GENERAL

Net income available to common stockholders for Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. (the "Company") was $9.3 million for the first quarter of 2009, a 19.6% increase from net income available to common stockholders of $7.8 million for the comparable quarter in 2008. Diluted earnings per common share were $0.55 for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, a 19.6% increase from $0.46 for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

The Company's annualized return on average assets was 1.16% for the first quarter of 2009 compared to 1.11% for the first quarter of 2008. Its annualized return on average common stockholders' equity was 14.19% for the first quarter of 2009 compared to 15.31% for the first quarter of 2008.

Total assets were $3.16 billion at March 31, 2009 compared to $3.23 billion at December 31, 2008. Loans and leases were $1.99 billion at March 31, 2009 compared to $2.02 billion at December 31, 2008. Deposits were $2.29 billion at March 31, 2009 compared to $2.34 billion at December 31, 2008.

Common stockholders' equity was $270 million at March 31, 2009 compared to $252 million at December 31, 2008. Book value per common share was $15.98 at March 31, 2009 compared to $14.96 at December 31, 2008. Changes in common stockholders' equity and book value per common share reflect earnings, dividends paid, stock option and warrant transactions and changes in unrealized gains and losses on investment securities available for sale.

Annualized results for these interim periods may not be indicative of results for the full year or future periods.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The Company is a bank holding company whose primary business is commercial banking conducted through its wholly-owned state chartered bank subsidiary - Bank of the Ozarks (the "Bank"). The Company's results of operations depend primarily on net interest income, which is the difference between the interest income from earning assets, such as loans, leases and investments, and the interest expense incurred on interest bearing liabilities, such as deposits, borrowings and subordinated debentures. The Company also generates non-interest income, including service charges on deposit accounts, mortgage lending income, trust income, bank owned life insurance ("BOLI") income, other charges and fees and gains and losses on investment securities and from sales of other assets.

The Company's non-interest expense consists of employee compensation and benefits, net occupancy and equipment and other operating expenses. The Company's results of operations are significantly impacted by its provision for loan and lease losses and its provision for income taxes. The following discussion provides a comparative summary of the Company's operations for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008 and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes presented elsewhere in this report.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income is analyzed in the discussion and the following tables on a fully taxable equivalent ("FTE") basis. The adjustment to convert certain income to a FTE basis consists of dividing federal tax-exempt income by one minus the Company's statutory federal income tax rate of 35%. The FTE adjustments to net interest income were $4.2 million and $1.7 million, respectively, for the quarters ended March 31, 2009 and 2008. No adjustments have been made in this analysis for income exempt from state income taxes or for interest expense deductions disallowed under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as a result of investment in certain tax-exempt securities.

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2009 increased 47.2% to $34.5 million compared to $23.4 million for the first quarter of 2008. Net interest margin was 4.73% during the first quarter of 2009 compared to 3.69% during the first quarter of 2008. The growth in net interest income for the first quarter of 2009 compared to the comparable period in 2008 was a result of the improvement in the Company's net interest margin, which increased 104 basis points ("bps"), and growth in the Company's average earnings assets, which increased 15.8%. The Company's improvement in its net interest margin resulted from a combination of factors including favorable yields achieved on the purchase of a large volume of tax-exempt mortgage-backed securities issued by housing authorities of states and political subdivisions ("Municipal Housing Authority Bonds") during the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 and improvement in the Company's spread between yields on loans, leases and other investment securities and rates paid on deposits and other funding sources.

Yields on average earning assets decreased 55 bps in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. This decrease was due primarily to a 109 bps decline in loan and lease yields, which was partially offset by an 80 bps increase in the aggregate yield on the Company's investment securities.

The 109 bps decrease in loan and lease yields was due primarily to the repricing of the Company's loan and lease portfolio at lower interest rates during 2008 and continuing through the first quarter of 2009. Beginning in September 2007 and continuing through December 2008, the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC") decreased its federal funds target rate a total of 500 bps, resulting in many of the Company's variable rate loans repricing to lower rates throughout 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. Additionally, the Company's newly originated and renewed loans and leases generally priced at lower rates throughout 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 as a result of these FOMC interest rate decreases.

The 80 bps increase in the Company's aggregate yield on its investment securities in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 was the result of a seven bps decrease in yield on taxable investment securities, a 44 bps increase in yield on tax-exempt investment securities and a shift in the composition of the portfolio to include a higher proportion of tax-exempt investment securities with generally higher FTE yields than the Company's taxable investment securities. The increase in the volume of tax-exempt investment securities is due to various factors, including the Company's purchase of a large volume of Municipal Housing Authority Bonds which are primarily backed by single family or multi-family residential mortgages, the repayment of which is guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage Association, Federal National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, Federal Housing Agency or U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. Tax-exempt investment securities comprised 57.4% of the Company's average investment securities during the first quarter of 2009 compared to 36.4% during the same period in 2008.

The 55 bps decrease in average earning asset yields discussed above was more than offset by a 156 bps decrease in the rates on average interest bearing liabilities in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, resulting in the Company's overall 104 bps increase in net interest margin. The decrease in the rates on interest bearing liabilities was primarily attributable to a 174 bps decrease in the rates of interest bearing deposits, the largest component of the Company's interest bearing liabilities. This decrease in rates on interest bearing deposits was attributable to (i) the FOMC interest rate decreases, which resulted in decreases in rates paid on both time deposits and savings and interest bearing transaction deposits as such deposits were renewed or repriced and (ii) the decrease in the Company's aggregate time deposits, which generally pay higher rates than its other interest bearing deposits, to 59.1% of average interest bearing deposits in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 73.0% in the first quarter of 2008.

The rates on the Company's other funding sources also declined in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008 primarily as a result of decreases in the FOMC federal funds target rate and other interest rate indices. The Company's other borrowings, which are comprised primarily of Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas ("FHLB") advances, and, to a lesser extent, Federal Reserve Bank ("FRB") borrowings and federal funds purchased, decreased 40 bps in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008. The rates paid on the Company's subordinated debentures, which are tied to a spread over the 90-day London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") and reset periodically, declined 302 bps in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008 as a result of the decrease in 90-day LIBOR.

                        Analysis of Net Interest Income

                        (FTE = Fully Taxable Equivalent)



                                                     Three Months Ended
                                                          March 31,
                                                     2009             2008
                                                   (Dollars in thousands)
         Interest income                         $      45,262      $ 44,820
         FTE adjustment                                  4,169         1,691

         Interest income - FTE                          49,431        46,511
         Interest expense                               14,928        23,069

         Net interest income - FTE               $      34,503      $ 23,442


         Yields on earning assets - FTE                   6.77 %        7.32 %
         Rates on interest bearing liabilities            2.27          3.83
         Net interest margin - FTE                        4.73          3.69

      Average Consolidated Balance Sheets and Net Interest Analysis - FTE

                                   Unaudited



                                                            Three Months Ended March 31,
                                                      2009                                2008
                                           Average     Income/    Yield/       Average     Income/    Yield/
                                           Balance     Expense     Rate        Balance     Expense     Rate
                                                               (Dollars in thousands)
ASSETS
Earning assets:
Interest earning deposits and federal
funds sold                               $       408   $      3     2.98 %   $       370   $      4     4.43 %
Investment securities:
Taxable                                      403,396      5,613     5.64         400,646      5,690     5.71
Tax-exempt - FTE                             543,469     11,895     8.88         228,863      4,803     8.44
Loans and leases - FTE                     2,013,685     31,920     6.43       1,926,647     36,014     7.52

Total earning assets - FTE                 2,960,958     49,431     6.77       2,556,526     46,511     7.32
Non-interest earning assets                  275,057                             254,273

Total assets                             $ 3,236,015                         $ 2,810,799