Southern Bancorp

Arkansas-based Southern Bancorp is one of 14 financial institutions in the country to receive a multi-million dollar equity investment from JPMorgan Chase as part of a $100 million commitment to minority-led financial institutions. The investment is part of JPMorgan Chase’s…

Southern Bancorp CEO Darrin Williams has been appointed by the White House to the 15-member board that advises the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The CDFI Advisory Board consists of 15 members, including the secretaries of the departments of…

Financial technology has become so established as a branch of the financial services industry that “fintech” was spawned to describe it. Indeed, as the world becomes more digital by the day, fintech is an increasingly important component to banking and…

Southern Bancorp CEO Darrin Williams has been named to the Little Rock branch board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He will serve the remaining portion of a three-year term that ends Dec. 31, 2023. The…

Southern Bancorp has closed its acquisition of Dewitt First BankShares Corporation and Arkansas County Bank, a transaction that was announced in January 2021. This acquisition will add three bank branches to Southern Bancorp’s network. This will include two in Arkansas…

By Katie Zakrzewski and Mark Carter  The wild ride that was 2020 came with consolation prizes, among them a significant increase in the focus on awareness of racial injustice. Southern Bancorp CEO Darrin Williams believes much work remains to be…

By Katie Zakrzewski and Mark Carter Former Arkansas House Speaker Pro-Tem Darrin Williams became CEO of Southern Bancorp in 2013 after a six-year stint in the state legislature and a run as managing partner at the Carney, Williams, Bates, Pulliam…

Banks do not magically process your paychecks, update your online accounts or manage digital systems. If there is any magic involved, it’s due to core software that enables banks and financial institutions to get these essential functions done quietly and…

Southern Bancorp Inc. is set to acquire DeWitt First Bankshares Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Arkansas County Bank as part of a merger agreement. Founded in 1912, Arkansas County Bank services Arkansas,  Prairie, Lonoke, Sevier, Little River, and Howard counties,…

Thomas “Hunter” Deweese has been tapped to serve as the Small Business Administration (SBA) president for Southern Bancorp. Most recently, Deweese served as the senior SBA agricultural lending officer for Southern Bancorp, a Community Development Financial Institution. He joined Southern…