Southern Bancorp’s 2014 annual report shows continued financial success for the bank and growing social impact. Since acquiring several institutions in 2009, Southern has significantly increased investment in their communities. The bank has tripled capital investment levels in Blytheville, Ark. since acquiring First National Bank and increased lending significantly in Trumann and El Dorado. The bank also made new acquisitions in 2014 that expanded its coverage into Eudora, Arkansas and Mound Bayou, Mississippi, high-poverty areas with few banking options. “We have yet again reached record profitability, and more importantly, we have created audacious goals for ourselves over the next decade, centered on affordable housing, job creation, and savings,” said CEO Darrin Williams.