Bank OZK has announced that the net income for the third quarter of 2018 was $74.2 million, a 22.7 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2017.
On July 16, the bank changed its name to Bank OZK, changed its ticker symbol to “OZK,” and adopted a new logo and signage, all as part of a strategic rebranding. As a result of this name change and strategic rebranding, the Bank incurred pretax expenses of $10.8 million during the third quarter and $11.4 million for the first nine months of 2018.
During the third quarter of 2018, the Bank incurred combined charge-offs of $45.5 million on two Real Estate Specialties Group credits. These two unrelated projects are in South Carolina and North Carolina, have been in the Bank’s portfolio since 2007 and 2008, and were previously classified as substandard. The combined balance of these credits, after the charge-offs, is $20.6 million.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income totaled $302.1 million, a 9.6 percent increase from the first nine months of 2017. Diluted earnings per common share for the first nine months of 2018 were $2.35, a 6.3 percent increase from the first nine months of 2017.
“While our third quarter results did not meet our usual high standards for performance, we are very pleased with the continued enhancement of our team, technology and business capabilities,” said George Gleason, chairman and CEO. “Our indirect RV and marine lending business continues to grow as another exceptional national lending platform. Many of the businesses in our community bank group are successfully growing, with the expectation that some of these units may ultimately achieve national scale.”