By Amy Widner
Stephens Media

PINE BLUFF — Simmons First National Corp. announced today it will close nine Arkansas branches.

The Pine Bluff-based company said it will close financial centers in Altus, Cherokee Village, El Dorado, Gould, Grady, Hector, Huttig, Jonesboro and Leslie — all underperforming operations with little realistic expectations for reversing the decline.

“These particular locations just don’t have the documented demand, the traffic that we expect to see, nor did we have the expected growth in those protracted markets,” Chairman and CEO Tommy May said. “These closures … may be more than we’ve done at any one time. It is not out of the ordinary for a financial institution to (take action) to be as efficient as we can be.”

The closings will leave Simmons First with 79 offices, of which 75 are financial centers, in 40 communities.

The company said it would find a position in the company for every employee at a branch that closes.

Simmon First has had five closures and opened 13 new locations in the past five years.

May said the decision to close the nine branches is unrelated to Simmons’ capital-raising campaign last fall and subsequent announcement that the company will consider acquiring so-called “failed” banks taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

As a result of the campaign, Simmons announced it would consider acquiring banks outside of Arkansas, which would expand Simmons beyond state borders for the first time in its 107-year-old history.

Although the decision announced today was a matter of location profitability, other factors such as staff, building upkeep and geographical location were considered in the location-selection process, which has taken place over the last few months, said Executive Vice President Marty D. Casteel.

“We have branch facilities in the proximity of those locations where those customers will be able to continue to bank with Simmons First,” May added.