Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2007 Earnings.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. (NASDAQ: OZRK) today announced that net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 was $7,521,000, a decrease of 10.4% compared to its record net income of $8,397,000 in the first quarter of 2006. Diluted earnings per share were $0.45 for the first quarter of 2007 compared to $0.50 for the first quarter of 2006, a decrease of 10.0%.

The Company's annualized returns on average assets and average stockholders' equity for the first quarter of 2007 were 1.20% and 17.11%, respectively, compared to 1.57% and 22.31%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2006.

Loans and leases were $1.72 billion at March 31, 2007 compared to $1.42 billion at March 31, 2006, an increase of 21.0%. Deposits were $2.17 billion at March 31, 2007 compared to $1.74 billion at March 31, 2006, an increase of 24.9%. Total assets were $2.54 billion at March 31, 2007, a 13.7% increase from $2.24 billion at March 31, 2006.

Stockholders' equity increased 19.2% to $182 million at March 31, 2007 compared to $153 million at March 31, 2006. Book value per share increased 18.9% to $10.88 at March 31, 2007 compared to $9.15 at March 31, 2006. The Company's ratio of common equity to assets was 7.17% as of March 31, 2007 compared to 6.84% as of March 31, 2006, and its ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets was 6.94% as of March 31, 2007 compared to 6.57% as of March 31, 2006.

In commenting on these results, George Gleason, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our priorities for 2007 include accelerating our rate of revenue growth and decelerating our rate of overhead growth compared to 2006. During the quarter just ended, we achieved record net interest income, record income from service charges on deposit accounts and the first quarter-to-quarter improvement in our net interest margin in ten quarters. In addition income from mortgage lending and trust improved compared to the first quarter of 2006. While non-interest expense for the quarter just ended increased 8.8% compared to the first quarter of 2006, this rate of growth was less than the year-over-year growth rate of non-interest expense during any quarter of 2006. In fact non-interest expense for the quarter just ended decreased compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. These results suggest that we are off to a good start on our goals of accelerating our rate of revenue growth and decelerating our rate of overhead growth in 2007."

NET INTEREST INCOME

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2007 increased 4.7% to $18,249,000 compared to $17,438,000 for 2006. Net interest margin, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, was 3.35% in the first quarter of 2007, a decrease of 49 basis points from 3.84% in the first quarter of 2006. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2006, first quarter 2007 net interest margin improved 13 basis points.

Mr. Gleason stated, "The inversion of the yield curve between short-term and long-term interest rates and intense competition continue to provide a challenging interest margin environment. Despite these conditions, our growth in loans and leases and the improvement in our net interest margin compared to the fourth quarter of 2006 allowed us to achieve record net interest income in the quarter just ended. Our goals for 2007 include improving net interest income each quarter by maintaining, and hopefully improving, our net interest margin and achieving good growth in earning assets, primarily loans and leases."

NON-INTEREST INCOME

Non-interest income for the first quarter of 2007 was $5,959,000 compared to $6,164,000 for the first quarter of 2006, a 3.3% decrease. Income from service charges on deposit accounts, mortgage lending and trust all increased in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the first quarter of 2006, but the combined gains from sales on investment securities and other assets decreased.

Service charges on deposit accounts, the Company's largest source of non-interest income, were a record $2,834,000 in the first quarter of 2007 and increased 22.0% compared to $2,322,000 in the first quarter of 2006. Mortgage lending income increased 21.2% to $731,000 in the first quarter of 2007 compared to $603,000 in the first quarter of 2006, but was down slightly from $744,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006. Trust income increased 7.4% to $465,000 in the first quarter of 2007 compared to $433,000 in the first quarter of 2006, but decreased from the quarterly record of $550,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Net gains from sales of investment securities and other assets decreased to $372,000 in the first quarter of 2007 compared to $1,833,000 in the first quarter of 2006.

During the first quarter of 2007, the Company sold a site previously acquired for a Jacksonville, Arkansas branch to First Arkansas Bank and Trust and subsequently withdrew its contested branch application for this site. The Company recognized a gain of $17,000 on the sale of such site and $500,000 of other non-interest income related to the settlement of the contested branch application. Among other things, this settlement and payment reimbursed the Company for its expenses incurred in previous quarters related to such branch application and included an agreement by the Company not to pursue any future branch application in the present city limits of Jacksonville.

NON-INTEREST EXPENSE

Non-interest expense for the first quarter of 2007 was $12,138,000 compared to $11,160,000 for the first quarter of 2006, an increase of 8.8%, but was slightly lower than the $12,506,000 in non-interest expense recorded in the fourth quarter of 2006. The Company's efficiency ratio for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 was 48.4% compared to 44.7% for the first quarter of 2006.

A number of factors contributed to the Company's growth in non-interest expense in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the first quarter of 2006. These factors are primarily related to ongoing costs of facilities and staff added as part of the Company's 2006 branching and corporate growth initiatives.

The Company expects to continue its growth and de novo branching strategy in 2007, although at a slower pace than in 2006. The Company opened no new offices during the quarter just ended, but in the remainder of 2007 it now expects to add three or four new banking offices and replace one temporary banking office with a new permanent facility.

Opening new offices and replacing existing temporary offices with permanent facilities are subject to availability of suitable sites, designing, constructing, equipping and staffing such offices, obtaining regulatory and other approvals, and many other conditions and contingencies that the Company cannot accurately predict with certainty.

ASSET QUALITY, CHARGE-OFFS AND ALLOWANCE

Nonperforming loans and leases as a percent of total loans and leases were 0.25% as of March 31, 2007 compared to 0.24% as of March 31, 2006 and 0.34% as of December 31, 2006. Nonperforming assets as a percent of total assets were 0.27% as of March 31, 2007 compared to 0.17% as of March 31, 2006 and 0.24% as of December 31, 2006. The Company's ratio of loans and leases past due 30 days or more, including past due non-accrual loans and leases, to total loans and leases, was 0.84% as of March 31, 2007 compared to 0.63% as of March 31, 2006 and 0.60% as of December 31, 2006.

The Company's annualized net charge-off ratio for the first quarter 2007 was 0.16% compared to 0.10% in the first quarter of 2006 and 0.12% for the full year of 2006.

The Company's allowance for loan and lease losses was $18.1 million at March 31, 2007, or 1.05% of total loans and leases, compared to $17.2 million, or 1.21% of total loans and leases, at March 31, 2006. As of March 31, 2007, the Company's allowance for loan and lease losses equaled 421% of its total nonperforming loans and leases.

CONFERENCE CALL

Management will conduct a conference call to review announcements made in this press release at 10:00 a.m. CDT (11:00 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, April 12, 2007. The call will be available live or in recorded version on the Company's website www.bankozarks.com under "Investor Relations" or interested parties calling from locations within the United States and Canada may call 1-800-990-4845 up to ten minutes prior to the beginning of the conference and ask for the Bank of the Ozarks conference call. A recorded playback of the entire call will be available on the Company's website or by telephone by calling 1-800-642-1687 in the United States and Canada or 706-645-9291 internationally. The passcode for this telephone playback is 4206110. The telephone playback will be available through April 30, 2007, and the website recording of the call will be available for 12 months.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains forward looking statements regarding the Company's plans, expectations, goals and outlook for the future, including the Company's goals to accelerate its rate of revenue growth and decelerate its rate of overhead growth, the Company's goals and expectations for net interest margin, growth in earning assets, growth in loans and leases, continuation of its growth and de novo branching strategy, plans to replace a temporary banking office with a new permanent facility and plans to add new banking offices.

Actual results may differ materially from those projected in such forward looking statements, due to, among other things, continued interest rate changes including changes in the shape of the yield curve, competitive factors, general economic conditions and their effects on the creditworthiness of borrowers, collateral values and the value of investment securities, the ability to attract new deposits and loans and leases, delays in identifying and acquiring satisfactory sites and opening new offices, delays in or inability to obtain required regulatory approvals, the ability to generate future revenue growth or to control future growth in non-interest expense, as well as other factors identified in this press release or in Management's Discussion and Analysis under the caption "Forward Looking Information" contained in the Company's 2006 Annual Report to Stockholders and the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "OZRK". The Company owns a state-chartered subsidiary bank that conducts banking operations through 62 offices in 34 communities throughout northern, western and central Arkansas, five Texas banking offices, and loan production offices in Little Rock, Arkansas, Charlotte, North Carolina and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Company may be contacted at [phone] or P.O. Box 8811, Little Rock, Arkansas 72231-8811. The Company's website is: www.bankozarks.com.

[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]
[TABLE OMITTED]