Gateway Bank

Gateway Bank may trace its beginnings to one of Arkansas’s smaller communities, but its future springs from the stability of nearly a century in Cleveland County and continued growth opportunities in Saline County, one of the state’s fastest-growing areas.

The bank began in Rison in 1932 and remains headquartered there today. Gateway operates three Arkansas branches in Rison, Benton, and Bryant, with approximately one-third of its team members based in Rison and the remainder in Saline County. Its two Saline County locations reflect the area’s growing importance to the bank.

For Senior Vice President and Loan Officer Kyle Ulmer, that growth is personal. Saline County is not simply a market where he works. It is home.

Ulmer, 38, grew up in Benton and has spent much of his life watching the County change around him. But even with that growth, he said Saline County has held on to something that has always made it feel like home.

“I can go just about anywhere in Benton or Saline County and run into somebody I know,” Ulmer said. “That’s what I like about it. It still has that community feel.”

The signs of growth are hard to miss. Bryant continues to expand, downtown Benton has seen a resurgence, and new development continues across the County. Ulmer even points to the recent arrival of Buc-ee’s along Interstate 30 as another sign that the County is on people’s radar.

“When you see something like Buc-ee’s choosing to come here, that says something about the market,” Ulmer said.

Gateway’s roots, however, remain in Rison, where the bank’s history stretches back nearly a century. The Bank of Rison was reorganized in 1932. A major downtown fire later that year destroyed its building and much of the surrounding block. 

The bank was rebuilt, and it has remained part of the Rison community for generations. In 2013, an Arkansas-based holding group bought the bank. Two years later, the Bank of Rison became Gateway Bank. 

Despite changes over the years, Rison remains a key part of the bank’s operations and long-term plans. 

While the bank continues to serve and invest in the community where its history began, there is an understanding that growing its Saline County presence means more than market share. 

Looking ahead, Ulmer said the bank is focused on continued growth.

“We see opportunities to keep building on our momentum and serving more customers,” he said. “Our focus is on growing the right way while maintaining the level of service people expect from a community bank.”

Ulmer believes Gateway’s relatively small size may give the bank an advantage as it pursues that goal. At larger institutions, he said, lending decisions can sometimes travel through several layers before reaching the people authorized to make them.

At Gateway, Ulmer said, decisions can often be made more quickly.

“We’re just an email or phone call away from having everybody we need to look at it and make a decision,” Ulmer said. That speed and flexibility can be especially important for business and commercial customers, where timing matters and having direct access to decision makers can make a difference.

Gateway pairs that approach with a focus on relationships that leaders say goes beyond banking.

For Gateway Vice President Retail Supervisor Kristy Byrd, those relationships are the heart of community banking. Byrd was born and raised in Bauxite and has worked in banking in Saline County since 1996.

“I get to know their friends and their loved ones, and when they come in, I know their names,” Byrd said. “I treat them like family.”

Over the years, those connections have stretched across generations. “You get to see their kids grow up. You get to see them get married,” she said. “My whole life is basically Saline County.”

Echoing that sentiment, Gateway supports nonprofit organizations and events throughout the County, including the Boys and Girls Club of Saline County and local community events. Sometimes that looks like a golf tournament or a community gathering. Sometimes it is simply showing up.

For Gateway, Ulmer said, being a community bank means more than doing business in the community. It means being part of it.

Ulmer joined Gateway about four and a half years ago after working in mortgage banking.

“The way my career has taken off and the way the bank has grown in that short period of time tells me we must be doing something right,” he said.

Byrd says Gateway continues to see growth in deposit accounts as more customers embrace a banking experience that blends big-bank capabilities with hometown service, offering modern digital conveniences alongside the friendly, familiar faces of local bankers.

“We can do anything a big bank can do and do it with a personal touch,” she said. 

As Gateway looks ahead, both Ulmer and Byrd say growth and community must go hand in hand. In a county where Ulmer still expects to see a familiar face most places he goes, Gateway sees value in operating like a bank where people know your name.