Current Bulletin
Legal Developments: Second Quarter, 2007
Order Issued under Federal Reserve Act
First State Bank
Conway, Arkansas
Order Approving Establishment of a Branch
First State Bank ("Bank"), a state member bank, has requested the Board's approval under section 9 of the Federal Reserve Act ("Act") 1 to establish a branch at 6039 Heber Spring Road West, Quitman, Arkansas.
Notice of the proposal, affording interested persons an opportunity to submit comments, has been published in accordance with the Board's Rules of Procedure. 2 The time for filing comments has expired, and the Board has considered the notice and all comments received in light of the factors specified in the Act.
Bank is the 19th largest depository institution in Arkansas, controlling approximately $390.5 million in deposits, which represents less than 1 percent of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in the state. 3 Bank's main office and ten branches are in Faulkner and White counties, Arkansas, and the proposed branch would be in neighboring Cleburne County.
Section 9(3) of the Act 4 requires a state member bank to obtain Board approval before establishing a branch. The Board is required by section 9(4) of the Act to consider the financial condition of the applying bank, the general character of its management, and whether its corporate powers are consistent with the purposes of the Act, when acting on a branch application. 5 Regulation H, which implements section 9(4), 6 enumerates the factors that the Board must consider, including (1) the financial history and condition of the applying bank and the general character of its management; (2) the adequacy of the bank's capital and its future earnings prospects; (3) the convenience and needs of the community to be served by the branch; and (4) in the case of branches with deposit-taking capability, the bank's performance under the Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA"). 7
The Board has carefully considered the application in light of these factors and public comment received from a competing bank in Quitman. The commenter asserted that the community's demographic and economic characteristics would not support another profitable branch.
In considering the financial history and condition, future earnings prospects, and capital adequacy of Bank, the Board has reviewed reports of examination, other supervisory information, publicly reported and other financial information, and information provided by Bank and the commenter. Bank is well capitalized and would remain so on consummation of the proposal. The Board also has reviewed Bank's business plan and financial projections for the branch, including the projections for deposits, income, and costs. After carefully considering all the facts of record, the Board has concluded that the financial history and condition, capital adequacy, and future earnings prospects of Bank are consistent with approval of the proposal.
In considering Bank's managerial resources, the Board has reviewed the bank's examination record, including assessments of its management, risk-management systems, and operations. The Board also has considered its supervisory experiences with Bank and the bank's record of compliance with applicable banking law, 8 including anti-money-laundering laws. Bank is considered to be well managed. Based on this review and all the facts of record, the Board has concluded that the character of Bank's management is consistent with approval of the proposal.
The Board also has considered the convenience and needs of the community to be served, taking into account the comment received, and the bank's performance under the CRA. Bank received a "satisfactory" rating by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at its most recent CRA performance evaluation, as of February 17, 2004. 9 The Board generally considers the entry of a new competitor in a community to be a positive factor when assessing the effect of a proposal on the convenience and needs of the community because new entry provides additional alternatives to consumers and businesses. Bank has represented that the proposed branch would provide residents of the Quitman area with another convenient source of banking services and offer extended service hours. 10 For these reasons and based on a review of the entire record, the Board concludes that the convenience and needs considerations and Bank's record of performance under the CRA are consistent with approval of the proposal.
Based on the foregoing and all the facts of record, the Board has determined that the application should be, and hereby is, approved. The Board's approval is specifically conditioned on Bank's compliance with all commitments made to the Board in connection with the proposal. The commitments and conditions relied on by the Board are deemed to be conditions imposed in writing in connection with its findings and decision and, as such, may be enforced in proceedings under applicable law.
Approval of this application is also subject to the establishment of the proposed branch within one year of the date of this order, unless such period is extended by the Board or the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, acting under authority delegated by the Board. 11
By order of the Board of Governors, effective June 20, 2007.
Voting for this action: Chairman Bernanke, Vice Chairman Kohn, and Governors Warsh, Kroszner, and Mishkin.
Robert deV. Frierson
Deputy Secretary of the Board
1. 12 U.S.C. §321 et seq.
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2. 12 CFR 262.3(b).
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3. Statewide ranking and deposit data are as of June 30,
2006, and reflect mergers as of June 1, 2007.
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4. 12 U.S.C. §321 and 12 CFR 208.6(b).
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5. 12 U.S.C. §322.
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6. 12 CFR 208.6(b).
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7. 12 U.S.C. §2901 et seq.
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8. The commenter also expressed concern about Bank's
construction of the proposed branch facility without obtaining
regulatory approval to establish a branch. Bank established a loan
production office in April 2007 at the proposed branch site in Quitman,
which did not require the Board's prior approval. The Bank has
confirmed to the Board that the Quitman loan production office is not
engaged in any activities that would cause the office to be a branch
within the meaning of the Act or the Board's implementing regulations. See 12 CFR 208.2(c).
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9. An institution's most recent CRA performance evaluation is a
particularly important consideration in the applications process
because it represents a detailed, on-site evaluation of the
institution's overall record of performance under the CRA by its
appropriate federal supervisor. See Interagency Questions and
Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment, 66 Federal
Register 36,620 at 36,640 (2001).
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10. In reviewing this proposal, the Board has considered the
comments in light of Bank's plans and projections for the proposed
branch, as well as its financial and managerial resources. The Board
also has reviewed the deposit and demographic data for the relevant
banking market, which includes all of Cleburne County. The data
indicate modest increases in population from 2000 to 2006 and
consistent moderate growth in deposits during the same time period.
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11. The commenter requested that the Board hold a public meeting
or hearing on the proposal. The Act does not require the Board to hold
a public hearing on an application to establish a branch. Under its
rules, the Board may, in its discretion, hold a public meeting or
hearing on an application if necessary or appropriate to clarify
factual issues related to the application and to provide an opportunity
for testimony (12 CFR 262.3(e), 262.25(d)). The Board has
considered carefully the commenter's request in light of all the facts
of record. In the Board's view, the commenter had ample opportunity to
submit his views and, in fact, submitted written comments that the
Board has considered carefully in acting on the proposal. The
commenter's request fails to demonstrate why written comments do not
present his views adequately or why a meeting or hearing otherwise
would be necessary or appropriate. For these reasons, and based on all
the facts of record, the Board has determined that a public meeting or
hearing is not required or warranted in this case. Accordingly, the
request for a public meeting or hearing on the proposal is
denied.
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