Feb 20, 2014 | IDAs and CSAs, News, Press Releases
Helena-West Helena, Ark. – Southern Bancorp Community Partners (SBCP) is proud to announce a new product for non-traditional students in Phillips County. This new offering is available from SBCP’s Individual Development Account program and is part of SBCP’s ongoing...
Feb 13, 2014 | Public Assistance Asset Limit Reform, Public Policy Blog
Last Friday, following months of negotiations, President Obama signed into law The Agricultural Act of 2014 (also known as the Farm Bill). This five-year legislation enacts policies and authorizes agriculture, trade, marketing, and other programs as well as rural...
Feb 6, 2014 | News, Past Policy Efforts, Press Releases
Southern Bancorp project to provide matching funds for revitalization efforts in historic downtown corridor HELENA, ARK. – Southern Bancorp announced this week the launch of the Riverside Renewal Project, a program to accelerate the revitalization of historic downtown...
Feb 4, 2014 | Poverty and Economic Mobility, Public Policy Blog
Despite an improving national economy, 51.9 percent of Arkansans are in a persistent state of financial insecurity, according to a report released last week by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). CFED’s 2014 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard defines...
Jan 21, 2014 | Public Policy Blog, Tax-time Savings
Today, Southern celebrates and kicks off its 10th year of administering the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which offers free tax preparation for income eligible individuals and families in Arkansas and Mississippi. To serve as a tax preparer for the...
Nov 22, 2013 | Past Policy Efforts, Public Policy Blog
During the 2013 regular session of the Arkansas General Assembly, Sen. Robert Thompson introduced the “Arkansas Prize-Linked Savings Account Act of 2013” (SB 119) to establish a prize-linked savings (PLS) account program. In PLS programs, financial institutions offer...
Oct 29, 2013 | Public Assistance Asset Limit Reform, Public Policy Blog
Due to the recent federal government shutdown, the farm bill was placed on the backburner until now. Legislators will convene again tomorrow to discuss and write a final bill. So why is the outcome of the farm bill so important? To help explain, we’ve assembled some...
Sep 19, 2013 | IDAs and CSAs, Public Policy Blog
National College Savings Month is big news around Southern because we understand the close relationship between education and family economic security. In fact, one of Southern’s primary goals is to increase educational opportunities within the communities we serve....
Sep 10, 2013 | Public Policy Blog, The Un- and Underbanked
In May 2013, Jackson Hewitt released a report showing nearly 8 million uninsured Americans who qualified for health insurance premium payment assistance would be unable to do so because they are unbanked, meaning they do not have a checking or savings account. Of...
Aug 9, 2013 | Public Policy Blog
Last month, a New York Times article, “In Climbing the Income Ladder, Location Matters,” examined income mobility within the United States. Based on this study, where a child grows up matters, which means achieving the American Dream is an uphill battle from the...
