Mission News Fall 2014

MISSION NEWSFA L L 2 0 1 4

Larry Denson of Hoffinger Industries. Watch their video on page 11.

From our LeadershipSouthern Highlights..... One Southern. One Mission.

..... Growing Our Impact

..... Creating Jobs

..... Leadership Changes

Banking on a MissionEmployee SpotlightIn the News

Table of CONTENTS

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From our LEADERSHIP

Darrin WilliamsSouthern Bancorp, Inc. CEO

It’s an exciting time for Southern Bancorp. In communities

around the South, we are actively helping build net worth

through an array of products and services that meet the unique financial needs

required of today’s rural businesses and families.

Our community investment projects are contributing to sustainable job

creation in some of the country’s most impoverished regions, and our

innovative approaches to banking in rural America are garnering national

attention.

Through two recent acquisitions, we’re also growing our footprint. As a

Community Development Financial Institution, our mission is to create

economic opportunity in underserved areas, and our entrance into two new

Delta communities, one on each side of the Mississippi River, reflects that.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading about these and other recent events at Southern

and consider joining us in our endeavors. Rural Americans are working hard

to create economic opportunities, and we are looking for impact investment

partners who want to help them.

- Darrin Williams

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One Southern. One Mission.Most of Southern Bancorp’s customers probably never realize that the Southern

organization is made up of more than just a bank. Southern is in fact three

distinct Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) working

together around one mission: to create economic opportunity in rural America.

The Southern family is made up of Southern Bancorp, Inc., which is the holding

company that works hand in hand with both Southern Bancorp Bank, a full-

service community bank providing responsible and responsive financial services

to our communities, and Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3)

financial development partner that provides counseling, asset-building, lending

and public policy advocacy in support of our mission. Working together, these

entities are uniquely qualified to help lift up entire communities and put them on

a strong financial track.

As you might imagine, having a unique structure like ours requires education,

both outside our organization as well as inside. That’s why during the summer

Southern HIGHLIGHTS

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of 2014, Southern’s CEO, Darrin Williams, traveled across our markets to meet

with employees in order to energize and strengthen our own knowledge of the

Southern organization. This campaign is called One Southern. One Mission.,

because the central reminder is that regardless of which part of the Southern

family one works within, we’re all working toward the same mission.

Blytheville & Trumann staff celebrating One Southern

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Growing Our ImpactMuch of Southern’s recent research has centered on the increasing need for

financial access in rural America. This need is driven by the emerging bank

deserts across the country. The number of banks in America continues to

decline through either mergers or closures, and rural America is hit especially

hard. And while other banks are leaving these communities, Southern is

actively seeking opportunities to move into them because that’s our mission

– to serve these populations that otherwise would go without the lifeblood of

capitalism.

Underscoring that commitment, Southern has made two announcements in

recent months about acquisitions in rural communities along the Mississippi

River Delta. The first includes a branch in the small Arkansas community of

Eudora (pop. 2,585). Like many Delta communities, Eudora has experienced

dramatic job loss (23.6% unemployment rate) and rising poverty rates (52.4%)

Simmons to donate branch to Southern BancorpSimmons First National Corp. said Monday that it will donate a Eudora Delta Trust & Bank branch to Southern Bancorp Bank...

Read full article here.

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More recently, we announced the acquisition of a

bank across the river in Bolivar County, Mississippi.

The Bank of Bolivar County, one of the smallest

in Mississippi, operates two branches in the

communities of Mound Bayou and Shelby, where

Southern currently operates a branch.

in recent years. At Southern, we believe we have the tools necessary to help

slow, and one day reverse, these trends by promoting sustainable economic

development that encourages small business growth and creates jobs, all while

offering responsible financial services that build credit, educate borrowers and

reduce reliance on predatory lending products. We are already hard at work

introducing ourselves around town, and we look forward to becoming a strong

economic partner in the community.

Southern HIGHLIGHTS

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Eudora

Bolivar County

The Mound Bayou community has a rich historical significance, having been

founded following the Civil War as one of the nation’s first independent

African-American communities. Yet for all of its tenacity, the community has

experienced the same economic challenges as others in the Delta (Bolivar

County unemployment rate: 16.3%, poverty rate: 34.2%). That situation had,

until now, been exacerbated by the fact that the community’s only bank,

the Bank of Bolivar County, was limited in its lending ability due to its small

size and increased banking regulations, which limited its ability to spur

new economic opportunities. Our entrance into the community will bring

an improved offering of products that will serve the community well, while

ensuring that the community relationships built over the decades remain

strong.

Creating JobsSouthern’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development is having a significant impact on the community of Helena-West

Helena, Ark. The project now has four components which are each contributing

to significant job growth in a county with the highest poverty rate in the state

and one of the highest in the nation.

The four projects consist of the Helena Startup Challenge, a business plan

competition; Riverside Renewal, a revitalization project which provides

matching investments in commercial and residential projects in historic

downtown Helena; the Helena Jobs Incentive, which is a job stimulus

program providing financial incentives for job creation; and Community

Champions, which encourages the recruitment and retention of quality public

service professionals by providing down payment or renovation assistance to

teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and others who are first time home

buyers in Helena-West Helena.

To date, the combined community investment of these projects has passed

$600,000, with over 40 jobs created. Check out the “In the News” section for

news coverage of these programs. Click here to skip to In the News.

Southern HIGHLIGHTS

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Battery C - Historic Civil War site in Helena-West Helena, Ark.

Leadership ChangesChanges at Southern’s executive level were

also recently announced with the promotion

of Dominik Mjartan to Chief Executive Officer

of Southern Bancorp Community Partners,

Southern’s financial development partner. For

nearly a decade, Dominik has been at the forefront

of Southern’s work to create innovative programs

and raise capital as Senior Vice President of

Corporate Strategy in Southern’s holding

company, and he’ll bring that same spirit to

managing the array of economic and community

development services offered by SBCP. He will

also continue to provide support and guidance

to Southern’s corporate strategy as the Executive

Vice President of Southern’s holding company.

Dominik MjartanCEO Southern Bancorp Community Partners,

EVP Southern Bancorp Inc.

A Banker Who Aims to Balance ‘Margin and Mission’Dominik Mjartan, the new chief executive officer of Southern Bancorp Community Partners in Little Rock, Ark...


October 7, 2014

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A BANK ON A MISSIONInspiring Stories across the Delta

Matt Inman - Helena-West Helena , Ark.

Watch this video and others here.

Click on the images to watch

videos of their stories.

It’s easy for us to talk about Southern’s mission-oriented approach to banking, but it’s

always better to hear from those directly impacted by our work. Here you’ll find three short

videos in which actual Southern customers talk about their experience with us and what

that has meant to them and their community.

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Leatha Flenaugh - Helena-West Helena, Ark.


Doug Hollowell - Helena-West Helena, Ark.


Southern Bancorp on Vimeowww.vimeo.com/southern

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Employee Spotlight

How long have you been with Southern?

14 years.

Interesting fact about you? Many people

probably do not know that I’m originally from

the African nation of Ghana, but even fewer

people know that I’m a big country music fan.

What do you do? I help individuals, families and businesses, many for the

first time, not only by serving as a loan officer, but also helping them navigate

the loan process through financial and homebuyer education as well as credit

counseling. I also help them obtain, analyze and compile the financial and

credit information needed to proceed through the loan process. In addition

to my lending responsibilities, I coordinate Southern’s Volunteer Income Tax

Assistance Program, also known as VITA, which provides free tax preparation

for income eligible individuals. To date, we have processed nearly $30 million

in refunds and credits for our communities.

Most rewarding part of your job? I love being a one stop shop for the

community’s financial services. From someone buying their first home or

starting a business to needing help and advice on repairing their credit, we

can do it all. I also enjoy knowing that I have the flexibility to work with

customers in turning nearly bankable projects into reality. It means a lot to

know that we aren’t just helping the individual; our work is impacting the

community by helping bring people into the financial mainstream.

Vida FelderCredit and Housing CounselorHelena-West Helena, Ark.

Learn more about our unique programs at www.southernpartners.org

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Banks Experiment with Apps for the UnderbankedSome banks are using mobile technology to answer a big challenge from regulators: how to offer consumers outside the mainstream more products and services.


Renovations Add Energy to Eastern Arkansas CityLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Honestly, Matt Inman has no idea what sort of financial reward might be generated by the three buildings he now owns on Cherry Street in Helena-West Helena.


SOUTHERN In the News

CEO Darrin Williams, by Winthrop Rockefeller FoundationIn celebration of Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation’s 40th anniversary, WRF is releasing a series of 40 short films honoring 40 nonprofit leaders who are shaping the future of Arkansas, and leading the way for the nation.

Watch here.

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We want to hear from YOU!If you’d like to know more about how Southern is creating economic opportunities in rural America, or find out how you can invest in the work that is empowering people and transforming communities, drop us a line at [email protected]

Documents

Mission News Fall 2014