Bank exec appointed adviser to U.S. entity
Southern Bancorp Inc. chief executive Darrin Williams has been appointed by President Joe Biden to the 15-member board that advises the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
"As the leader of one of America's original and oldest CDFIs, serving rural and urban communities in the Mid-South, I look forward to ensuring that our customers' stories and perspectives are heard during the development of policies affecting them," Williams said in a statement.
The advisory board's 15 members include the secretaries of the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Interior and Treasury, and the Small Business Administration's leader. It includes nine private citizens appointed by the president.
The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund encourages public-private partnerships and provides financial support for lenders generating economic growth and opportunity in distressed communities.
Southern Bancorp Bank and Southern Bancorp Community Partners have $1.9 billion in assets with 52 sites in Arkansas and Mississippi.
-- Andrew Moreau
Apartments in NLR fetch $22M in sale
A 12.73-acre apartment development in North Little Rock has sold for $22 million.
The White Oak Apartments was acquired by White Oak Equity Enterprises, a limited liability company organized by William Gacioch, owner and founder of National Property Management Associates, a company in Orchard Park, N.Y.
The 192-unit complex at 10701 Burkhalter Haas Drive was built in 2014 for $10 million. The property is appraised at $13.5 million.
The seller was White Oak Apartments LLC, registered and organized by Walter Ebel III, a partner with the Little Rock law firm of Friday, Eldredge & Clark.
The development is the fourth acquired by National Property Management Associates in Central Arkansas in the past two years. In 2019, three companies associated with the firm acquired Westside Creek, a 308-unit complex at 4710 Sam Peck Road; and the 260-unit Calais Forest and the 240-unit Napa Valley. A little more than $70 million changed hands.
-- Noel Oman
Up 7.18, state index ends day at 666.15
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 666.15, up 7.18.
"Equities closed relatively unchanged with the materials and energy sectors lower in advance of the quadruple witch option expiration [today] as strong retail sales data for August reported pre-open revived discussions of a Federal Reserve taper," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.