FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — Arvest Bank announced on Tuesday (Aug. 22) that it will be taking over Bear State Financial, the parent company of Bear State Bank.
The company is expecting to close the $391 million deal in the fourth quarter of 2017 or the first quarter of 2018, subject to approval by Bear State shareholders and regulations, according to an Arvest media release.
Bear State Bank operates 42 branches and three technology centers in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, and has $2.24 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in deposits.
Arvest has more than 250 branches across Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, and they have more than $17.3 billion in assets and nearly $15 billion in total deposits.
“Because Bear State is such a solid company with dedicated employees – and because both banks are so committed to their communities – we believe this will be a great fit,” said Kevin Sabin, Arvest president and CEO. “From outstanding products and services to superior customer service, Arvest shares a lot of similarities to Bear State and we look forward to serving all of our customers – old and new – with the same courtesy, competency and care as we always have.”
Bear State bank operates in 16 communities where Arvest doesn’t have branches.
Bear State bank locations should make the full transition to Arvest Bank in 2018, and customers will be given advance notification about the change.
Customers will not see any immediate changes.
