Sam JonesOne of Mississippi's biggest banks is expanding into Chattanooga with plans to open a full-service bank by next spring.
BancorpSouth Bank, a $13 billion-asset bank based in Tupelo, Miss., opened a downtown loan production office this month headed by a half dozen former bankers from the local FirstBank in Chattanooga.
Sam Jones, a 36-year bank veteran who most recently was FirstBank regional president in Chattanooga for the past seven years, said BancorpSouth will initially focus on business and commercial real estate loans but should soon offer consumer and mortgage loans in East Tennessee.
Jones said BancorpSouth is finalizing a lease for a downtown office where he hopes to open a BancorpSouth bank office by April 1.
"This is a great regional bank that affords us a lot more flexibility in doing different kind of credit facilities to serve small and mid-sized companies in our region," Jones said. "We're much bigger than the community banks but smaller than the major regionals like SunTrust, Regions and First Tennessee. We consider ourselves a kind of super community bank and we'll be able to focus and have complete relationships with our customers as they grow."
BancorpSouth is the second new bank to enter the Chattanooga market this year, following the June opening of a downtown office by Southern Community Bank, which is based in Tullahoma, Tenn.
In the six-county Chattanooga metropolitan area, 29 banks currently divide the market's nearly $9 billion of bank deposits.
But BancorpSouth CEO Dan Rollins insists Chattanooga is ready for another competitor.
"Chattanooga's business climate, together with our experienced team of outstanding lenders and support staff, presents BancorpSouth with outstanding opportunities to grow our bank while providing the Southeast Tennessee area with a broad range of commercial and consumer services," Rollins said in a statement announcing the new office.
The new bank will be located next to the new Yacoubian Tailors clothing store in the 600 block of Market Street, subject to completing a lease agreement for the space, Jones said.
BancorpSouth entered Tennessee with the purchase of a bank in Jackson, Tenn., in 1992 and expanded into Middle Tennessee a decade ago. The Tupelo, Miss.-based bank operates more than 300 offices and ATMs across nine states, including 28 full-service offices in Tennessee with more than $1 billion in deposits.
Chattanooga is one of three new markets where BancorpSouth has announced plans for new loan production offices this year. The bank also opened loan offices in the past couple of months in Lake Charles, La., and Sugar Land, Tex.
The BancorpSouth Chattanooga team includes Jones, market president; Jim Farrar, first vice president and commercial lender; Ryan Marshall, assistant vice president and commercial lender; and Sherry Skiles, loan administrative assistant.
"Sam Jones' Chattanooga team, in the short time the office has been open, is already working with commercial clients, funding new business, and building a strong client pipeline," said Chris Bagley, chief operating officer for BancorpSouth.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.