Growth strategies

Bank of the Ozarks, Home BancShares and Simmons First have used acquisitions and a business-friendly environment in their home state to become regional powers.

The $1.5 billion-asset company agreed to buy Southern Missouri Bancshares to expand into two strategically important markets.

Monday’s eclipse is an astronomer’s dream, but CUs’ responses range from trying to make hay while the sun isn’t shining to preparing for potential disaster.

Baxter CU, Randolph-Brooks FCU and Coastal CU have already signed on with the service, which aims to create analytics strategies to help credit unions grow and improve service.

Wisconsin-based CU will acquire five Bank Mutual branches in three cities on August 25.

Triumph Bancorp in Dallas has successfully taken chances on out-of-state acquisitions, factoring and other nontraditional strategies that many of its peers have avoided.

Marvin Schoenhals had been the Delaware company's chairman for 25 years. He stepped down as CEO in 2007.

The company said that Dennis Shaffer, its president, will succeed James Miller at the end of this year.

Southwest Bancorp, frustrated with a lethargic stock price, opted to find a buyer last summer. It was holding talks with Simmons First when the post-election run-up in bank stocks gave its shares an unexpected lift. Did it do the right thing by proceeding?

After its CEO struggled with the college planning process for her daughter, a new in-house team was established at CommunityAmerica CU to assist members with everything from choosing a school to deciding how to pay for it.