CapitalSouth Bank

CapitalSouth Bank is a community bank headquartered on Woodcrest Place in Homewood. It is the only bank in Birmingham to offer bilingual tellers in each branch, and also operates two completely bilingual branches in the Birmingham area under the name of Banco Hispano.

Company overview

Bank of Alabama was founded in 1975 by Pete Carroll in Fultondale. W. Dan Puckett has been Chairman and CEO since CapitalSouth Bancorp purchased the bank in 1992. John E. Bentley is President and Chief Operating Officer of the bank and handles the day-to-day operations. W. Flake Oatley is President and director of the bank's holding company. The bank changed its name in 2005, when it opened a branch in Florida.

Branch locations

CapitalSouth has branches in Homewood, Fultondale, Pelham, Hoover and on West Valley Avenue. Outside of the metro area, CapitalSouth has offices in Huntsville, Montgomery and Jacksonville, Florida, and a loan production office in Atlanta, Georgia. On September 12, 2007, CapitalSouth shareholders approved a merger with Monticello Bancshares, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida [1]. The acquisition will add Monticello Bank's two Jacksonville-area branches to the CapitalSouth footprint.

Banco Hispano

The branches on West Valley and in Hoover operate under the name Banco Hispano and were the first branches of any bank in Birmingham that directly targeted the growing Hispanic population. Costa Rica native Mariela Méndez is currently the branch manager for the first bilingual branch at 3309 Lorna Road which opened May 3, 2004. Aside from assiting Spanish-speaking customers with daily transactions, Banco Hispano carries the "Tarjeta Amiga", or friendly card, which enables their customers to wire funds not only in Latin America but throughout the world. Since many immigrants have little to no experience with banks, a 45-minute course on banking is also required of anyone opening a new checking or savings account at the Banco Hispano branches.

References

• "Bentley promoted to CapitalSouth president." Birmingham News, January 18, 2007, Business brief roundup [2].
• Prado, Hernán (September 2006) "Mariela Méndez: This bank branch manager is proud of her Costa Rican roots." Birmingham Magazine. Vol. 46, No. 9, p. 314

External Links

• CapitalSouth Bank website