Farmers & Merchants Bank of Stuttgart on Friday named Bob King its community bank president for The Bank of Fayetteville, which Farmers purchased in November.
"We have full-faith and confidence in Bob, knowing he will lead our team with the same enthusiasm and focus he has exhibited during his long tenure at The Bank of Fayetteville," Farmers President and CEO Gary Hudson said in a news release.
King has been with The Bank of Fayetteville since 1999. He has been executive vice president of lending operations since July 2004.
King said the bank's merger with Farmers brings "new opportunities and services" for its customers.
"I am honored to be appointed community bank president of The Bank of Fayetteville, and I’m committed to preserving the mission of our founders to be the premier community bank in northwest Arkansas," King said.
Farmers & Merchants announced the all-cash deal to buy The Bank of Fayetteville in July; the deal closed in November. At the time of the anouncement, the purchase price was not disclosed, but Arkansas Business reported in October that the $702 million-asset Stuttgart bank paid $42.3 million for the bank, about 1.34 times book value.
The deal is expected to boost the asset total of Farmers & Merchants beyond the $1 billion mark. The tally would make it the 13th Arkansas financial institution to achieve that asset milestone.
While The Bank of Fayetteville name remains on eight branches in northwest Arkansas, Mary Beth Brooks, the bank's then-CEO, told Arkansas Business in July that the banks' two bank charters will "more than likely" be merged.
Brooks has since left The Bank of Fayetteville. She was one of the bank's five largest shareholders.