Remember the court-ordered sale of controlling interest in Little Rock’s One Bank & Trust we told you about three weeks ago?

A date is now set for the event that will bring a change of ownership to the $305 million-asset bank: May 8, 10 a.m., Eastern Standard Time at the Marshals Service office at the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C.

Standing first in line with a potential credit bid of up to $47.9 million is the United States of America.

That dollar figure represents the balance of a triple-damage judgment tied to a TARP funding fraud claim by the Department of the Treasury.

Up for sale are the 344,577 shares held by the bank’s insolvent holding company, OneFinancial Corp.

The shares represent a 99 percent stake in the struggling bank, which hasn’t turned a normal quarterly profit in nigh on five years.

The stock has been held in escrow since it was seized by U.S. marshals on Nov. 3, 2015. The seizure was made in advance of Treasury obtaining its massive default judgment against OneFinancial on Jan. 11, 2016.

Several parties have expressed interest in One Bank: Bank of England; First Financial Banc Corp., parent company of El Dorado’s First Financial Bank; EJF Capital LLC of Arlington, Virginia; Home BancShares Inc. of Conway; and Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

One Bank’s deteriorating equity capital stood at $12 million at year’s end.

SERP Exposure?

Meanwhile in Pulaski County Circuit Court, current and former One Bank execs continue their dispute.

Recent activity has focused on a $1.5 million claim against the bank and its Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan by Tom Whitehead, former chief financial officer at One Bank.

Jerry Pavlas, the bank’s CEO since September 2012, claims Whitehead forfeited his SERP benefits when he was fired “for just cause” on Dec. 27, 2012.

Whitehead countered One Bank’s motion for partial summary judgment with several points: 1) the plan falls under state law, not federal law, 2) there is no mandatory arbitration clause to resolve the dispute and 3) the agreement contains language allowing payment of his fully vested SERP benefits no matter how or why his employment was terminated.

Whitehead also indirectly called out Pavlas for blaming him for the actions mandated and directed by the bank’s super shareholder, Layton “Scooter” Stuart, and condoned by its board of directors and senior management.

Whitehead, who remains without criminal charge, took exception to the “just cause” argument and the bank’s persistent criminal verbiage directed at him.

In his brief, Whitehead said the bank’s recounting of “undisputed facts” fails to state the seminal fact that he had no more discretion “or involvement in what Stuart, the board of directors and the senior management did or approved of Stuart doing in terms of what had been going on at the bank before Stuart was removed than Simon of Cyrene had when the Romans made him carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was led away to his crucifixion.”

Ryan Watley has been named CEO-elect of Go Forward Pine Bluff, a volunteer group backed by Simmons First National Corp. that aims to stop the city's population decline and bolster its tax base.

Watley, 30, is an assistant professor of chemistry and the assistant director of development for athletics at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. At Go Forward Pine Bluff, he'll be responsible for coordinating with city officials and other organizations to execute Go Forward's plan.

Founded in 2015, Go Forward Pine Bluff is a 100-volunteer group financed by Simmons First National Corp. and led by former CEO Tommy May and Simmons First Foundation board member Mary Pringos. The group has announced an ambitious plan of 27 proposals to revive a city marred by a crumbling downtown, sagging economy and crime.

The plan hinges on a public vote for a five-eighths-cent city sales tax that would raise some $32 million before lapsing after seven years. About $20 million more is planned via private fundraising. The vote is set for June 13.

Watley's CEO position is contingent upon voter approval of the tax. 

"Dr. Watley is the perfect person to oversee our efforts," May said in a news release. "This is Pine Bluff's best opportunity to attract businesses and ensure a promising future for our young people. We've seen the city's population decline from 57,140 in 1990 to 44,772 in 2015. We must act now."

A Pine Bluff native who returned to the city to work for UAPB in 2015, Watley played football and majored in chemistry at the university and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 2009. He then received his doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Oklahoma. 

During his time in Oklahoma, Watley was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a research associate in the Organic Chemistry Division. In 2015, he was the assistant to the athletic director for community outreach and fundraising at Rose State College in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Watley said this CEO role "requires a keen focus on execution," and that he's "established a reputation of producing results."

"I am thankful to my supervisors and the chancellor of UAPB for allowing me to explore this opportunity," Watley told Arkansas Business in an email. 

"I am very entrenched in the operations of campus and this was not an easy decision for me," he siad. "However I have a relationship with Mayor [Shirley] Washington and believe in what she wants to accomplish. I envision myself working for Mayor Washington while satisfying the corporation's board desire for timely and effective results. We should all be confident in this multifaceted operation because the foundation has been laid that we are one Pine Bluff, stronger together."

WASHINGTON — Republicans on Tuesday cast former President Barack Obama's law overhauling the nation's financial rules as an obstacle to economic growth as a House panel launched a marathon session to undo much of the Wall Street regulations.

The Financial Services Committee, led by Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, started the painstaking work of crafting legislation that would repeal about 40 provisions of the Dodd-Frank law that Congress pass and Obama signed in 2010 after the financial meltdown two years earlier.

"Regrettably, thanks to Dodd-Frank, too many garages in our nation are full of old cars instead of new startup small business," Hensarling said. "It's time for the bailouts to end. It's time to help small businesses on Main Street."

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., is a member of the committee.

Democrats accused the GOP of amnesia about what led to the meltdown that pushed the economy to near collapse. They said Hensarling's bill would gut consumer protection and allow banks to make the kind of risky investments that required taxpayers to come to the rescue of the nation's largest financial institutions nearly a decade ago.

"It's an invitation for another Great Recession or worse," said Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

The 2010 Dodd-Frank law put the stiffest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the 1930s Depression. It clamped down on banking practices and expanded consumer protections to restrain reckless conduct by financial firms and prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown.

Hensarling's bill targets the heart of the law's restrictions on banks by offering a trade-off: Banks could qualify for most of the regulatory relief in the bill so long as they meet a strict basic requirement for building capital to cover unexpected big losses. He says the capital requirements will work as an insurance policy against a financial institution going out of business.

Republicans are likely to pass the measure in the House. But the bill faces significant obstacles in the Senate where leaders have emphasized their desire to find areas of agreement to enhance economic growth.

Hensarling also targets the consumer protection agency that Congress established after the financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, reducing its powers and making it easier for the president to remove its director.

Democratic lawmakers referred to Hensarling's legislation as a Wall Street deregulation wish-list. Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., said Republicans could have written a much narrower bill to help small banks and credit unions if that were their primary aim. Instead, he said they put together a bill for "Wall Street fat cats."

Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan accused Democrats of engaging in hyperbole "at an insane level." And Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., said Dodd-Frank has harmed every small local bank and credit union in his congressional district.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON — A House panel approved legislation Thursday that would undo much of the Dodd-Frank law enacted after the 2008 economic meltdown.

The bill cleared the Republican-led House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 34-26.

Republicans argue the law passed under President Barack Obama is slowing economic growth because of the cost of compliance and by curbing lending.

Democrats warn the GOP bill will create the same conditions that led to the financial crisis and pushed the economy to the brink of collapse.

The bill now goes to the full House for a vote, but supporters admit that the path will be much more difficult in the Senate, where Democratic support will be needed.

In a fast-moving session following two days of laborious debate, the panel flew through a series of votes on amendments, as the majority Republicans easily beat back Democrats' attempts to reshape and soften the legislation.

The action moved House Republicans closer to realizing their long-promised goal to undo financial regulatory laws enacted under Obama after the 2008 economic meltdown pushed the economy to the brink of collapse.

The bill would repeal about 40 provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Banks could qualify for much of the regulatory relief in the bill so long as they meet a strict basic requirement for building capital to cover unexpected big losses.

Republicans, led by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the GOP chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, have argued that community banks and credit unions are struggling to keep up with the regulatory burdens imposed by the law.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Jared Carver has been named a financial analyst for Stone Bank in Little Rock.

He was previously a financial analyst for Frost PLLC in Little Rock and with the Hendrix College business office in Conway.

Tim Quillin has been chosen to lead a new 401(k) advisory practice launched by Aptus Financial in Little Rock.

He previously was an analyst for the Circumference Group, also in Little Rock.

Gary Canada Sr. and Hanna Canada, both of the Bank of England, recently received the BKD Milestones in Banking Award from the Arkansas Bankers Association for 50 years of service to the industry.

Milestones awards for 40 years of service were presented to the following:

• Valerie Cook, Mary Cox, Carolyn Eckman, Kathy Kinion, Ernie Penn, Diana Rhoads and Lola Roberts of Arvest Bank
• Carolyn Boone, Alan Dunsworth, Vicky Hansen, Bob King and Dolores Snider of the Bank of Fayetteville (branches of Farmers & Merchants Bank)
• Becky Burroughs, Cathey Cox, Gynelle Linder and George Penick of Eagle Bank & Trust
• Cindy Juhl and Le Ann Krisell of Farmers & Merchants Bank
• Gary Clark and Martha Hunt of Fidelity National Bank
• Rhonda Boen and Janice Townsend of First Security Bank
• Phyllis “Ceci” Bettell of Arkansas County Bank
• Beth Dildine of Cross County Bank
• I. Joe Miles of Integrity First Bank
• Jill McClinton of Peoples Bank
• John Garrison of Relyance Bank
• Sharon Wilson of River Town Bank

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

Construction projects are flourishing in Jonesboro, despite the financial woes plaguing one of its largest commercial ventures.

Inside the city limits, $164 million worth of construction is in motion, led by St. Bernards Medical Center in downtown Jonesboro. And more projects are on the way.

Construction is expected to start soon on the $60 million Embassy Suites and Red Wolf Convention Center on the campus of Arkansas State University, Tim O’Reilly, CEO of O’Reilly Hospitality Management of Springfield, Missouri, said in an email to Arkansas Business last week. “We are waiting for the building permit which we will have any day,” he wrote.

The project is expected to take 14-15 months to complete. It will feature a 202-room Embassy Suites hotel, 40,000-SF Red Wolf Convention Center and Houlihan’s restaurant. Killian Construction Co. of Springfield, Missouri, is the general contractor. The project is scheduled to open before the start of the fall 2018 semester at the college.

The other convention center project in Jonesboro, however, is struggling and has been hit with a number of contractor’s liens and lawsuits.

Other projects in Jonesboro are doing better. St. Bernards Medical Center recently completed its $7.35 million Ben E. Owens Cancer Center addition and renovation project, said Kevin Hodges, vice president of affiliated and senior services at St. Bernards.

The work was one of four phases that will total $137.5 million at St. Bernards in downtown Jonesboro, which has helped fuel interest in the area, Hailey Knight, executive director of the Downtown Jonesboro Association, said in an email.

“We have 29 new lofts being built,” she wrote. “People are attracted to this area.”

She says downtown also benefited from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State, which enrolled its first class of 120 students last August.

Also helping development in Jonesboro is Craighead County’s low unemployment rate, which has been attractive to developers, said Joshua Brown, principal broker of Haag Brown Commercial Real Estate & Development in Jonesboro.

The unemployment rate for the county was 2.8 percent in March, which was lower than the state’s rate of 3.6 percent and the national rate of 4.5 percent.

And he said that the city is still seeing commercial projects as a result of NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro spending $400 million on its medical campus, which opened in January 2014.

Here are some of the current top projects in the city.

St. Bernards Medical Center Surgery Tower/ Emergency Department Ambulance Entrance

Cost: $80 million
Contractor: Nabholz Construction Corp. of Conway
Architect: HKS Inc. of Dallas
Projected Completion: Spring 2019

St. Bernards announced in December 2015 that it was starting a four-phase construction project.

The centerpiece of the project is the $80 million, 245,000-SF, five-story surgical and intensive care tower and renovation of the emergency department, said Hodges.

The project will consolidate services into one building, he said. It will also provide a new entrance for emergency services. The first level will have 14 surgical suites and a pharmacy, and the second floor will be a 48-bed critical care unit. Hodges said the project was financed through a bond issue and with the health care system’s cash reserves. After this project is complete, Hodges said, another phase will begin on renovating areas that haven’t yet been identified. He didn’t have a cost estimate for that construction phase.

Hyatt Place Hotel & Convention Center

Cost: $25 Million
Contractor: Construction Network Inc. of Jonesboro
Architect: Pure Architecture Studio LLC of Milwaukee
Projected Completion: Unknown

Jonesboro Hyatt Place Hotel & Convention Center broke ground in August, and problems soon developed. Subcontractors earlier this year began filing liens against the project totaling more than $900,000.

The developer, Northern Arkansas Hotel & Convention Center LLC, hasn’t made any payments to the general contractor and owes $1.5 million to subcontractors and a supplier, according to documents filed in court late last month.

Sean Stem, the president of Construction Network Inc. of Jonesboro, said in an affidavit filed April 21 that Northern Arkansas Hotel & Convention Center “has failed to make payments to CNI and to date has made no payments in any amount to CNI related to work performed on this project.”

The Jonesboro Advertising & Promotion Commission on April 13 sent a letter to Northern Arkansas Hotel & Convention Center demanding copies of several documents involving the financing of the project; it also asked to see a commitment letter from Hyatt. If the commission doesn’t receive the paperwork by May 19, it will rescind its pledge of $300,000 to the project.

Chris Keller, CEO of Northern Arkansas Hotel & Convention Center, didn’t respond to an email message from Arkansas Business last week.

Last week, Keller returned nearly $75,000 the A&P Commission had given for the project, Chairman Jerry Morgan said in an email to Arkansas Business last week. The check “didn’t have any correspondence with it,” he said. “It was just the check.”

FNB Financial Park

Cost: $20 million
Contractor: Ramsons Inc. of Jonesboro
Architect: WD&D Architects of Little Rock
Projected Completion: Spring 2018

First National Bank of Paragould announced in September that it was building a five-story, 60,000-SF building for its Craighead County operations. First National spokesman Blake Guinn said the bank’s headquarters will remain in Paragould.

The Jonesboro project will have a community room, an outdoor terrace and “public events will be welcomed and encouraged,” according to a First National news release. The site also will have underground parking for 50 vehicles.

The project is on schedule and should be completed in the spring of 2018, Guinn said.

Arkansas State University Undergraduate Housing

Cost: $14.8 million
Contractor: Huffman & Co. of Little Rock
Architect: Planworx Architecture of Raleigh, North Carolina
Projected Completion: Fall 2017

The two buildings, totaling 350 beds, for undergraduates at Arkansas State University won’t look “anything like dormitories from the late 20 century,” said spokesman Bill Smith. “They’ll have 9-foot ceilings. They have ceiling fans. They have walk-in closets.”

The amenities will be comparable to off-campus apartments, he said.

A-State signed a 35-year land lease agreement with Zimmer Development Co. of Wilmington, North Carolina, to build the dorms along with graduate housing. Zimmer also will maintain the units while A-State will manage and market the complex, according to an A-State news release. During the initial years, Zimmer will pay $200,000 annually for the undergraduate land lease.

Smith said A-State’s on-campus housing had operated at full capacity for several years.

The arrangement with Zimmer “was seen as a way to enhance the inventory of campus housing without the debt load that might come with it.”

Arkansas State University Graduate Housing

Cost: $12.2 million
Contractor: Huffman & Co. of Little Rock
Architect: Planworx Architecture of Raleigh, North Carolina
Projected Completion: Fall 2017

The 165-bed complex for Arkansas State University’s graduate students is expected to open by the fall, said A-State spokesman Bill Smith.

The rooms feature their own bathrooms and closets, he said.

Zimmer Development Co. is also leasing the land the building is on and will pay $105,000 during the initial years.

“Our student community has grown,” then-Chancellor Tim Hudson said in a February 2016 news release announcing the housing projects. “These projects allow us to accommodate students who want to reside on campus throughout their career.”

The two projects will bring the resident total to about 3,700.

St. Bernards Heartcare Center Renovation

Cost: $12 million
Contractor: Nabholz Construction Corp. of Conway
Architect: HKS Inc. of Dallas
Projected Completion: December 2017

The 14,000-SF renovation work at St. Bernards Heartcare Center started in January and is expected to be completed by the end of the year, said Hodges, the St. Bernards VP. The facade of the center will remain the same, but the inside is being renovated so that all noninvasive procedures will be conducted on the first floor and invasive procedures on the second. It also is adding a cardiac catheterization lab. The third floor, which had been a shell since the building opened in 1999, will be built out to hold a 26-unit patient prep and recovery area and a separate family waiting area, according to St. Bernards.

A flurry of behind-the-scenes activity indicates a restart is in the works for a key part of the Creative Corridor in downtown Little Rock.

Lawsuits and countersuits surrounding unpaid work on the dormant 125,000-SF Main Street Lofts redevelopment recently were dismissed.

The order in Pulaski County Circuit Court alludes to a financial settlement that squared away more than $1.3 million in claims on the three-building project at 510-524 Main St. by Little Rock’s AMR Construction and its subcontractors.

A new entity, Deep Creek LR LLC, also became the owner of the former M.M. Cohn Building at 510 Main St. Real estate documents portray the change as a reorganization and an internal shift in ownership, a transaction valued at $2.1 million.

Trailing behind this, the lead construction lender, Riverside Bank of Sparkman, released its security interest in the 62,688-SF building. The property secured a 2015 mortgage of $2 million held by the bank.

Delinquent property taxes totaling $30,542 for 2012-15 also were paid, tying up another loose end in advance of renewed work on the building or a possible sale.

All these developments come two years after activity moved from the construction site to the courthouse when AMR Construction walked off the job in April 2015. AMR received an $896,756 arbitration award that was converted to a judgment last year against the Main Street Lofts ownership group, then led by Scott Reed of Portland, Oregon. According to sources, his role with the project has changed.

“I believe that Scott Reed is out of the picture, except he may be consulting with the new group because of his knowledge about the entire project,” said Phil Kaplan, a member of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s board of directors. “We made it clear we didn’t want to deal with him.”

Will the symphony set up shop in part of the M.M. Cohn Building as originally planned?

“The ASO is still very interested in the possibility of becoming a tenant in the building if the terms can be worked out,” Kaplan said.

Various parties involved with past workout attempts for Main Street Lofts considered Reed to be the biggest obstacle to getting the project back on track. His removal from the forefront is touted as a leading cause that momentum is restored.

“Scott’s got a lot of pride,” said one Little Rock businessman who’s spent more frustrating time with Reed than he cares to count. “He’s never wrong. He may be a super salesman, but he just can’t take it to the finish line.”

Two blocks to the north, the 32-unit K Lofts apartment project that Reed started but couldn’t finish was brought back to life earlier this year. As with Main Street Lofts, internal pressure from investors is credited with restoring order.

Elevator inspection and installation of the remaining appliances are two of the last big checklist items remaining before the apartments at 315 Main St. are ready for showing to prospective tenants.

“We’re getting very close,” said Matt Foster, owner of Little Rock’s MWF Construction LLC. “We hope to be finished up during the next three weeks.”

MWF’s $375,000 contract to finish K Lofts is among a string of construction jobs in downtown Little Rock expected to be completed before year’s end.

The biggest of the bunch is the seven-story, $12.5 million Hilton Garden Inn at 322 Rock St. Progress on the 140-room hotel is on pace for a fall opening.

“For working in a dense urban environment, it’s been pretty smooth,” said William Clark, CEO of Little Rock’s Clark Contractors LLC. “We’ll be finished with our part in August.

“A couple months after that, it should open.”

The project will house nearly 4,000 SF of meeting space and a full-service restaurant and bar on the ground floor named The Garden and a top-floor venue called Posh.

Seven blocks to the south, the three-story, 48-unit Clayton on Scott apartment project is moving toward completion in August.

“We’re in the finish-out phase,” said Jonathan Shively, president of Little Rock’s Central Construction Group. “We’re in the process of about to start painting.”

The $4 million construction project at 915 Scott St. is among four sizable jobs the company has going in downtown Little Rock.

Construction of 16 apartments at 1300 E. Sixth St., part of the $7 million Sterling Paint redevelopment, should be completed by early fall.

“We’re doing site work and framing out the second-floor apartments,” Shively said.

Workers also are preparing space on the ground floor for new offices of Cromwell Architects Engineers and a 4,000-SF restaurant, whose identity remains under wraps.

“We’re hoping that all comes together by the end of the year,” Shively said.

Central Construction recently began work to redevelop the former M.M. Eberts American Legion Post at 315 E. Capitol Ave. into the Dust Bowl Lanes & Lounge.

The $913,000 project should be complete in about six months, along with a neighboring redevelopment.

Next door, the former Paragon Printing Building at 307 E. Capitol Ave. is marked for a $1.2 million transformation into Fassler Hall, a German-style beer hall and restaurant, The two projects will be the first Arkansas endeavors for The McNellie’s Group of Tulsa, the hospitality enterprise behind both concepts.

Ground-floor space is taking shape in the former Fulk-Arkansas Democrat Building.

The new home of Three Fold Noodles & Dumpling Co. will round out the redevelopment, which includes eight completed apartments on the second floor.

The finish-out work by Little Rock’s Tycor Construction should be completed by mid-September. The $450,000 project at 611 Main St. will provide seating for 120.

It looks like the logistics company Vouk Transportation Inc. of North Little Rock has hit another rough patch.

Bank of Little Rock filed to foreclose on Vouk’s headquarters because it allegedly defaulted on a $826,000 mortgage taken out in May 2015, according to the bank’s filings in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

The bank said Vouk, which has a legal name of 3BE Logistics LLC, hasn’t made timely installments on the note. And as of last month, $806,000 was owed on the loan secured by the 13,682-SF building, which was built in 2002.

Vouk’s president, Christopher Blakley, signed the document, making him “jointly and severally liable for all amounts due under the Note,” according to the complaint.

When we called Vouk for comment on Thursday, the phone just rang and rang.

The company’s website says it offers services that include expedited shipping, warehousing or auto-hauling.

“At Vouk Transportation, you are our first priority,” the website said.

“When you are at the top of our chain, you don’t worry about efficiency, cost or delivery — we do that for you, every time.”

Back in 2012, its former executive, Leander J. Muncy III, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and three years of probation after pleading guilty to one count of theft and embezzlement from Vouk’s employee pension benefit plan.

In addition to time behind bars, Muncy was ordered to pay $268,720 in restitution

Muncy held various positions at Vouk Transportation, including president and vice president, from September 2004 to August 2010, during which he was trustee of the company’s employee profit sharing plan.

Simmons First National Corp. purchased a second jet last fall, a 1997 Dassault Falcon 2000, but don’t expect a fleet.

The Pine Bluff bank holding company’s first aircraft, a 2005 Cessna 560XL bought in early 2015, is for sale, said spokesman Rex Nelson.

The Falcon 2000, which typically has a capacity of eight to 10 passengers, was registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in November.

When Simmons purchased the Cessna, CEO George Makris Jr. explained: “It is a long way from Wichita to Knoxville!” Since then, Simmons has announced some acquisitions that, when completed, will push the footprint further west than Kansas and further south than Star City: Bank SNB of Stillwater, Oklahoma, which has three branches in Colorado, and Southwest Bank of Fort Worth, Texas.

Little Rock’s One Bank & Trust posted another quarterly loss: $1.6 million. The red ink during the first quarter marked a continuation of a trend that dates back nearly five years.

Rocked by bad loans and mismanagement, One Bank hasn’t produced a normal quarterly profit since the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ousted Layton “Scooter” Stuart in September 2012.

Total assets declined to $298 million, and equity capital was reduced to $10.4 million.

Nonaccrual loans stood at $5.5 million as of March 31. Another $4.2 million in loans are 30-89 days past due.

As we told you a week ago, a court-ordered sale of controlling interest in the bank will be held Monday in Washington.

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. added a member to its board of directors on Monday at its annual shareholders meeting, raising the Little Rock company's board membership to 16 and increasing its female board membership to 25 percent.

After that shareholder vote and three others, company Chairman and CEO George Gleason presented a review of the company's 2016 performance and a look at 2017 based on its first-quarter performance. 

"We expect another year of excellent growth," he told shareholders, meeting at the Capital Hotel in downtown Little Rock.

The new board member is Kathleen Franklin, the global ethics and compliance strategy leader for Sony Group. Before joining Sony, Franklin was a partner in the law firm of Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP of New York where she advised clients on issues relating to mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, corporate governance and crisis management. She also is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

At the meeting, shareholders also approved a change to the company's nonemployee director stock plan to increase the amount of equity compensation and the number of shares available under the plan. The board recommended the change after a study by a compensation consultant found that Bank of the Ozarks' stock compensation paid to its nonemployee directors ranked below the 20th percentile for its peer group.

The annual grant was raised from shares of common stock worth $35,000 to an annual grant of shares worth $50,000. The number of shares reserved for the awards was increased from 50,000 to 100,000.

The shareholders also approved the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent auditors for the company and approved Bank of the Ozarks' executive officers' compensation.

Top Performer

In his presentation to shareholders, Gleason noted that Bank of the Ozarks had been named the No. 1 performer in its size group for the past seven years by industry observers like the ABA Banking Journal, S&P Global Market Intelligence and Bank Director Magazine.

And in S&P Global Market Intelligence's 2016 regional bank performance ranking, Bank of the Ozarks came in at No. 1. S&P Global Market Intelligence ranked banks on six financial metrics: return on average tangible common equity, net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans, adjusted Texas ratio, efficiency ratio, net interest margin and loan growth.

In April, Bank of the Ozarks reported that net income for the first quarter was a record $89.2 million, up 73 percent from the same quarter last year. Total assets as of the quarter's end were $19.2 billion.

The company nearly doubled its assets last year, to almost $19 billion, by acquiring Community & Southern Bank of Atlanta and C1 Bank of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Gleason pointed in particular to the bank's asset quality and efficiency ratio (the amount of overhead required to produce $1 of revenue). Its asset quality is 65 percent better than the industry average, he said, and its efficiency ratio in 2016 was 35.8, with a 35 ratio for the first quarter of 2017. Gleason said the bank was working to drive its efficiency ratio over the next few years to 30, or 30 cents spent for every $1 in revenue.

Bank of the Ozarks operates in more than 40 states and as of April 11, had 250 offices in nine states.

Gleason also noted that the company would be celebrating its 20th anniversary as a public company on July 17. Bank of the Ozarks has delivered on returns to shareholders, he said, having increased cash dividends every year since going public. And its compound annual growth rate of 22.73 percent since its debut as a public company has far exceeded market indexes, such as the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index (10.66 percent) and the Nasdaq Financial Index (4.63 percent), he said.

The U.S. Treasury Department purchased 344,577 shares of stock in One Bank & Trust at a sale conducted in Washington on Monday, the bank's CEO announced.

Jerry Pavlas, the CEO, gave no details of the sale in a release issued Monday afternoon, and a spokesman for the bank's federal regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, was not immediately available.

As Arkansas Business reported last week, the Treasury had a potential credit bid of up to $47.9 million, which was the balance of a triple-damages judgement tied to a TARP funding fraud claim. The shares represent a 99 percent stake in the bank, which brands itself as Onebanc, where equity capital declined from $12 million as of Dec. 31 to $10.4 million on March 31. 

Assets stood at $298.5 million at the end of the first quarter.

"The sale is another positive development for the Bank and no customers or vendors should be concerned by this latest step in the legal process," Pavlas said in a news release. "Nothing about the sale of this stock affects Onebanc's daily operations, employment or services to our customers or community.

"The sale was conducted in full cooperation with the U.S. Treasury and the Bank's regulators in order to provide absolute certainty to the Federal government's legal standing as the majority owner of the Bank. Resolving the issue of ownership released Onebanc from the burdens of the holding company liabilities and was critical to the Bank's recapitalization. 

"The sale was necessary in bringing closure to the complex issues created by the fraudulent acts of former Onebanc owners, executives and senior management that were revealed during the change in management and the completion of the forensic accounting audit."

As we quickly approach the halfway point of the year, what can you say you’re doing to bolster your business’ potential in 2017? The future looks bright — job growth is steady and consumer spending is rising. The National Federation of Independent Business reported higher overall optimism in the market; its findings were based on ratings related to business factors including it being a good time to expand and plans to increase employment (NFIB Small Business Economic Trends, February 2017). 

So what can you do to work toward enhancing your business? Running through a proactive assessment list can help you identify opportunities for growth.

Cost Savings and Expense Monitoring

In the spirit of working smarter, not harder, an essential business function is keeping an eye on the bottom line and using financial tools to manage expenses. You probably already have vendors providing point of sale, banking, accounting or expense platforms to run your daily operations, but are there any specific capabilities they offer that you aren’t taking advantage of? If you have to pay for this with your current provider, is there another vendor that offers those capabilities for free?

For example, many commercial credit cards offer budgeting or spending analysis tools you can leverage to get a better look at your finances. You could have access to an annual summary statement that itemizes and categorizes all transactions, even to the merchant level. This allows you to quickly see type of spending and category percentages to better monitor your budget. There are also tools to help you restrict spending or add users in real time on your accounts. 

Look into streamlining your spending accounts to save time. If you have multiple business credit card accounts, take a look at which one offers you the best rates and rewards and consolidate. And many offer free balance transfers. 

Are there loyalty or rewards programs that give you bonuses, free products, services or even cash back for your business? You probably have many of the same typical expenses monthly. Choose selectively where you spend, as well as what form of payment you use to maximize earnings. 

Competitive Analysis

It’s important to be aware of who and how many you are competing with for market share, what they offer comparatively and how they reach their customer. How does your business stack up to them, and what can you do better or differently to set your business apart? It’s all about keeping your business relevant and therefore driving interest and sales.

Perhaps you can’t be the leader, but you can set your products or services apart as a niche winner in your industry space. Maybe you don’t have every single product type or Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) the big box store down the street has, but you provide the best quality, unique independent vendor offerings or excellent individualized customer service otherwise unavailable. Specialization after competitive analysis could bring your business major revenue.

Tools and Trends Usage

There will always be something shiny and new claiming to help you better run your business; it’s important to be selective on which are worth the investment of your time and/or money. Below is a small sample of online tools applicable to just about any type of business. Most are either free or offer trial versions to test before you commit.

In today’s world, you don’t exist (especially to millennials) if you don’t show up in an online search. What is your online presence?

• Website builder: Wordpress, Wix, Weebly, Jimdo, Yola 
• Social media: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn
• Reviews and search: Yelp, Zomato, Google business listing (search and maps)

What about the tools you can use to help you create content and streamline professional marketing for your business?

• Manage and schedule social media: Hootsuite, Everypost, Buffer
• Graphics (flyers, social media images, newsletters, etc.): Canva, Piktochart
• Survey customers or co-workers: Survey Monkey, Survey Gizmo, Google Forms

How can you more effectively collaborate and communicate? 

• File sharing: Google Drive, Dropbox
• Video conferencing: Skype, Google Hangouts, Cisco Webex
• Project management: Trello, Asana, Freedcamp

Anytime you can shave off unnecessary expenses and streamline your internal business processes, you make an impact for the success of your business. For more information on small business planning and lending, visit the Arvest Business Resource Center at www.ArvestBiz.com. 

Chris Thyer, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, has joined Centennial Bank as a senior vice president in the bank's trust department.

Davy Carter, a regional president for the bank, announced the hire Wednesday. He said Thyer will work closely with the department's manager, Steve Baker, "over the next year as Baker prepares for retirement."  

"We are very fortunate for the tremendous leadership that Baker has provided our trust department, which currently manages nearly $500 million in assets," Carter said in a news release. "We will miss him dearly. 

"We are equally blessed to have Baker and Thyer working closely together over the coming year to effectuate a smooth transition. We look forward to the continuing growth and success of the trust department under Thyer's leadership."

Thyer, an Obama appointee who came to office in 2011, resigned in March as President Trump requested of all the U.S. Attorneys inherited from the Obama administration. No permanent replacements for the vacancies have been nominated.

In addition being U.S. attorney, Thyer previously served in the state House of Representatives, representing part of Jonesboro and Craighead County. He has practiced law in Jonesboro for more than 20 years. 

Thyer's wife, Cindy, is a circuit judge in the Second Judicial District.

Centennial Bank is part of publicly traded Home BancShares Inc. of Conway (Nasdaq: HOMB).

A 35,520-SF office building in west Little Rock weighed in at $3.25 million.

Normandy Place LLC, led by Max Mehlburger, purchased the Markham Executive Center at 10201 W. Markham St. The seller is Security Plan Life Insurance Co. of Donaldsonville, Louisiana.

The deal is financed with a 21-year loan of $1.76 million from BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The 1.93-acre development was bought in October 2008 as part of the $8 million acquisition of Ozark National Life Insurance Co. by the parent company of Security Plan Life, Citizens Inc. of Austin, Texas.

Meadowcrest Purchase
A 122-unit apartment project in southwest Little Rock tipped the scales at $2.8 million.

Meadowcrest Apartments LLC, led by Don Marshall Jr., sold its namesake complex at 5315 Stanley Drive to Colonial Park RBG LLC of West Plains, Missouri.

The deal is funded with a five-year loan of $2.2 million from Arvest Bank of Fayetteville. The 7.57-acre development previously was tied to a June 2010 mortgage of $2.3 million held by One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The property was assembled in four transactions totaling more than $1 million.

The sellers were Zato Investments Ltd., led by Michael Rushin, $1 million in October 2003; Mahmood Qadri and Zohra Sharief, $48,000 in December 2003; Oldner Real Estate Management Inc., led by John Oldner, $15,000 in February 2004; and Habitat for Humanity of Saline County Arkansas Inc., led by Donna Bosley, $12,000 in March 2004.

Dollar Deal
A Dollar General Store in Little Rock is under new ownership after a $1.22 million transaction.

GRT Little Rock DG LLC of San Rafael, California, bought the 9,360-SF store at 4748 Springer Blvd. from Rosebud Springer LLC of Huntington Beach, California.

The 1.02-acre development previously was linked with a December 2014 mortgage of $720,000 held by Arvest Bank.

The project was purchased for $1.2 million in December 2014 from PB General Holdings (Springer) LLC, led by Leonard Boen.

Tandem Foreclosures
A pair of Little Rock retail projects changed hands in foreclosure sales totaling $985,000.

YN Investments LLC, led by Murad Mandani, acquired the 15,460-SF South Park Center at 7515 Geyer Springs Road for $640,000 and a 3,016-SF project at 10507 Stagecoach Road for $345,000.

The properties were owned by RWL Investments LLC, led by Ron Lazenby.

The 1.81-acre South Park development previously helped secure an April 2014 mortgage of $3.1 million held by First Community Bank of Eastern Arkansas in Marion and a July 2014 mortgage of $640,000 held by Centennial Bank of Conway.

The property was purchased for $424,000 in January 2001 from Whitestone Investment Group of Los Angeles.

The 0.69-acre Stagecoach development previously secured a March 2013 mortgage of $500,000 held by Centennial Bank.

The location was bought for $160,000 in March 2013 from RJ Properties LLC, led by Douglas and David Hendrix.

Retail Transaction
A 15,453-SF retail center in North Little Rock rang up a $950,000 sale.

Gosen LLC, led by Joseph Minkyu Park, purchased the Family Dollar Store, Subway and New World Beauty project at 4202-04 Camp Robinson Road.

The seller is James Family Properties LLLP, led by Judith Scherer.

The deal is backed with a 20-year loan of $760,000 from BancorpSouth Bank.

The 1.52-acre location was acquired for $230,000 in November 2003 from Fleming Cos. Inc. of Oklahoma City.

School Sale
A former elementary school in North Little Rock drew a $530,000 transaction.

I-40 Kerr LLC, led by Byron McKimmey, bought the Park Hill Elementary project at 3801 JFK Blvd. from the North Little Rock School District.

The 5.27-acre property was assembled in two transactions with Justin and Agnes Matthews for “the minimum legal consideration” of $1 in September 1924 and his Metropolitan Trust Co., $30,000 in May 1951.

Commercial Land
A 4.61-acre commercial site in North Little Rock sold for $425,000.

Richardson Properties LLC, led by Keith Richardson, acquired sole ownership of the land on the south side of 9300 Maumelle Blvd.

The seller is MGY LLC, led by Marc Yelenich.

The property was bought through RichMarc Development LLC in January 2002 for $215,000.

The sellers were Nancy and Robert Lott, Carlos Robinson Jr. and his wife, Thressi, McKinley and Sansanee Robinson, Ruben and Joyce Robinson, Arthur and Margaret Ellison Hubert, Treopia Bryant and Elsie Dodson.

Estates Home
A 4,330-SF home in the Somersett Estates neighborhood of west Pulaski County is under new ownership after a $730,000 deal.

Christie and Deno Grumbos purchased the property from Stuart and Mitzi Miller.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $424,100 from Arvest Bank.

The 5-acre residential spread previously was tied to a June 2015 mortgage of $484,380 held by BancorpSouth Bank.

The location was acquired for $75,000 in February 2013 from Joey and Brandy Rhodes.

Mirabel Residence
A 3,700-SF home in the Mirabel Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development changed hands in a $534,900 transaction.

Maroun and Kay Farah bought the house from Randy James Construction Co. The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $418,410 from NFTN Inc. of Lewisville, Texas.

The residence previously was linked with a June 2016 mortgage of $368,000 held by First Security Bank of Searcy.

The location was purchased for $87,000 11 months ago from Crain Family Holdings LLC, led by Larry Crain Jr.

Chimney Rock House
A 5,280-SF home in Sherwood’s Chimney Rock neighborhood rang up a $525,000 sale.

Carl and Mary Peterson acquired the house from the Roby & Tonya Lambert Family Trust.

The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $420,000 from IberiaBank of Lafayette, Louisiana.

The residence was bought for $735,000 in September 2005 from Jason and Ginger Ford.

Woodland’s Dwelling
A 3,485-SF home in the Woodland’s Edge neighborhood of west Little Rock drew a $508,000 transaction.

David and Amelia Bardwell purchased the house from River Rock Builders LLC, led by Keith Wingfield. The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $457,149 from Wells Fargo Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The residence previously was tied to an April 2016 mortgage of $392,000 held by BancorpSouth Bank.

River Rock acquired the location for $72,000 in January 2015 from Rocket Properties LLC, led by Ron Tyne and Lisenne Rockefeller.

Seven-Digit Construction

Kroger Remodel    $3,432,386
2509 McCain Blvd., North Little Rock
CDI Contractors LLC, Little Rock
 
Collision Center Remodeling    $1,945,000
10005 Col. Glenn Road, Little Rock
ITR Construction LLC, North Little Rock
 
New Home    $1,050,000
13900 Beau Vue Drive, Little Rock
Parkinson Building Group Inc., Little Rock

Samuel “Tanner” McKnight, Seth Parsley and John David Sonnier have been promoted to bank assistant examiner at the Arkansas State Bank Department.

McKnight and Parsley work out of the department’s field office in Jonesboro, while Sonnier is assigned to one of two groups based in Little Rock.

Having previously performed tasks as a bank assistant examiner under supervision, they are now given the responsibility for the position of assistant examiner in charge on a regular basis.

Mitchell Beggs has joined Edward Jones in Little Rock as a financial adviser. He was previously a sales adviser for Drivetime in North Little Rock.

Wes Womack has been hired as vice president and commercial lender in the Arkansas region lending division at First National Bankers Bank in Little Rock.

He previously was vice president and a commercial lending officer at BancorpSouth Bank in Little Rock.

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff said Monday that it completed its acquisition of Hardeman County Investment Co. Inc. of Jackson, Tennessee, a deal that includes Hardeman's wholly owned bank subsidiary, First South Bank.

Simmons (Nasdaq: SFNC), the parent company of Simmons Bank, announced the deal in November. At the time, the transaction was valued at $72.2 million.

"First South Bank is a natural addition to our growing footprint," George A. Makris, Jr., Simmons' chairman and CEO, said in a news release. "First South and Simmons have similar cultures and operating styles, and together, we have a strong presence in western Tennessee. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers in this region with our combined product and service offerings."

The deal means Simmons now has about $9.1 billion in assets, $6 billion in loans and $7.2 billion in deposits. The company has 2,000 employees and more than 150 branches across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.

Simmons said First South Bank will continue as a separate bank subsidiary of Simmons until it is merged into Simmons Bank. The conversion is scheduled for completion Sept. 5.

The Texas podiatrist who wants to buy the hotel and convention center on the Arkansas side of Texarkana out of bankruptcy asked a judge to reconsider the denial of some tax incentives tied to the project.

The potential buyer, Dr. James J. Naples, entered into a $6.6 million purchase agreement with Dr. Hiren Patel, who owns the Holiday Inn and Arkansas Convention Center through his Texarkana Hotels LLC, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

If Naples buys the property, he wants the city of Texarkana’s Advertising & Promotion Commission pledge to pay $150,000 annually for 15 years to continue.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brenda T. Rhoades approved the sale of the property last month, but most of the tax incentives, which total nearly $500,000 per year, aren’t going to continue with the new owner. That includes the A&P’s $150,000.

Rhoades ruled that the agreement with the A&P could not be assumed by Texarkana Hotels and transferred to Naples.

Naples argued in his court filing last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas that there is nothing in Arkansas law that prevents the assignment of the A&P incentive.

The attorney representing Naples, Mark Weisbart of Dallas, didn’t immediately return a call for comment.

A hearing on the motion has not been scheduled.

If the deal with Naples falls apart, the backup buyer for the Holiday Inn and Arkansas Convention Center is MidSouth Bank of Lafayette, Louisiana, which said Patel’s company defaulted on $10 million in loans.

Texarkana Hotels filed for bankruptcy in March 2016. It listed $10.6 million in debts and $5.2 million in assets.

The ranch wrangling continues in Conway.

That would be the legal tussling over a ranch-and-restaurant complex that led to foreclosure proceedings against Joanie White-Wagoner, administrator and vice president of Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway.

A lawyer for White-Wagoner and her husband, Darren Wagoner, who are accused by Centennial Bank of defaulting on a $2.5 million mortgage and other loans, said in a statement to Arkansas Business on Thursday that his clients are the victims of fraud by the previous owner, Letitia McMaster.

Attorney Beau Wilcox of Conway said that financial data provided by McMaster before the sale was inaccurate, and “was in fact manipulated to mislead and induce them into the purchase” of the 45-acre Back Achers Ranch and Legends Bar & Grill on College Avenue, which includes a 47,000-SF arena and a house on nearby Shock Loop.

Wilcox said the business ventures were already failing before the sale, and that misrepresentations by McMaster constitute “outright fraud.”

In an April 27 motion in Faulkner County Circuit Court, Wilcox said the Wagoners had filed a third-party complaint against McMaster alleging fraud and breach of contract.

He asked the court to order Centennial to amend its complaint to include McMaster as a defendant. The bank responded that it had no obligation to do so, and that it had seen no evidence of fraud.

In a filing last week, McMaster’s attorney, Otto R. Fry, said she had “not breached the contractual agreement in any manner,” and that the “allegations of fraud and misrepresentation are wholly without merit and should be dismissed.”

Fry also claimed that the Wagoners had defaulted on a separate promissory note to McMaster, failing to make a single $409 monthly payment on the note’s $62,000 debt.

‘Eager to Foist the Loan’
Wilcox said that Centennial, which filed its original lawsuit on Dec. 29, seven months after the Wagoners assumed McMaster’s mortgage, was also misled and defrauded.

But, Wilcox said, “the bank continued to modify loans to the prior owner based on misinformation, and then when my clients took over, the bank was overly eager to foist the loan onto them and then foreclose quickly when things went sour.”

McMaster did not respond to a phone message before press time Thursday.

Attorney Vaughan Hankins of Sherwood, representing Centennial, confirmed that the bank has requested a trial date on the foreclosure and said the Wagoners had “surrendered the property.”

Wilcox characterized the Wagoners as honorable and intelligent people who were “victimized in this ordeal.” They had agreed for the bank to take possession of the property to secure it for a possible sale.

Buyer interest is high, he said, but “obviously it is an expensive and unique piece of property” with a “limited range of possible investors.”

In other filings, the Wagoners confirmed that they have moved off the property.

Wilcox said his clients had tried to work with Centennial, “but to be frank, we are disappointed that they have chosen to so aggressively pursue my clients.”

The bank says the Wagoners, who were operating as Inception Management Group LLC, have not made a payment since late September.

Joanie White-Wagoner, who managed a Texas hospital before moving to Arkansas in 2016, has run Baptist’s hospital in Conway since its opening in September.

WASHINGTON — U.S. household debt reached a record high in the first three months of this year, topping the previous peak reached in 2008, when the financial crisis plunged the economy into a deep recession.

Americans have stepped up borrowing over the past three years, yet the nature of what Americans owe has changed since the Great Recession. Student and auto loans make up a larger proportion of household debt, while mortgages — the epicenter of the financial crisis — and credit card debt remain below pre-recession levels. Those changes suggest households are still cautious about taking on debt to fuel day-to-day consumption.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday that household debt, which also includes home equity lines of credit, stood at $12.73 trillion in the first quarter. That's above the $12.68 trillion outstanding in the fall of 2008, the previous record. The figure isn't adjusted for inflation or population size.

Even with debt levels back to record heights, analysts note that household borrowing appears more sustainable now than it did nearly a decade ago. Interest rates are lower, and lenders are much more focused on credit-worthy borrowers.

"This record debt level is neither a reason to celebrate nor a cause for alarm," Donghoon Lee, research officer at the New York Fed said. "The debt and its borrowers look quite different today."

Measured as a percentage of the overall U.S. economy, household debt is still smaller than in 2008. It is equivalent to 67 percent of the economy now, compared with 85 percent nine years ago.

Americans also appear to be better able to handle the loans they've taken out. The percentage of all household debt that is seriously delinquent — meaning payments are 90 days or more overdue — is 3.4 percent. That's down from the post-recession peak of 8.7 percent in early 2010.

Just 203,000 Americans declared bankruptcy in the first three months of this year, the lowest in the 18 years that the New York Fed has tracked the data.

Still, there were some areas of concern. Auto loans have ballooned 44 percent to $1.17 trillion since the last peak in household debt nine years ago. And a greater percentage of those loans have fallen 90 days or more overdue: 3.8 percent now, up from 3.3 percent two years ago. Still, that's down from a recent peak of 5.3 percent in late 2010.

Student loans are also a potential trouble spot: They topped $1.3 trillion in the first quarter, soaring by 120 percent since 2008. Nearly 11 percent of that debt is 90 days overdue or more. The Fed estimates that the true figure could be double that amount, because many borrowers are able to defer loan payments while they continue their studies or if they are unemployed.

Danny Shepelow and his girlfriend reflect the new credit profile of many Americans, particularly younger ones. They are both in their early 30s.

The couple rents an apartment in Atlanta and pays off their credit cards every month. They have thought about buying a home but are holding off, despite earning a combined income of about $130,000.

They are also carrying more than $175,000 in student loan debt between them, requiring $1,100 in monthly payments.

Shepelow, who works in digital marketing, says he is skeptical about the value of a home as an investment. The home he grew up in fell sharply in value during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

"I saw my parents sitting on a house they couldn't sell, and when they did, getting three-fourths what it was worth a year earlier," he said.

Overall, more debt is now held by older and more credit-worthy Americans, which should make defaults less likely. Older households generally have higher incomes and wealth than younger ones.

Americans aged 60 and older hold 22.5 percent of all loans, up from 16 percent in 2008, the New York Fed said in a separate presentation in April.

The shift has been particularly dramatic in the case of mortgages, which have become much harder to obtain for Americans with lower credit scores. Loans to "subprime" borrowers, or those with lower credit scores, fueled much of the housing bubble.

Nearly 61 percent of new mortgages in the first quarter went to borrowers with credit scores of 760 or higher, according to the New York Fed's report. That's up from just 36 percent in 2008. Only about a third of Americans have a score that high.

Homeownership rates have fallen from a peak of 69 percent in 2005, during the housing bubble, to 63.6 percent now. That's kept total mortgage debt below pre-recession levels: There was $8.6 trillion outstanding in the first quarter compared with $9.3 trillion in 2008. Credit card balances are also lower than nine years ago, the Fed said.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)