# Bank OZK

Bank OZK is a regional bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. It operates 240 offices in eight states including Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, California, Tennessee and Mississippi.
Contrary to most other large banks, the bank does not syndicate its commercial real estate loans.

## History

Bank OZK began as a community bank in Jasper, Arkansas in 1903, expanding to a second location in Ozark, Arkansas in 1937.
In 1979, when the bank had 2 branches and $28 million in assets, George Gleason, a 25-year-old lawyer at the Rose Law Firm, bought the bank changed its name to Bank of the Ozarks.
In 1994, the bank had five locations but began expanding. The headquarters was moved to Little Rock in 1995.
In December 2008, the bank moved into a 92,000-square-foot four-story headquarters; in 2018 it began construction on a new 180,000 square foot headquarters at a $98 million cost.
In 2018, the name of the bank was changed to Bank OZK to reflect its expansion from the Ozarks.

### Acquisitions

| # | Year | Company | Price | Description of Assets |
| 1 | January 2003 | River Valley Bank (RVB) of Russellville, Arkansas | | $53 million in assets |
| 2 | March 2010 | Unity National Bank of Cartersville | | Failed bank; $290 million in assets; the bank's first purchase in Georgia |
| 3 | July 2010 | Woodlands Bank in Bluffton, South Carolina | | Failed bank; $376 million in assets and $355 million in deposits |
| 4 | September 2010 | Horizon Bank of Bradenton, Florida | | Failed bank; $170 million in assets and $150 million in deposits |
| 5 | December 2010 | Chestatee State Bank of Dawsonville, Georgia | | Failed bank |
| 6 | January 2011 | Oglethorpe Bank of Brunswick | | Failed bank with $210 million in assets, purchased at a $38 million discount |
| 7 | April 2011 | First Choice Community Bank of Dallas | | Failed bank. |
| 8 | April 2011 | Park Avenue Bank of Valdosta | | Failed bank. |
| 9 | December 2012 | Genala Bank | $27.3 million | $170 million of total assets, $45 million of loans and $142 million of deposits, one branch in Geneva, Alabama |
| 10 | 2013 | First National Bank of Shelby in Shelby, North Carolina | $64 million | 15 locations and $700 million in deposits in North Carolina |
| 11 | 2013 | Bancshares Inc. of Houston | $23 million | $301 million in assets, $269 million in deposits and 8 branches in Texas |
| 12 | 2014 | Summit Bancorp of Arkadelphia | $216 million | $1.2 billion in assets and 24 locations |
| 13 | 2014 | Intervest Bancshares of Pinellas County, Florida | $228.5 million | $1.6 billion in assets and $1.3 billion in deposits in Florida |
| 14 | 2015 | Bank of the Carolinas of Mocksville, North Carolina | $64.7 million | Additional assets in North Carolina |
| 15 | July 2016 | Community & Southern Bank | $799.6 million | $4.4 billion of total assets, $3.0 billion of loans and $3.7 billion of deposits |
| 16 | July 2016 | C1 Financial | $402.5 million | $1.7 billion of total assets, $1.4 billion of loans and $1.3 billion of deposits, 32 branches in Florida. |

## Awards and recognition

In 2012 and 2015, SNL Financial named Bank of the Ozarks as the top performing regional bank in the country.