Defining Our Culture
Simmons Bank has six Culture Cornerstones that guide how Simmons serves our customers, our team and our communities.
As Simmons Bank continues to grow, we focused on the strength of our culture through continuing education, recognizing exceptional work and celebrating strength in our diversity.
For 119 years, Simmons Bank built a foundation of providing excellent customer service. To ensure customer experience continues to be at the heart of everything we do, in 2022 Simmons Bank introduced our newest Culture Cornerstone – Build Loyalty.
Simmons Bank also honed our definition for what it means to be a high performing associate by training associates to build individual excellence, strong teams and set ambitious but attainable goals. In 2022, more than 600 Simmons Bank leaders received High Performance training and more than 1,000 associates are registered for training in 2023.
Diversity and Inclusion
Business Resource Groups Simmons Bank developed Business Resource Groups (BRGs) to support associates in an inclusive workspace environment in late 2021. In 2022, four groups were launched, and associates were encouraged to participate and join:
African Americans in Banking mission is to create and support a culture “in which each individual’s full talents, unique backgrounds and distinctive perspectives contribute to their personal and professional growth."
LGBTQIA+ of Simmons mission is to celebrate the community of LGBTQIA+ associates at Simmons Bank and provide members with the resources needed for growth and development. We shall strive to create a more inclusive workspace through visibility, education, communication and mentorship.
Veterans of Simmons mission is to build awareness and provide resources to Veterans, their families and friends of Veterans as well as bringing together members of the Simmons community in a supportive environment.
Women of Simmons mission is to provide members with the resources needed for growth and development. We shall strive to create a more inclusive workspace through visibility, education, communication and mentorship.
Simmons Associates by the Numbers as of December 31, 2022:
A Game-Changing Sponsorship
Simmons Bank is proud to support female student-athletes through a multi-university initiative serving as the presenting sponsor of women’s athletics across 10 universities.
At the heart of the sponsorship is a goal to expand beyond traditional sponsorship elements to emphasize customized programming and enhanced career opportunities for female student-athletes. Simmons Bank is collaborating with each university to create distinct programs ranging from financial education curriculum and leadership training to mentoring, internship programs and women-in-business development initiatives. In Stillwater, Oklahoma, associates hosted four fall financial education sessions covering topics ranging from how to help your credit score to protecting yourself from identity theft and fraud. Associates trained more than 300 student-athletes at Oklahoma State University with valuable skills for the future.
Simmons Bank also activated a student-athlete internship program cultivating talent and highlighting the many business units that help a bank run well. Christina Bruni, an economics major and soccer player at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, spent time with leaders of the bank learning all the facets of the bank’s operations by shadowing multiple departments during her summer internship. Engaging student athletes with an internship program where they experience a variety of roles at the bank has paid dividends for Simmons Bank and created a pipeline of new talent, cultivating the next generation of leaders.
Honoring Our Service Members
To commemorate Veterans Day, Simmons Bank honored the brave men and women who serve or have served our country’s military through a series of events designed to recognize their service and sacrifice to protect our freedom. In addition to this year’s events, year-round we continue to work across our footprint with community partners to actively recruit Veterans to join the Simmons Bank team, while offering an array of military benefits including supplemental pay during military leave and paid military family leave.
In 2022, the Veterans Business Resource Group created an interactive way for associates to honor our Veterans by wearing a ribbon according to their relationship with a Veteran the week leading up to Veterans Day. Red ribbons indicated a team member is a Veteran, white ribbons indicated an associate is a family member of a Veteran and blue ribbons indicated you were the spouse, son or daughter of a Veteran.
During the week of Veterans Day, Simmons’ associates also created a wall-mounted display for associates to place photos of themselves and their family members who served in the military while also sharing their personal stories in a special Veterans Day video. The Simmons Bank River Market building was illuminated in red, white and blue in honor of Veterans Day on November 11.
Missing Service Member Table
Ahead of Memorial Day, the Missing Service Member table was on display in the River Market corporate office in Little Rock. The Missing Service Member table serves as a reminder of fallen, missing or imprisoned U.S. Military service members. The table is set with a single place setting to remember those who are absent and cannot attend a meal because of POW or MIA status.
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Honors Gold Star Families
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and the City of Memphis celebrated $2 million in facility improvements to the stadium. The stadium serves as a tribute to the veterans of World War I, World War II and the Korean War. In 2022, Simmons Bank associates honored veterans and their families at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl with a tailgate and free tickets to the Liberty Bowl.
In conjuction with the naming rights to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, in 2021 Simmons Bank donated $110,000 to the Woody Williams Foundation. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to raising awareness to honor, recognize and serve Gold Star Families' members whose loved one made the ultimate sacrifice in protecting our freedom. The donation supported the construction and endowment of the Liberty Park Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Memphis.
Combatting Financial Exploitation
In October, Simmons Bank received a national award by the American Bankers Association Foundation for our work with the SAFER AR Act, the law that provides banks and other financial institutions an improved reporting mechanism to state and local authorities when they suspect financial abuse of the elderly and people with disabilities in Arkansas. Steve Wade, EVP, Assistant General Counsel for Simmons Bank, played a lead role on the task force of lawmakers and banking professionals to collaborate, research and draft the bill. The award recognized Simmons Bank for its efforts in the “Protecting Older Americans” category.
Socially Responsive Products
Through the Smmions Bank automatic savings program, Round-Up, customers saved nearly $5.7 million during 2022. More than 26,800 customers utilized the program during this period. Compared to the same timeframe in 2021, the program has grown in customer usage by approximately 6 percent and dollars saved are up 7 percent.
In November, Simmons Bank launched Credit Score Manager, a new feature in our mobile and online banking platforms that allow customers to view their credit score. In addition to seeing their credit score, this interactive tool also allows customers to theoretically see how future actions or behaviors might affect their score, see detailed insights into the different factors that contribute to their score, perform a debt-toincome calculation and receive alerts when changes to their score take place. This new feature is provided to customers at no cost.
Community Involvement
One of the ways Simmons cultivates a sense of pride and connection for our associates is by strong community involvement across the markets in our six-state footprint. Across our footprint, our focus is primarily on economic development, financial literacy, youth development, health and human services, arts and culture, and a better quality of life for those in our communities.
Each September associates come together for "Simmons Service Month" – a season of focused volunteerism when Simmons Bank also commits to making a charitable donation to support the volunteer efforts of our associates. During the 2022 Service Month, Simmons Bank associates donated nearly 6,400 volunteer hours to local charities. As a result, a $50,000 gift was made to Junior Achievement on Giving Tuesday to support financial education initiatives for children across our footprint.
This is just one example of the ways Simmons is investing in our communities. To learn more about our Community Involvement and the mission of the Simmons First Foundation, click here. Our 2022 Company Report also contains more detailed information on our community involvement initiatives.
Community Reinvestment
Simmons Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) efforts focus on affordable housing, economic development, revitalization and community service – each with a goal of providing greater access to financial products and services to low-to-moderate-income families.
- In 2022, Simmons Bank originated or refinanced approximately 5,575 in single-family Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) loans totaling approximately $1.3 billion.
- Simmons Bank provided more than 100 multi-family HMDA loans which totaled approximately $1 billion in 2022.
- Combined, Simmons Bank provided approximately $2.3 billion in HMDA loans in 2022. Simmons Bank originated more than 1,000 loans within low-to-moderate-income areas or 18 percent of total originations.
- Simmons Bank originated nearly 900 loans within majority-minority geographies or 16 percent of total originations.
- Simmons and Simmons First Foundation secured and provided more than $1.4 million in eligible donations and grants, including approximately $255,000 in Federal Home Loan Bank contributions under the CRA in 2022.
- Simmons Bank also worked with Simmons First Foundation to provide 17 Community Enhancement Grants to organizations offering work readiness programs, affordable housing and community services in 2022.
- Simmons Bank provided approximately $79 million in Community Development Investments under the Community Reinvestment Act in 2022.
- Approximately $294 million in qualified community development loans furthering economic development, affordable housing and stabilization of communities in 2022.
- Approximately 3,370 loans benefiting businesses with less than $1 million in revenue totaling approximately $415 million in 2022.
- Approximately 1,370 loans benefiting small farms with less than $1 million in revenue totaling approximately $135 million in 2022.
- Simmons’ associates fostered approximately 1,500 community engagement activities, including offering financial education to adults and children in 2022.
Product Spotlights
Simmons Bank offers a variety of products to help ensure that our customers are served well.
Our Bank On-certified Affordable Advantage Checking Product:
- More than 400 account holders in 2022
- Includes safeguards against overdraft
The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Mortgage Product was introduced:
- An ITIN Advantage Mortgage is a loan designed for homebuyers who do not have a Social Security number
- In 2022, Simmons Bank Funded approximately $12.5 million of ITIN Advantage Mortgages
Strong production continued with the 100% Advantage Mortgage Product:
- In 2022, Simmons Bank funded approximately $64.1 million of 100% Advantage Mortgages
Simmons Bank worked with more than 13 down-payment-assistance programs across our footprint to lessen the burden of cost of homeownership.
The launch of the Foundation Secured Credit Card in 2021 provided customers the opportunity to open a secured credit card that is designed to help them establish, strengthen or rebuild their credit:
- More than 1,900 accounts were opened in 2022