The CEO of Southern Bancorp said its name change to Uplift Bank better captures the mission of the financial institution as it grows its footprint to the Midwest and beyond.
“This truly is just a renaming. It’s not a full rebrand,” said CEO Darrin Williams. “For years, Southern has been a mission-focused bank, serving underserved people, places, and communities as a community development fund institution, but our name never matched our mission.”
“So Uplift Bank we think really signifies and shows who we are because that’s our focus. We are wealth builders for everyone. It’s about uplifting the communities and people that we serve, and we wanted a name to match our purpose,” Williams added.
Founded in 1986, Little Rock-based Southern Bancorp is a community development financial institution (CDFI) that does business in Glenwood and other parts of rural Arkansas.
A CDFI provides financial services to low-income and under-resourced communities with a slightly different charter and requirements than other banks. Some of its investors include more traditional banks, such as Pine Bluff-based Simmons First.
A year ago, Southern Bancorp announced its acquisition of Legacy Bank in Missouri, also a CDFI.
The acquisition will expand Southern Bancorp’s footprint and expand its asset size to nearly $5 billion. Legacy Bank operates in locations across Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, with a staff of nearly 200.
Williams said the name change to Uplift Bank will take several months to complete and will start in Missouri with the Legacy properties.
“We’re going to go slow. In Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma, they won’t go from Legacy to Southern to Uplift. They will go from Legacy straight to Uplift,” said Williams. “Then in our Arkansas and Mississippi markets, you’ll see us starting the change toward the end of this year.”
Williams said current economic conditions are seeing some customers slow down in their payments on debt, while others are having a banner year.
“Affordability is the issue, right? That’s the challenge. We see some of that and it’s kind of a have and have nots. Many of our business customers are doing better than they’ve ever done before… then there are some that are struggling to put food on the table and filling up the gas tank,” he said. “We’re going to help them. We’re going to give them time. We’re going to work with them. We’re going to provide them financial education, counseling, and support to help them make it through this time.”
Williams has hope that new federal housing legislation could be a tailwind to help the economy, customers and the communities that Southern serves.
The bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act, which went into law last month without President Trump’s signature, streamlines federal processes and modernizes programs, supports manufactured housing, and boosts veteran housing access. The new law, which was co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, offers more money and incentives, new zoning and land use policies, and faster regulatory approval of changes tied to housing.
“It’s probably the most impactful housing legislation in the last 30-40 years and it’s going to actually help families access home ownership and help expand multi-family housing,” Williams said.
He noted the law also makes permanent the low-income housing tax credit (LITC) program.
“These are programs that allow developers to use tax credits to build safe and affordable housing. That’s going to really help the work that we do,” he said.
