Arkansas

Heartland Bank had been operating under a regulatory order from the Fed since December.

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.

Arvest agreed to pay nearly $400 million in cash for a bank with 42 branches in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

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?

The Arkansas bank bought C1 Financial in Florida and Community & Southern Holdings in Georgia last year.

The Arkansas company is selling more than $300 million in stock a year before its DFAST test in June 2018.

One Bank & Trust in Arkansas just sold itself to the Treasury, resolving a legal judgment and clearing the way for a resale to the private sector.

The Little Rock, Ark., bank said first-quarter profits rose slightly and that it plans to dissolve its holding company to trim regulatory costs.

The Arkansas company has bought 12 banks in Florida since 2010, and its CEO said he had coveted Stonegate for years before agreeing to buy it this week. Yet there is nagging talk about a new bubble in the Sunshine State.

The deal comes on the heels of Simmons’ agreement to buy Southwest Bancorp in Oklahoma.