06/14/2026
It’s Sunday and who doesn’t love a good story on Sunday. So, this is my brain’s mapping. I am not saying any of this actually happened. But imagine you are a little state’s premiere bank, Investing in Arkansas. And you get wined and dined by some big city folk, and all excited, close a couple of land sale loans! You are on top of the hill. But then the land purchased is used to establish new banks. Hmm... the big city folk moving to Lorax, I mean, Arkansas, want their big city convenience. The Retail was great but banks? New banks mean they aren’t depositing their money with you. Wait, they open branches just for Real Estate. Now they can even do all their land deals with their own banks. They aren’t investing in Arkansas. They are migrating to Arkansas and bringing all their own goods with them. And in today’s world, you can live like a King in Arkansas, as long as you keep your big city money following. Because in the big city, you live in a studio apartment with two other people. But in Arkansas, you can have a 2,000sq foot loft. Now, no one from Arkansas can afford these lofts, well because they don’t have a connection to money from another state. So, the residents are screwed and so is the local bank. But, hey the local bank has one more trick up its sleeve, something it learned from hanging out with the big city folk. You don’t have to honor a contract or an agreement. You can just change it. Well, make it null and void by no longer offering what the original contract provided. Saw this all time with government “reorganization”. See that is how you get around seniority and unions. You create an entire new “organization” based on the existing one. New job titles, descriptions, departments, agencies, and then you can move or fire people who no longer fit the “new” organization. And that is just what Arvest, in the name of prosperity, has done to its account holders. By no longer offering the Basic Checking and introducing “Essential” with a monthly fee or waiver with a $3,000/month direct deposit. Oh, and you can’t keep your old account. It doesn’t exist anymore. Right after building tons of senior housing, and with the average retirement or social security payment maxing at $1,500, if you bank at Arvest, you are going to have to pay. Now let’s think about the working person who banks at Arvest. At $17/hour, your monthly take home caps out at about $2,500.00. Oops. If you bank with Arvest, you are going to have to pay. See they are desperate. With bank options rapidly increasing, Arvest needs to boost their Net Worth Quick! And Direct Deposits and maintaining a $3,000 minimum in the account will do just that. But is this a smart move? I mean the new banks have student accounts. So those accounts that you created for your children at Arvest that are now going to cost you, you could easily move to another bank, for free. Not to mention the cybersecurity and fraud protection that comes with these banks. I mean, if the local bank isn’t going to invest in its residents, and the residents are Arkansas, maybe the residents need to start thinking about themselves. Maybe the migrating businesses are just par the course. Could be a get on or get left behind. Even for local banks. THOUGHTS????🤔
