Citizens Bank, the expansion-minded Batesville bank that opened a full-service branch in Fayetteville earlier this year, announced late Wednesday afternoon that it will buy Parkway Bank of Rogers before the end of the year.
Bob Taylor, president and CEO of Parkway Bank and current president of the Arkansas Bankers Association, will become Citizens Bank's regional CEO in northwest Arkansas and executive credit officer for the entire bank, according to the news release.
"Bob is the ideal person for that," Phil Baldwin, president and CEO of Citizen Bank, who has been acting as chief credit officer, told Arkansas Business. "He's much better than me because I'm not inherently a lender. I haven't spent my life doing that."
Doug Lynch remains market president in Fayetteville, Baldwin said.
"Our goal is to have six or seven branches in northwest Arkansas, but Bob and Doug will be thinking about that," Baldwin said.
No terms of the deal were released by Citizens Bancshares of Batesville Inc. and Parkway Bankshares Inc., the holding companies of the two banks. But in the announcement, Baldwin called the acquisition "an important strategic relationship for us … consistent with the strategic growth strategy approved by the Citizens Bank Board of Directors in 2014."
Baldwin, in comments to Arkansas Business, reiterated Citizens' growth plans.
"We're not done. This is just the beginning for us," he said, and he suggested that another acquisition might come soon after the Parkway deal is finalized.
Citizens Bank, with assets of $575 million, has 12 full-service branches in Batesville, Cave City, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, Imboden, Mountain View and Pleasant Plains.
Parkway Bank has $135 million in assets and four full-service locations in Rogers, Crossett, Monticello and Portland (Ashley County). It was originally chartered in 1900 as Portland Bank but was renamed and moved to Rogers in 2004.
Baldwin said he was "very, very excited" about Citizens' first branches in southeast Arkansas.
"I think Monticello is a huge opportunity for us," he said. "You know, I like small-town markets. That's who I am."
Parkway Bank reported net income of $718,000 in 2014 and $497,000 in the first half this year. Citizens earned $4 million last year and $1.8 million in the first two quarters of 2015.