Worthen Banking Corp. said it had agreed to buy rival Union of Arkansas Corp., Little Rock, for 4,550,000 common shares - or $93.2 million based on Tuesday's closing price.
If the value of the deal is under $100 million at the closing, Worthen will pay the difference, not to exceed $9 million. The merger of the companies, now No. 2 and No. 5 in Arkansas, would create the state's largest, with $3.4 billion in assets.
Beth Johnson, a self-described math geek, is driving the bank's ESG strategy and training its employees to keep pace with industry trends.
The Cleveland-based bank is projecting steady growth in net interest income even as credit losses remain manageable. But Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman also said that he thinks a recession is likely.
The first-quarter increase involved commercial real estate loans, including some problematic multifamily loans and an office credit, but none of the criticized loans were to consumers, officials at the Dallas company say. Further CRE deterioration is anticipated.
The Detroit-based company is exploring ways to make more consumer auto loans without running afoul of stricter capital standards that are expected from the Federal Reserve. Possible approaches include more securitizations and the use of credit risk transfers.
The House Financial Services Committee also sent to the full House two bipartisan bills, including one that would prevent large banks from opting out of having to recognize Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in regulatory capital.
Charge-offs and nonperforming loans rose at the Georgia bank in the first quarter. But it blamed the problem on one large client and said the matter has been resolved.
