. The increase was primarily associated with the establishment of the Centennial Commercial Finance Group in New York City during the second quarter of 2015, the acquisition of Florida Business BancGroup Inc. during the fourth quarter of 2015 and write-downs on vacant properties from closed branches.

During the first quarter, the company received approval to open a deposit-only branch location in New York City. The company also closed two Arkansas locations and two Florida locations, and it has plans to close one Florida location during the second quarter.

The company has 77 branches in Arkansas, 59 branches in Florida, 6 branches in Alabama and a loan production office in New York City.

"We are pleased with the first quarter’s strong financial results and organic loan growth," said Tracy French, Centennial Bank president and CEO. "We will continue to use this momentum to seek opportunities to expand our existing footprint or enter new markets."

Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $23.5 million, up 170 percent from $8.7 million in the same quarter last year.

The publicly traded bank company, which has added to its footprint and is keeping its eye out for more growth, reported diluted earnings per share of 77 cents, up from 39 cents in the same quarter last year.

"We believe that our operating results reflect the successful integration of 12 separately chartered banks and two trust companies over the past two years," CEO George Makris said in a news release. "We continue to pursue growth opportunities and improvement in our organization as evidenced by our recent charter conversion to a state member bank."

Simmons also reported "core" earnings of $23.2 million, or 76 cents per share, up from $7.5 million, or 70 cents, in the same quarter last year.

Total loans, including those acquired, were $4.9 billion as of March 31, up 6.3 percent from the the same period in 2015. Legacy loans — loans excluding acquired loans — grew $1.4 billion, or 64.2 percent. 

As of March 31, total deposits were $6.1 billion, down 3.1 percent from the same period in 2015. 

Quarterly net interest income was $70.2 million, up 32.6 percent from the same period of 2015. The increase was driven by growth in the company’s legacy loan portfolio and earning assets acquired through Simmons' purchase of Community First Bancshares Inc. of Union City, Tennessee, and Liberty Bancshares Inc. of Springfield, Missouri. 

Non-interest income for the first quarter was $29.5 million, up $11.2 million from first quarter of 2015.

Former Gov. Mike Beebe has been named to the board of directors of Home BancShares Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Centennial Bank that is headed by his college roommate, Chairman John Allison.

At the annual shareholders meeting, held Thursday evening at the Wyndham Riverfront in North Little Rock, Allison also announced that the directors had voted to raise the annual dividend by almost 17 percent and to split the stock 2-for-1 come June 8.

The annual dividend will increase from 60 cents to 70 cents per share before the split. The split was made possible by shareholder approval of a board proposal to double the number of authorized shares from 100 million to 200 million. About 70 million shares are outstanding. 

In a wide-ranging address to shareholders, Allison said Centennial had reached a 37 percent efficiency rating — essentially the number of cents the bank has to spend to earn $1 — in the fourth quarter of 2015, and he announced a new goal of 35 percent.

"I don't know anyone running a 35, but why not?" he said.

Bear State Financial Inc. of Little Rock, the parent company of Bear State Bank, earned $3.3 million (9 cents per share) in the first quarter of 2016, up from $2.3 million the first quarter of 2015.

The earnings announced Friday morning were the first for the banking company since it consolidated its Springfield, Missouri, acquisition — formerly Metropolitan National Bank — into the Bear State Bank charter and technology platform in February.

Bringing the former Metropolitan into the fold has started contributing "significant operational and organizational improvements" that will be more apparent in the second quarter.

More efficiency will also come from previously announced closure of six of Bear State's 55 branches by the end this month, according to the news release.

In the release, CEO Mark McFatridge praised Bear State's "disciplined growth, operational efficiency and the ability to acquire and integrate," but complained about the competitive loan environment that has kept the bank from making loans it wants to make.

"While many of these opportunities are with creditworthy borrowers that we would love to bank, the competitive banking environment in which we operate is dictating terms that fall outside of our disciplined risk culture," McFatridge said. "We have, however, had significant success in our strategic initiative of diversifying our lending portfolio, as evidenced by the 5% growth in commercial and industrial loans during the quarter."

Total assets at March 31 were $1.9 billion, an increase of 30 percent compared to a year earlier, thanks primarily to the Metropolitan acquisition that also brought McFatridge to Bear State.

Total deposits increased 30 percent to $1.61 billion, and loans grew 40 percent to $1.46 billion.

Amber Nunnelee has been promoted to commercial lender for Signature Bank of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She is a graduate of both the Arkansas Bankers Association’s consumer and commercial lending schools. Nunnelee has held various positions with Signature Bank since 2006, most recently as a loan coordinator.

Allen Homra, of Edward Jones in Stuttgart, has qualified for Barron’s magazine’s list of the Top 1,200 Financial Advisors. The ranking is based on a proprietary formula including three major components: assets managed, revenue produced and quality of practice.

Kyle Horne has joined the Rogers office of Payscape as district sales manager. Payscape is a regional provider of financial technology to small and mid-sized businesses.

Miki Morrow has joined Pear Tree Wealth Management LLC of Benton as vice president and director of financial planning and director of operations. Morrow was previously a financial services consultant with Hogan Taylor LLP. She has 20 years of experience in finance and accounting, including with Ernst & Young, Alltel Information Services and McLarty Cos.

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

Tandem sales of two MedExpresses checked in at nearly $4.5 million.

National Retail Properties Ltd. of Orlando, Florida, purchased the 5326 W. Markham St. project in midtown Little Rock for $2.62 million and the 5505 John F. Kennedy Blvd. project in North Little Rock for $1.87 million.

The sellers are MECU Markham LLC and MECU JFK LLC, affiliates of American Equity Development Co. of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The 0.7-acre Little Rock location was bought for $880,000 in September 2015 from Knoebl Properties LLC, led by Susan Martin.

The 0.68-acre North Little Rock location was acquired for $475,000 in July 2015 from Holly Grove Anacoco LLC, led by Danielle Cochran.

Parking Redevelopment

A future site of a yet-to-be-named restaurant tipped the scales at $1.32 million in west Little Rock.

TA Little Rock LLC of Frisco, Texas, and PM Little Rock LLC of Phoenix bought a 0.67-acre piece of the Wal-Mart parking lot near the southwest corner of Chenal Parkway and Bowman Road.

The seller is Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust of Bentonville. The deal is financed with a two-year loan of $855,000 from WSC Two Investors LLC of Dallas.

Wal-Mart purchased the property in December 1992 as part of a $6.74 million deal with Aronov Realty Co. of Montgomery, Alabama.

Reel Space

Retail space in west Little Rock’s Cantrell Falls Plaza weighed in at $1.2 million.

Southern Reel LLC, led by Rodney Thomason, acquired a 4,800-SF location for Southern Reel Outfitters at 14908 Cantrell Road.

The seller is 14910 Cantrell LLC, led by Steve Hockersmith.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $1.04 million from Malvern National Bank.

The property previously was tied to a June 2014 mortgage of $2.25 million held by the bank.

The location was bought for $1.9 million as part of a 4.3-acre deal with PJM Revocable Trust, led by Phyllis McGrew.

Scott Street Flats

A 0.97-acre proposed apartment site in downtown Little Rock changed hands in a $435,000 sale.

Moses Tucker Investments LLC, led by Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker, purchased the land at the southeast corner of Ninth and Scott streets. The seller is Little Rock Historic Properties LLC, led by Mark Brown and Jill Judy.

The deal is funded with a six-month loan of $382,500 from BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The property previously was linked with an August 2013 mortgage of $108,750 held by Central Bank of Little Rock.

The parcel was assembled more than two years ago in three transactions totaling $308,000. The sellers were Hood & Co., led by Tony Vernich, $145,000; the Greg L. Hatcher Revocable Living Trust, $90,000; and Scottish Rite Bodies of the Valley of Little Rock, $73,000.

Eatery Sale I

A 0.58-acre fast-food property in North Little Rock drew a $290,000 transaction. Anders Trust Properties LLC, led by Mike Anders, bought the KFC/Long John Silver’s project at 613 E. Broadway.

The seller is DFM Investments LLC, an affiliate of K-Mac Enterprises of Fort Smith. The property was purchased for $500,000 in February 2000 from Jerry and Betty Haynie.

Office Transaction

A 3,073-SF piece of an office building in downtown Little Rock rang up a $268,500 sale. 415 Main Group LLC, led by Richard Mays Sr., acquired the seventh-floor space in the Centre Place Building at 212 Center St.

The seller is 7th Floor Associates LLC, led by Greg Campbell and Mark Nichols.

7th Floor purchased the property for $105,000 in November 1998 from Michael and Patricia Pyron.

On the flip side, 415 Main sold its 10,000-SF namesake office project for $1.03 million to the Little Rock Technology Park Authority.

The 0.08-acre development previously was tied to a May 2003 mortgage of $315,000 held by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff. The property was bought in November 1982 for $90,000 from James and Helen Dyke.

Eatery Sale II

A 2,131-SF eatery in North Little Rock is under new ownership after a $188,000 deal. Yafai Investment Inc., led by Mohammad Yafai, purchased the Gino’s Pizzeria & Deli at 2000 Pike Ave.

The seller is Talon Property Management Inc., led by Maurice Mahmoud. Talon provided a $200,000 mortgage to finance the deal.

Talon acquired the 0.27-acre development for $125,000 in April 2010 from Alimento LLC, led by Jerry Sklar.

Office Transaction II

A 6,400-SF building in downtown North Little Rock sold for $168,750.

Alan and Diana New bought the W.H. Koehler Building at 709 Main St. from 7th Street LLC, led by John Chandler.

Construction of the mixed-used project is backed with an eight-year loan of $579,855 from IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana.

7th Street purchased the property in September 2015 as part of a $260,000 deal with the Argenta Community Development Corp., led by Hannah Vogler.

Heights Manor

A 5,986-SF home in Little Rock’s Country Club Heights neighborhood tipped the scales at $1.4 million.

Celia-Anne Martindale acquired the house from George and Deborah Makris.

The Makris family bought the property for $1.7 million in March 2006 from James Gaston.

Club Residence

A 3,305-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock changed hands in a $675,000 sale.

Robert and Diana Allen purchased the house from Celia-Anne and Howard Martindale.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $540,000 and a $56,800 loan from Centennial Bank of Conway.

The residence was acquired for $663,000 in May 2012 from Robert Douglas Wright III and his wife, Tara.

Courts House

A 4,455-SF home in the Courts neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development drew a $589,900 transaction.

Gina Tilley bought the house from Chad and Lillian Cooper.

The residence previously was linked with a March 2009 mortgage of $365,000 held by Cartus Home Loans of Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

The Coopers purchased the property for $585,000 in March 2009 from Roger Coburn Jr. and his wife, Julie.

Tire Financing

A 43,444-SF tire center in North Little Rock was used to help secure a $40 million funding agreement.

Duff Real Estate LLC of Columbia, Mississippi, obtained the 10-year loan from First Tennessee Bank of Memphis.

Duff acquired the 6.43-acre former GCR Tire Center development at 10001 Diamond Drive for $1.52 million in July 2014 from I-40 Properties LLC, led by H.L. Hembree IV.

Clean Funding

The owner of a 6,398-SF retail project in west Little Rock landed a $2 million financial package.

P&H Investments LLC, led by John Perry and Robert Hester, received the 45-month loan from First Community Bank of Batesville.

P&H bought the 0.74-acre Chenal Laundry & Dry Cleaners development at 401 S. Bowman Road for $1.12 million in October 2015.

The seller was Leonard R. Ellis Properties Inc.

Big Construction

240 Apartments    $12,820,028
Fountain Bleau West
4216 S. Bowman Road, Little Rock
FBW LLC, North Little Rock

New Annex Building    $3,500,000
Catholic High School
6300 Father Tribou St., Little Rock
Nabholz Construction Corp., Conway

LP Gas Storage & Distribution Center    $1,276,000
9700 Industrial Harbor Drive, Little Rock
NGL Energy Partners, Tulsa

Raising Cane’s is poised to put a second chicken fingers restaurant in Fayetteville after a $1.3 million purchase.

Raising Cane’s Restaurants LLC of Plano, Texas, bought a 1.1-acre property at 1740 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The location was formerly a J.D. China Buffet restaurant.

The sellers were the Lee Family Trust, led by Douglas Tao Tsan Lee and Jennifer Shu-Chen Lee, and Yuta Chang. The Lee Family Trust and Chang each held 50 percent interest in the property.

The restaurant’s building is 5,775 SF.

Raising Cane’s opened its first restaurant at 859 Millsap Road in north Fayetteville just off of College Avenue.

Springdale Storage Sold

A 430-unit self-storage complex sold for $2.5 million.

Carl Baumeister and Charles Burford of Fort Smith, through their Blue Mountain Storage LLC, bought Self Storage of America at 1830 S. Pleasant St. in Springdale. The gated complex sits on 1.09 acres and has 19,971 SF of storage space.

Raintree Village LLC of Fort Smith, led by Charles Palmer and Ralph Freeman, was the seller. Raintree Village acquired the property for $107,000 from the Lindsey Family Trust in 1988.

BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi, provided a loan of $2,126,000 for the purchase.

Baumeister has acquired several self-storage complexes in Springdale. Through his Brunwick Development Group LLC, Baumeister paid $2.3 million for Airtight Self Storage at 2571 E. Robinson Ave. in Springdale.

Baumeister and partner Patrick Byrd, through their 3B Storage LLC, paid $636,000 for All Store on Shady Grove Road in Springdale. 3B Storage paid $1.59 million for Ace Mini-Storage at 1742 S. Pleasant St., which is next door to the Self Storage of America that Blue Mountain purchased.

3B bought All Store and Ace Mini-Storage from Haizen Investments LLC of Fort Smith, which is led by Byrd.

Former Clarion Hotel

A 200-room hotel in Fayetteville was acquired by former owners after a $2.2 million foreclosure sale.

The hotel at 1255 S. Shiloh Drive, long known as the Clarion Hotel, was recovered by H&C Fayetteville Clarion LLC, led by David Curry of Fort Smith. H&C sold the hotel to Charles Wilkerson in 2012 for $1.5 million.

In February, Circuit Judge Beth Storey Bryan issued a judgment against TBones Management, led by Wilkerson, for $1.3 million and interest. The 81,000-SF hotel was built in 1986 and covers 7 acres just off Interstate 49 in south Fayetteville.

IberiaBank Branches

IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana, closed nine branches in Arkansas in March, and two of those in northwest Arkansas sold for a combined $3 million.

First Security Bank of Searcy paid $1.65 million for the 3,831-SF branch at 2710 E. Mission Blvd. in Fayetteville. Armstrong Bank of Muskogee, Oklahoma — which acquired Benefit Bank of Fort Smith last May — paid $1.35 million for the 6,400-SF branch at 3942 Elm Springs Road in Springdale.

IberiaBank also announced it was closing six branches in northeast Arkansas and one in Little Rock as part of a long-term restructuring. It has closed 51 branches in various states in the past three years while adding 50.

The Springdale branch had $61 million in assets, while the Fayetteville branch had $29 million before their closures.

Fayetteville Apartments

A 23-unit apartment complex sold for $860,000.

Paul Gayer Properties LLC of Fayetteville bought the complex at 221 N. Church Ave. James Williams Jr. of Fayetteville was the seller.

The complex sits on a little less than one-half acre and has 9,710 SF.

Springdale Commercial Building

An e-cigarette store on Sunset Avenue in Springdale sold for $375,000.

Isabel and Delia Velazquez bought the 4,410-SF building at 990 W. Sunset Ave. Integrity First Bank of Fayetteville assisted the purchase with a loan of $150,000.

Flat Broke Farms LLC, led by Robert Srygley of Springdale, was the seller.

The contractor on downtown Little Rock’s Main Street Lofts project has initiated foreclosure action to press home its recent $974,784 arbitration award.

Little Rock’s AMR Construction LLC staked a priority claim to recover $896,756 for unpaid work on the unfinished three-building, 125,000-SF redevelopment at 510-524 Main St. The collection effort includes more than $78,000 in legal expenses and other costs associated with the arbitration case.

If its position is upheld, AMR will stand first in line among Main Street Loft creditors.

According to real estate records, Riverside Bank of Sparkman (Dallas County) holds a mortgage of $3.2 million secured by the 21,000-SF Arkansas Annex at 514 Main St. and 41,816-SF Arkansas Building at 524 Main St.

However, AMR Construction began work on the property on June 6, 2013, according to court filings. That was more than a month before Riverside filed its construction mortgage.

Typically, a lender requires a contractor to subordinate any future lien interest in a property before funding a project. Manly Roberts, president of AMR Construction, said his company didn’t waive its lien rights in favor of Riverside.

If AMR’s claims hold up to judicial scrutiny, the company will be in an enviable position among creditors.

“It’s a rarity because the contractor is in the driver’s seat,” said Joel Hoover, managing member of the Little Rock law firm of Newman & Associates. “That is never the case.”

It’s also common for a lender to require an affidavit from the borrower that no construction work has been performed on the property during the 120 days preceding the loan.

A sworn statement in this case would come from the owner-development group led by its managing partner, Scott Reed. It’s routine to verify and document the affidavit narrative with a site inspection and photos.

These steps are taken to create a priority lien for the lender to protect its financial position. What was done or not done in connection with the Main Street Lofts loan is unclear for now.

In addition to Riverside Bank, another creditor could stand in the way of AMR.

Asbestos remediation at the project was paid for by a $916,000 loan from Pulaski County through its Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Committee. That Oct. 30, 2012, mort-gage predates AMR’s claim.

For now, the Brownfields fund appears to be third in line after its interests were subordinated to secure the Riverside construction loan nearly three years ago.

The conflicting security claims will be addressed in the coming weeks in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

The lien claim of AMR Construction extends to the 62,688-SF M.M. Cohn Building at 510 Main St., where Riverside Bank and the Brownfields fund also hold mortgage claims.

The M.M. Cohn roof was never repaired, although work was started on ground-floor improvements for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.

“We made several proposals for the roof,” AMR’s Roberts said. “We were real close to starting work on it, but Scott wouldn’t pull the trigger. He didn’t have the money to pay for it.”

According to the arbitration findings, AMR was paid $3.6 million of the more than $4.5 million it was entitled to under the original contract plus allowances and overages.

The contracting firm is seeking a judgment for the balance in hopes of collecting money by bringing the pressure of foreclosure to bear.

Cody Crawford likes being in the position to pick and choose, and the northwest Arkansas market is allowing him to do just that.

Crawford, the president of CR Crawford Construction LLC of Fayetteville, said his company had a great year in 2015 with revenue of approximately $125 million, and, so far, this year is looking to be just as good. As the area shakes off the hangover of the recession from nearly a decade ago, contractors such as Crawford are finding their services growing in demand.

“In this current market, we can be a little more selective about the deals you’re doing,” Crawford said. “In the recession, every deal counts. Right now, you try really hard to stay involved in the opportunities that appear to be with good clients. You can be a little pickier about that.”

It’s a nice boost to the company, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and in February was named the Arkansas Business of the Year for companies that have between 26 and 75 employees. CR Crawford survived the economic downturn in its infancy and has consistently added workers the past 18 months, and Crawford believes further expansion is coming.

“Last year was the first year we could say it was significantly better as far as the amount of opportunities out there,” Crawford said. “Compared to the middle of the recession, it has literally doubled the size it was at that time. I don’t know if it is our company growing and obviously having the opportunities out there. There are more developers doing things. Business is growing for most of our clients, and those people have provided a ton of opportunities for us.”

The costs of building things have gone up in northwest Arkansas, developers said. It’s not just that land value has risen — making that prime location for the next office complex that much more pricey — but construction and labor costs have also risen.

Because it’s market-driven, though, rent rates have also responded to the pressure, so the higher price tag on projects hasn’t kept activity in northwest Arkansas from rolling right along. T.J. Lefler of Sage Partners in Fayetteville said the availability of good financing terms is another factor keeping the market growing.

“I haven’t seen it having an effect on people wanting to build things,” Lefler said of rising prices. “Interest rates are still so low that people can get a loan. I’ve seen aggressive restaurant expansion.”

Quality Market, Quality Deals

No one wants to return to the hard times of the recession, especially Joshua Brown, the co-founder of Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate & Development of Jonesboro. Brown said that downturn forced contractors to do whatever was necessary to survive.

A company like Haag Brown, which pays contractors to build its projects, was often the beneficiary.

“Back when the market in northwest Arkansas shut down, one of the things that was good was you could get A-plus construction for a C-minus price,” Brown said. “It’s just the whole supply-and-demand thing. If a contractor is really, really busy making a lot of money doing a lot of deals, he’ll probably give you a lot different price to build a small strip center than he would at a time he was really wanting a deal.

“It’s no different from that now. If you call any of the major construction guys who are busy now, you’re going to get a different price. If they’re really busy, it makes sense they’re going to give you a higher price.”

Brown said Haag Brown usually contracts with Stonebridge Construction of Jonesboro, and the long-standing relationship between the two companies helps each avoid bidding battles. Haag Brown was named the Arkansas Business of the Year for companies with one to 25 employees, and it recently opened a branch in northwest Arkansas.

“I don’t think we’ve seen construction costs go up much over the last two to three years since we’ve been developing,” Brown said. “For construction costs, we try to be more competitive than someone who just calls a construction company and gets a bid to build something. We have a pretty refined process between the builders and our in-house architect. That is one of the advantages we have; our prices aren’t going up. We have to pay more money for a piece of property to build a building.”

Logical and Sound Forces

Ramsay Ball, an executive broker with Colliers International in Bentonville, said his company is in the process of putting some projects together and he is interested in seeing how the pricing of all the parts come together.

“We’re fixing to do a little recon to see where the numbers fall,” Ball said. “The main thing is you have accurate pricing and don’t get yourself in a bind. I hear the market is pretty tight. There is a lot of work for different folks. It can be challenging to get costs down on projects.”

Ball said the current market is good because the growth is being driven by rational forces and rational deals. Developers are getting sound financing and getting a lot of pre-leasing, which stabilizes rent rates and prevents some wasted space.

“This market is very similar to 2015; 2016 is going to be the same way,” Crawford said. “There’s going to be a lot of good opportunities out there with legitimate, capable clients. So far the banks have done a really good job of making sure the right guys are doing the right deals. It’s just not a crazy environment where you have people doing projects they have no business doing.”

When CR Crawford started, the company did more than 70 percent of its work outside of Arkansas, Crawford said. It went where its clients went, but now the company does approximately the same percentage of its business in Arkansas and recently moved into the top five of largest construction companies in Arkansas.

“Now we have our name out there and we’ve become a competitive contractor in Arkansas, and we probably have 70 percent of our business in Arkansas,” Crawford said. “There is a lot of stuff going on around Little Rock. Northwest Arkansas, in my opinion, is back and as good as it has ever been. Since I’ve been doing it, it is as good as it has been. On a per capita basis, we have as much going on as anybody.”

In pursuing plans for a natural gas-to-liquid fuel production facility, Energy Security Partners of Little Rock spent more than a year securing the land for its likely plant site in northern Jefferson County.

William Carpenter, ESP’s senior vice president for corporate development, entered into a real estate offer-and-acceptance contract for one parcel of the site, near the National Center for Toxicological Research, on Feb. 17, 2015. That document listed Carpenter as the authorized agent for Jackson Creek Investments LLC, and the seller as Sortay Investments LLC, represented at the signing by Bobby Taylor.

Jackson Creek Investments is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Security Partners, ESP officials said, adding that the overall land deal involved “multiple parcels owned by three different landowners.”

The other sellers listed in offer-and-acceptance documents dated in May and June 2015 were Bennie J. McCoy as trustee of the Bennie & Mary Ann McCoy Living Trust, and Robert L. Hixson Jr. and Hixson Properties LLC.

All of the offer-and-acceptance agreements were later assigned by Jackson Creek Investments to the Economic Development Corp. of Jefferson County, which paid $2.8 million for a total of just under 1,100 acres on March 30, 2016. At the same time, the Economic Development Corp. agreed to lease the land to ESP for $10 a year over a term of 10 years.

The money for the purchase was part of a $3.9 million incentive package approved by the development group in February. The package is funded through the county’s three-eighths-cent sales tax for economic development.

George Makris, chairman of the Economic Development Corp. and CEO of Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff, confirmed that representatives of ESP had sought out the land. “The negotiations for the land were originally managed by William Carpenter or other representatives from ESP or an affiliate,” Makris wrote in an email.

“The purchase contracts were assigned to the EDC and we conducted our own diligence on each parcel,” Makris wrote. “The EDC purchased the land directly from the land owner and not from ESP or any related party. Then the EDC leased the land to ESP.”

WASHINGTON — Americans stepped back from buying new homes in March, the third straight monthly decline as sales plunged sharply in the Western states.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON — On this, pretty much every economist agrees: The Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged when it ends its latest policy meeting Wednesday. What's unclear is whether it will hint about the likelihood of a rate hike at its next meeting in June.

With the U.S. job market healthy and the stock market up, some economists think the Fed will want to put investors on notice that a June rate increase is conceivable.

"If June is a possibility, they will want to prepare markets for that," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

But many other analysts say they expect the statement that the Fed will issue Wednesday to convey little about the timing of its next rate hike, given that the outlook for global growth remains so uncertain.

Concerns have been rising about the world economy, and any major international slump would, in turn, hinder U.S. growth. A sharp slowdown in China — the world's second-largest economy after the United States — has already hurt the developing world. Europe is straining to gain momentum, and Japan is hobbled by wary consumers and an aging population.

Even in the United States, despite a robust job market, key sectors like manufacturing and energy have been bruised by a strong dollar and shrunken oil prices. Consumers have barely stepped up their spending this year.

And on Thursday, the government is expected to estimate that the U.S. economy grew at a tepid annual rate under 1 percent in the January-March quarter. Some forecasters think growth might have been as weak as 0.3 percent, which would mean the economy nearly stalled out last quarter.

What's more, U.S. inflation is running well below the Fed's optimal level of 2 percent.

"I am not sure they will have the confidence to send a signal this week that June is a go for a hike," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Diane Swonk Economics in Chicago.

In the meantime, far from considering rate hikes, other major central banks are weighing steps to further ease credit, increase inflation and bolster growth.

On Thursday, for example, when the Bank of Japan meets, a key topic will be what else it might do to fight economic weakness, raise inflation and blunt a rise in the yen's value against the dollar, which hurts Japan's exporters. In January, in a desperate bid to raise inflation, Japan's central bank introduced negative rates. Yet inflation and growth remain stuck near zero.

Last week, Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, made clear he was ready to launch more stimulus efforts if needed to energize the 19-nation eurozone economy. That pledge came after the ECB had already expanded its stimulus programs in March.

China's sliding economy has stabilized after worries about its growth had rocked financial markets in January. But now, a new challenge has raised international concerns: A June 23 referendum in which Britain will decide whether to leave the European Union. President Barack Obama and other world leaders have warned that a British exit from the EU could threaten the global economy.

Because that vote will occur just a week after the Fed's June 14-15 meeting, some analysts have suggested that the U.S. central bank would avoid any rate hike in June for fear it could rattle markets ahead of the British vote.

Since raising rates from record lows in December, the Fed has grown concerned about economic pressures from overseas and has signaled its willingness to wait for those pressures to ease. The minutes of their March meeting noted that several Fed officials felt that raising rates again in April "would signal a sense of urgency they did not think was appropriate."

The Fed's rate hike in December was its first in nearly a decade, and it ended a seven-year period in which the central bank had kept its benchmark rate near zero. At the December meeting, the Fed signaled that four additional rate hikes could occur in 2016 but at its March meeting, it cut that expectation from four to just two rate hikes.

Not all Fed officials favor a go-slow approach. Esther George, president of the Fed's Kansas City regional bank, dissented at the March meeting, saying she preferred another rate hike. She may dissent again this week, and she might not be alone.

Still, a solid majority of officials appear to support the cautious approach being pursued by Chair Janet Yellen. In her most recent speech on the economy, Yellen said she still envisioned only a gradual pace of rates increases in light of global threats. Those remarks helped fuel the rally on Wall Street.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Ten startups have been offered the opportunity to participate in the VC FinTech Acceleration program powered by global technology services provider FIS and hosted by the Venture Center in Little Rock.

The center is leasing space at 107 E. Markham St. from the Little Rock Technology Park. The start-ups’ names have not been released because legal paperwork is pending, according to Steve Rice, the Venture Center's spokesman.

The 12 weeks of support and mentorship from FIS' financial technology industry experts and Venture Center mentors will begin May 16, he said. The launch event will include a private founders’ dinner with Gary Norcross, chief executive officer of FIS.

The program’s goal is to help startups gain at least $1 million in annual recurring revenue.

It will provide a $50,000 initial investment for a 6 percent equity position, with up to $300,000 in additional investment possible. An investor demo day at the Clinton Presidential Library is set for Aug. 3. 

VC FinTech Managing Director Gary Dowdy said that model works well for startups that don't know what they're worth or are worth less than a benchmark of around $833,000.

But some companies joining the accelerator are more established, so the 6 percent doesn't work for them, he said. Dowdy said the program offers those a simple agreement for future equity, meaning companies "let us decide what (they're) worth on the pretense of knowing that (they're) going to raise more money in the future." So the percentage bought by the $50,000 would be determined based on how much the company is worth after completing the accelerator program, although there would be additional negotiable provisions.

Dowdy said the startups chosen for the program include one Arkansas company.

The group is comprised of one online lending team, several digital banking (personal financial management) teams, one merchant (mobile/point of sale/payments) team, two services (benchmarking/regulatory) teams, one wealth management team and one money movement team, he said. They're coming from San Francisco, Atlanta, Nebraska, New York, Chicago and Geneva, Switzerland, Dowdy said. 

He also said one of the companies had figured out a way for people to pay for goods with their phones 30 feet from a terminal and charge the vendor a "card present" fee instead of the more expensive "card not present" fee. 

Lee Watson, the Venture Center's president and CEO, said in a news release, "FIS' senior leadership has been incredible to work with. Tariq Bokhari, Rob Lee, Chris Cline, Patrick Rivenbark and many others have really stepped up to make this an incredibly successful FinTech accelerator."

The list of applicants was narrowed from 150 to the top 13, Rice said. The three who didn’t receive offers are alternates in case one of the 10 is unable to come to Little Rock at the last minute, voluntarily drops out or something else unexpected occurs, he said.

FIS, based in Jacksonville, Florida, can trace its origin back to Systematics of Little Rock. Its west Little Rock campus, acquired in 2003 when FIS bought Alltel Information Services for $1.05 billion, is home to roughly 1,300 employees.

Bear State Financial Inc. of Little Rock, the holding company for Bear State Bank, announced Wednesday that it had promoted James M. Machen and Sherri Billings within the bank.

Machen, senior executive vice president and CFO, is now president of Bear State Bank. Billings, executive vice president and chief accounting officer, is now senior executive vice president, CFO and chief accounting officer of Bear State Financial and Bear State Bank.

The changed were effective on April 20.

Mark McFatridge remains president and CEO of Bear State Financial and CEO of Bear State Bank.

Machen has been the Bear State since 2011; Billings has been with the company, formerly First Federal Bank, since 1979, each in various leadership roles.

"This announcement highlights one of Bear State's strongest attributes – the depth of our leadership team – which allows us to promote from within," McFatridge said in a news release. "Both Matt and Sherri have played pivotal roles in the successful transformation of the legacy First Federal Bank into Bear State Bank as we know it today."

Last week, the publicly traded company announced first-quarter earnings of $3.3 million, up from $2.3 million the first quarter of 2015.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve kept a key interest rate unchanged Wednesday against the backdrop of a slowdown in U.S. and global growth and provided no hint of when its next rate hike may occur.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The U.S. economy continued to rebound in March, as private-sector employment and average hourly earnings rose.

The findings were contained in the most recent “State Economic Snapshots” released by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.

Highlights include:

• Private-sector employment increased in 37 states and the District of Columbia in March.
• The unemployment rate fell in 21 states in March; 30 states had an unemployment rate below the national rate of 5.0 percent. The largest declines were in Tennessee (0.4 percentage point), Oregon (0.3 percentage point), Arkansas, Mississippi and South Dakota (0.2 percentage point each).
• Average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, increased in 31 states over the past year.

Undeveloped commercial land in Little Rock’s Gateway Town Center project generated two seven-digit transactions.

Town Center LLC, led by Tommy Hodges, sold an 89.3 percent stake in two tracts. The buyers are Gateway Otter LLC, 20.9 acres along Gateway Loop Road for $5.46 million; and Gateway Creek LLC, 33.8 acres on the west side of Bass Pro Parkway for $4.97 million.

Both limited liability companies are led by Isaac Smith. Development of the land is backed with a five-year loan of $6 million from First Security Bank of Searcy.

The property previously was linked with a March 2015 mortgage of $3.6 million held by Malvern National Bank.

The land is part of a four-part assembly of 176 acres in January 2002 deals totaling more than $2.4 million.

The sellers were Canadian Pacific Properties Inc. of Alberta, Calgary, $1.46 million; Otter Creek Development Co. LLC, led by Robert McGinnis and Byron Eiseman, $784,000; Cynthia Keaton, $143,000; and the Jennifer Mae Kochtitzky Trust No. 2, $81,390.

Industrial Transaction

A 34,720-SF office-warehouse project in North Little Rock weighed in at $2.29 million.

Exit 165 LLC, led by David Dunn, Shash Goyal and Raj Chakka, purchased the Glover’s Transmission project at 1200 Baucum Industrial Drive from James and Anne Glover.

The deal is funded with a five-year loan of $1.9 million from Southern Bank of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The 5.14-acre development previously was tied to a November 2005 mortgage of $1.4 million held by Summit Bank of Arkadelphia.

The location was acquired for $68,000 in July 1993 from Western Little Rock Co., led by Floyd Fulkerson.

Owner Consolidation

Sole ownership of three commercial properties in Little Rock was consolidated in a $1.24 million transaction.

Tommy J. Lasiter Family Ltd. bought the two-thirds stake in the 12,780-SF retail project at 5501 Kavanaugh Blvd. and an undeveloped half block along the west side of Scott Street between 13th Street and Daisy Bates Drive.

Rounding out the deal is a 50 percent stake in the 8,988-SF commercial project at 1707-1711 Main St., which included 1.4 acres.

The seller is The Irrevocable Trust of Doyle W. Rogers Sr. & Josephine Raye Rogers.

The Kavanaugh site is leased from Kroger. The Scott Street property was assembled in three February 2004 deals with the Arkansas Association of Nigerians, led by Lawrence Okere, $68,000; Robert Oliver Jr., $58,000; and Judy Pearlstein, $55,000.

The Main Street property and adjoining land were assembled in three deals totaling more than $250,000. The sellers were Duckwall-Alco Stores Inc., an undisclosed sum in February 1992; New Development Inc., led by Herbert Broadway, $175,000 in June 1999; and Mary Burnett, $75,000 in February 2001.

Future Hotel Site

A 4.47-acre parcel near the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock tipped the scales at $1.1 million.

Airport Hotels LLC, led by Rajesh Mehta, acquired the site on the south side of East Roosevelt Road, east of the Comfort Inn & Suites Airport, from Carole Baker.

The land was assembled as part of two transactions totaling $156,000. The sellers were Kathryn W. Boulware; Jeane W. Crenshaw; Frank B. White; George Cammack Jr., and his wife, Mary; Howard and Marian Cammack; and Aileen M. Tobin, $126,000 in May 1976; and the E.L. Bruce Co. of Memphis, $30,000 in October 1987.

Foursquare Deals

A 9,350-SF warehouse in the River-dale area of Little Rock changed hands in a $570,000 deal.

The International Church of Foursquare Gospel purchased the 2217 Cottondale Lane project from Locators Inc., led by Helen Murchison.

Locators bought the 0.64-acre site for $95,000 in March 1995 from Lex and Ellen Golden.

On the flip side, ICFG sold its 2019 Watt St. property in Little Rock to Christ-Com Church for $390,000.

The deal is financed with a $312,000 loan from Centennial Bank of Conway.

The 0.64-acre location was acquired for $8,000 in September 1963 from W.S. and Lillian Kotch.

Office Purchase

A 3,508-SF office building in North Little Rock rang up a $397,000 sale.

Chubby Little Groundhogs LLC, led by Steven Miller, bought the 112 Smarthouse Way project. The seller is RSR Properties LLC, led by Robert, Scott and Alan Miller.

RSR provided a $397,000 mortgage to fund the deal. The 0.96-acre development previously was linked with a November 2014 mortgage of $65,000 held by Telcoe Federal Credit Union of Little Rock.

RSR purchased the property for $290,000 in May 2000 from Reliant Energy Resources Corp. of Houston.

Downtown Buy

A 3,692-SF building in downtown Little Rock is under new ownership after a $325,000 transaction.

Mayhem Holdings LLC, led by Roger Thomas and Gino Capito, acquired the Standard Business Systems project at 921 W. Markham St. The seller is Squires Properties LLC, led by Steve and Jennifer Squires.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $355,000 from Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

The 0.21-acre development previously was tied to an August 2007 mortgage of $252,450 held by Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks.

Squires Properties bought the property for $297,000 more than eight years ago from Pearson-Lucchi Joint Venture, led by C. Thomas Pearson Jr. and Steve Lucchi.

Palisades Abode

A 3,977-SF home in Little Rock’s East Palisades neighborhood weighed in at $1.3 million.

20 East Palisades LLC, led by Frank O’Mara, purchased the house from Bruce and Hallie Lindsey.

The residence previously was linked with a May 2009 mortgage of $312,442 held by Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The property was acquired for $529,000 in March 2002 from Grace Lindsey.

Club House I

A 2,949-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock sold for $735,000.

George Makris III bought the house from Michael and Michelle Mantuano.

The residence previously was tied to a July 2014 mortgage of $300,000 held by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

The Mantuanos purchased the property for $687,000 more than 22 months ago from JVRC LLC, led by Jett Ricks.

Estates Sale

A 6,586-SF home in The Estates neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development changed hands in a $690,000 deal.

David and Jessica Bubbus acquired the house from Randy Machen.

The deal is financed with a 13-month loan of $552,000 from First State Bank of Russellville. The residence previously was linked with a February 2011 mortgage of $703,500 held by U.S. Bank of Cincinnati.

Machen bought the house for $625,000 in May 2005 from Steel Development International Pte. Ltd., led by Kazutaka Fukui.

Club House II

A 2,300-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock rang up a $521,500 sale.

Robert and Amanda Martin pur-chased the house from Kenneth and Elizabeth Clark.

The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $417,000 from Riverside Bank of Sparkman (Dallas County).

The residence previously was tied to a May 2009 mortgage of $298,800 held by Bank of America and a December 2011 mortgage of $60,000 held by Peoples Bank of Sheridan.

The Clarks acquired the property for $374,000 seven years ago from Nell and Robert Lyford.

Last week, Bank of America received a final judgment totaling $6.2 million against Hanna’s Candle Co. of Fayetteville, its owner, Burt Hanna, and two of his limited liability companies.

The case involved breach of contract claims tied to loan defaults against the Hanna’s entities. The case is 6 years old and already has had one trip to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

Get ready for another. Hanna vows to continue fighting the case that also involved JB Hanna LLC and Kerzen Properties LLC as defendants.

“These amounts are the result of a summary judgment ruling entered by the court which we disagree with,” Hanna said in an email to Whispers. “We intend to appeal these amounts and judgment to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and we are confident we will prevail in this ongoing litigation that began in 2010.”

In May 2012, a jury ruled in Hanna’s favor after a seven-day trial. Bank of America appealed that ruling to the 8th Circuit. The verdict was overturned in 2014, and the case was sent back to the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

U.S. District Judge Brian Miller’s final judgment issued last week included $3.2 million for compensatory damages, $2.5 million in attorneys’ fees, $463,000 for costs and interest of $86,900.

(Miller, as our attorney readers undoubtedly know, is actually chief judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas, but a recusal back in 2010 dragged him into this Western District case.)

Jeff Mitchell, Hanna’s attorney with Taylor Law Partners of Fayetteville, sent a statement to Whispers:

“We disagree that summary judgment was appropriate, and believe the judge erred in refusing to give my clients a new trial and allow them to assert certain defenses to the bank’s claims that the Eighth Circuit did not address.

“Unfortunately, we will be required to ask the Eighth Circuit to again remand this case back for a new trial, this time after having clarified that our defenses are appropriate. Assuming we are given that relief, I feel confident that we’ll ultimately prevail.”

Stay tuned.

It might take another two years before the Crittenden Hospital Association’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation is over, the trustee in the case said last week.

“We’re collecting accounts receivable and Medicaid and Medicare appeals,” said A. Jan Thomas Jr. of West Memphis, the trustee in the case. He said he collects about $10,000 a month.

The Crittenden Hospital Association reported $33.3 million in debts and $27.75 million in assets when it filed for bankruptcy in September 2014. But the claims registry shows the financial situation worse than the bankruptcy filing suggested. The registry lists 364 claims have been filed against the company for a total of $45.2 million.

The hospital building was returned to the Crittenden County government, which owned it. The county has since leased it to the Arkansas Department of Correction.

Thomas said people are slow to pay because they think they don’t owe money as a result of the bankruptcy.

Thomas said he didn’t know how much the creditors will receive when the case is over.