If you are shopping an SBA 7(a) or conventional commercial loan in Arkansas, the bank you call first matters more than most borrowers think. A lender that already writes a lot of commercial credit and sits in your state is structurally likelier to say yes than a national name passing through. This page ranks the Arkansas-headquartered banks doing the most commercial lending right now, using public Q2 2026 FFIEC call-report data. It is the open-book version of what the paid report does with far more inputs.
Arkansas punches above its size in banking, thanks to a cluster of ambitious Little Rock and northwest-corner lenders that grew up alongside the state's retail and logistics giants.
The 15 most active commercial lenders in Arkansas
Ranked by commercial and industrial (C&I) loans outstanding, Q2 2026. Bank names link to the live BankingLens scorecard.
| # | Bank | City | Assets | C&I share | ROA | Fit notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bank Ozk | Little Rock | $41.7B | 14.1% | 1.60% | Large multi-state regional, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Top sectors funded in AR: Accommodation/Food Service (5 loans), Arts & Recreation (4 loans) |
| 2 | Arvest Bank | Fayetteville | $28.1B | 15.1% | 0.55% | Large regional lender, a steady commercial book. Top sectors funded in AR: Construction (18 loans), Accommodation/Food Service (17 loans) |
| 3 | Centennial Bank | Conway | $24.6B | 13.1% | 2.11% | Large multi-state regional, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 13% YoY. Top sectors funded in AR: Accommodation/Food Service (2 loans) |
| 4 | Simmons Bank | Pine Bluff | $24.7B | 11.9% | 1.21% | Large regional lender, a modest C&I share. CRE-heavy book. Top sectors funded in AR: Accommodation/Food Service (3 loans), Other Services (3 loans) |
| 5 | First Security Bank | Searcy | $8.6B | 17.7% | 1.85% | Mid-size regional, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Top sectors funded in AR: Accommodation/Food Service (8 loans), Health Care (8 loans) |
| 6 | Encore Bank | Little Rock | $3.7B | 21.5% | 0.37% | Regional commercial bank, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 7 | First Community Bank | Batesville | $3.6B | 15.6% | 1.31% | Mid-size regional, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 12% YoY. |
| 8 | Farmers Bank & Trust Company | Magnolia | $3.2B | 14.8% | 1.45% | Regional commercial bank, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 9 | Evolve Bank & Trust | West Memphis | $1.2B | 25.8% | -0.14% | Community bank, an active C&I book. Thin current returns. |
| 10 | Central Bank | Little Rock | $955M | 28.2% | 1.10% | Small local lender, an active C&I book. CRE-heavy book. Loan book up 19% YoY. |
| 11 | First Arkansas Bank and Trust | Jacksonville | $1.1B | 28.8% | 1.61% | Community bank, an active C&I book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. |
| 12 | Relyance Bank | White Hall | $1.4B | 18.8% | 1.22% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. CRE-heavy book. |
| 13 | The Citizens Bank | Batesville | $1.6B | 14.7% | 1.54% | Community bank, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. |
| 14 | Chambers Bank | Danville | $1.6B | 15.9% | 1.77% | Local commercial lender, a steady commercial book. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. Loan book up 8% YoY. |
| 15 | The First National Bank of Fort Smith | Fort Smith | $2.3B | 10.8% | 2.04% | Community bank, a modest C&I share. Return on assets above 1.5 percent. |
Assets and ratios are Q2 2026 FFIEC call-report figures. ROA is annualized return on assets. A bank's headquarters city is shown; many lend statewide and beyond.
C&I lending muscle, ranked
Commercial and industrial loans outstanding for the top 10 Arkansas-HQ lenders, Q2 2026. This is the single number our ranking leans on hardest.
How we ranked these
Four steps, all of them transparent. First, we took every bank headquartered in Arkansas. Second, a capacity floor: we dropped every Arkansas-headquartered bank under $500M in total assets, because a smaller balance sheet rarely anchors a primary SBA 7(a) relationship. Third, an active-originator floor: we kept only banks whose commercial and industrial (C&I) loans are at least 10 percent of the loan book (a bank that is 90 percent home mortgages is not your SBA lender, regardless of size). Of the banks clearing both floors, 22 made the active list. Fourth, we ranked them by C&I loan dollars outstanding, which already blends balance-sheet size with how committed a bank is to commercial credit, and kept the top 15. Where the call report reports it, the fit notes also flag year-over-year loan-book growth as a rough read on whether a bank is leaning into lending or pulling back; the FFIEC filing does not break out SBA or C&I growth on its own, so treat that as directional, not precise.
Smaller banks may also fund your loan but rank below the active list.
The SBA section below ranks separately: it counts the SBA 7(a) and 504 loans each lender actually made in Arkansas, from SBA's own loan data, whatever state the lender is based in.
This table is an honest, simplified proxy. The call report does not show a bank's SBA volume or its appetite for your industry; the SBA section shows volume, but not which lender fits your deal. The $49 Borrower Assist report folds all of that in and ranks against your specific deal, not just your state. That is the part worth paying for.
Most active SBA lenders in Arkansas
The lenders that made the most SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to Arkansas businesses, federal fiscal year 2023 through June 30, 2026, counted from SBA's own loan-level data. National SBA platforms appear next to Arkansas's own banks because they lend here too.
103 SBA loans in Arkansas, $35.6M in total. Most often: Construction, Accommodation/Food Service.
80 SBA loans in Arkansas, $66.8M in total. Most often: Agriculture, Construction.
78 SBA loans in Arkansas, $49.2M in total. Most often: Health Care, Agriculture.
76 SBA loans in Arkansas, $5.2M in total. Most often: Construction, Other Services.
61 SBA loans in Arkansas, $82.7M in total. Most often: Agriculture, Retail Trade.
48 SBA loans in Arkansas, $22.4M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Construction.
40 SBA loans in Arkansas, $24.7M in total. Most often: Other Services, Retail Trade.
39 SBA loans in Arkansas, $15.4M in total. Most often: Accommodation/Food Service, Health Care.
37 SBA loans in Arkansas, $10.0M in total. Most often: Health Care, Other Services.
36 SBA loans in Arkansas, $19.7M in total. Most often: Construction, Professional Services.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 loan data, refreshed monthly. Ranked by number of loans. Lenders that have since merged count toward the bank that acquired them.
What Arkansas looks like for a borrower
Arkansas punches above its size in banking, thanks to a cluster of ambitious Little Rock and northwest-corner lenders that grew up alongside the state's retail and logistics giants.
Across 78 Arkansas-headquartered banks sits $184.5B in total assets, anchored by Bank Ozk in Little Rock at $41.7B. Half the state's lenders hold more than 10.8% of their loans in C&I, half less; the ranking below pulls the most commercial-heavy to the top.
None of that tells you which of these banks will fund your specific deal. A $400,000 restaurant acquisition and a $4M owner-occupied warehouse purchase have different optimal lender lists even in the same state, and the ranking above does not split by loan size, industry, or collateral. Treat it as your starting shortlist, not your final answer.
How to use this list
- Start with the bank near you that has the strongest commercial profile, not just the closest branch. A lender with a real C&I book understands your deal faster.
- Ask for the SBA or commercial lending group directly. The general line routes business deals slowly.
- Have a one-page summary ready: use of funds, cash flow, collateral, owner credit, timeline. Banks decide whether to engage in the first ninety seconds.
- Run two banks in parallel, not five. Two real conversations close a loan; five waste everyone's time.
Hero photo: The Atlanta skyline by Lance Asper on Unsplash, used here as a regional editorial image for Arkansas.