**EXHIBIT99.1**

 

**FIRST FEDERAL BANCSHARES OFARKANSAS, INC.**

**CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPALEXECUTIVE OFFICER**

 

I, LarryJ. Brandt, Chief Executive Officer of First Federal Bancshares of Arkansas, Inc.(the “Company”), certify, based on my knowledge, that:

 
|   | (i)    | The compensation  committee of the Company has discussed, reviewed, and evaluated with senior  risk officers at least every six months during the period beginning on  September 14, 2009 and ending with the last day of the TARP recipient’s  fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 (the applicable period), the senior  executive officer (“SEO”) compensation plans and the employee compensation  plans and the risks these plans pose to the Company;                                                                                                |
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|   | (ii)   | The compensation  committee of the Company has identified and limited during the applicable  period any features of the SEO compensation plans that could lead SEOs to  take unnecessary and excessive risks that could threaten the value of the  Company, and during that same applicable period has identified any features  of the employee compensation plans that pose risks to the Company and has  limited those features to ensure that the Company is not unnecessarily  exposed to risks;                                                                              |
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|   | (iii)  | The compensation  committee has reviewed, at least every six months during the applicable  period, the terms of each employee compensation plan and identified any  features of the plan that could encourage the manipulation of reported  earnings of the Company to enhance the compensation of an employee, and has  limited any such features;                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
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|   | (iv)   | The compensation  committee of the Company will certify to the reviews of the SEO compensation  plans and employee compensation plans required under (i) and  (iii) above;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
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|   | (v)    | The compensation  committee of the Company will provide a narrative description of how it  limited during any part of the most recently completed fiscal year that  included a TARP period the features in                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
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|   |   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | (A) | SEO compensation  plans that could lead SEOs to take unnecessary and excessive risks that could  threaten the value of the Company; |
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|   |   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | (B) | Employee  compensation plans that unnecessarily expose the Company to risks; and |
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|   |   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | (C) | Employee  compensation plans that could encourage the manipulation of reported earnings  of the Company to enhance the compensation of an employee; |
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|   | (vi)   | The Company has  required that bonus payments, as defined in the regulations and guidance  established under section 111 of EESA (bonus payments), of the SEOs and  twenty next most highly compensated employees be subject to a recovery or  “clawback” provision during any part of the most recently completed fiscal  year that was a TARP period if the bonus payments were based on materially  inaccurate financial statements or any other materially inaccurate  performance metric criteria;                                                                 |
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|   | (vii)  | The Company has  prohibited any golden parachute payment, as defined in the regulations and  guidance established under section 111 of EESA, to a SEO or any of the next  five most highly compensated employees during the period beginning on  June 15, 2009 and ending with the last day of the TARP recipient’s  fiscal year ended December 31, 2009;                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
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|   | (viii) | The Company has  limited bonus payments to its applicable employees in accordance with section  111 of EESA and the regulations and guidance established thereunder during  the period beginning on June 15, 2009 and ending with the last day of  the TARP recipient’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2009;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
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|   | (ix)   | The board of  directors of the Company has established an excessive or luxury expenditures  policy, as defined in the regulations and guidance established under section  111 of EESA, by the later of September 14, 2009, or ninety days after  the closing date of the agreement between the TARP recipient and Treasury;  this policy has been provided to Treasury and its primary regulatory agency;  the Company and its employees have complied with this policy during the  applicable period; and any expenses that, pursuant to this policy, required  approval of |

 

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|   |   | the board of  directors, a committee of the board of directors, an SEO, or an executive  officer with a similar level of responsibility were properly approved;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
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|   | (x)    | The Company will  permit a non-binding shareholder resolution in compliance with any applicable  federal securities rules and regulations on the disclosures provided  under the federal securities laws related to SEO compensation paid or accrued  during the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2009;                                                                                                                                                       |
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|   | (xi)   | The Company will  disclose the amount, nature, and justification for the offering during the  period beginning on June 15, 2009 and ending with the last day of the  TARP recipient’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 of any perquisites,  as defined in the regulations and guidance established under section 111 of  EESA, whose total value exceeds $25,000 for any employee who is subject to  the bonus payment limitations identified in paragraph (viii); |
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|   | (xii)  | The Company will  disclose whether the Company, the board of directors of the Company, or the  compensation committee of the Company has engaged during the period beginning  on June 15, 2009 and ending with the last day of the TARP recipient’s  fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, a compensation consultant; and the  services the compensation consultant or any affiliate of the compensation consultant  provided during this period;                      |
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|   | (xiii) | The Company has  prohibited the payment of any gross-ups, as defined in the regulations and  guidance established under section 111 of EESA, to the SEOs and the next  twenty most highly compensated employees during the period beginning on  June 15, 2009 and ending with the last day of the TARP recipient’s  fiscal year ended December 31, 2009;                                                                                                              |
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|   | (xiv)  | The Company has  substantially complied with all other requirements related to employee  compensation that are provided in the agreement between the Company and  Treasury, including any amendments;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
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|   | (xv)   | The Company has  submitted to Treasury a complete and accurate list of the SEOs and the twenty  next most highly compensated employees for the current fiscal year and the most  recently completed fiscal year, with the non-SEOs ranked in descending order  of level of annual compensation, and with the name, title, and employer of  each SEO and most highly compensated employee identified; and                                                                             |
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|   | (xvi)  | I understand that a  knowing and willful false or fraudulent statement made in connection with  this certification may be punished by fine, imprisonment, or both. (See, for  example, 18 USC 1001).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |

 

 
| Date:  | March 31, 2010 | /s/ Larry J. Brandt     |
|--------|---------------------|-------------------------|
|   |                | Larry J. Brandt         |
|   |                | Chief Executive Officer |

 

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