Bank OZK (formerly Bank of the Ozarks) is a regional bank headquartered in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. 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 A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

its commercial real estate loans.

History

The Bank of the Ozarks began as a community bank in

Jasper, Arkansas Jasper is a city in and the county seat of Newton County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population is 547. Jasper is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States ...

in 1903, expanding to a second location in

Ozark, Arkansas Ozark is a city in Franklin County, Arkansas, Franklin County, Arkansas, United States and one of the county's two county seat, seats of government. The community is located along the Arkansas River in the Arkansas River Valley on the southern edg ...

in 1937. In 1979, when the bank had two branches and $28 million in assets, George Gleason, a 25-year-old lawyer at the

Rose Law Firm Rose Law Firm is an American law firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. It dates its origins to November 1, 1820, sixteen years before Arkansas statehood, when Robert Crittenden, born 1797, and Chester Ashley, born 1791, entered into an a ...

, 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 Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

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 The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

Acquisitions

Awards and recognition

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

References

External links

* {{S&P 400 companies American companies established in 1903 Banks established in 1903 Companies based in Little Rock, Arkansas Companies listed on the Nasdaq Banks based in Arkansas Companies based in Arkansas Companies in the S&P 400 1997 initial public offerings