George Gleason

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Bank Ozk

Search every verified George Gleason interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. During Bank OZK’s second quarter 2026 earnings call on July 23, 2026, George Gleason, chairman and CEO, discussed the bank’s outlook for loan growth and deposit costs. He stated that the bank expects its CIB and RESG portfolios to be equal in size at some point in 2027, indicating continued strong growth in CIB and significant paydowns in RESG. Gleason also said the bank believes CIB will be as profitable as RESG long term, and that the expected yield differential between the two portfolios is no longer present. Gleason noted that the bank recently increased deposit rates to support expected loan growth in the third and fourth quarters, and described the second quarter cost of interest-bearing deposits as likely an inflection point, with modest increases expected going forward. He expressed satisfaction with the bank’s deposit generation efforts in the second quarter, which achieved a five basis point reduction in deposit costs, and emphasized that the bank is pursuing loan growth conservatively and strategically without loosening credit terms.