A campaign of concentrated financing by Southern Bancorp is showing positive outcomes in Helena-West Helena, Ark. Southern Bancorp has loaned about $14 million to fund renovations and new construction on 17 properties in downtown Helena-West Helena over the past 10 years — about $2 million of that in the past two years alone. The city’s development strategy has included financing new business and schools as well as tourist sites that celebrate the city’s rich civil war and blues heritage. “It’s hard to keep up with all the stuff that’s going on,” said Dominik Mjartan, executive vice president of Southern Bancorp. For Mjartan, Helena-West Helena’s development is part of the bank’s mission of economic equality: “Should your ZIP code really determine whether you have a chance at a decent life?”