Commercebank Opens New Houston Banking Center.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Commercebank, one of the largest privately held national banks in South Florida, has relocated and opened a full-service Banking Center in Houston, Texas. The new center is located at 717 Texas Avenue, Suite 100.

Commercebank's presence in Houston now offers an array of personal and commercial financial services including Personal, Corporate, Domestic and International Banking, Real Estate, and Oil and Gas Industry products. Its geographic situation is highly strategic.

"The Houston location offers considerable market exposure and access to current and potential customers," said J. Guillermo Villar, President and CEO of Commercebank. "It will allow us to serve our valued customers in Texas while developing and consolidating commercial relationships with the Latin American countries that are members of the CAFTA Agreement and with Mexico."

Francisco Rivero, Commercebank's SVP Houston Manager, added that the Banking Center was developed with the region's business opportunities in mind, staffing it with expert personnel and resources to target the customers' needs. "I am confident in our capacity to provide the level of expertise, global reach and financial support that is in high demand in the region."

The opening of a new full-service Banking Center in Houston follows Commercebank's strategy of establishing its presence in rapidly growing markets within and beyond South Florida. The Bank has built a trajectory of more than 25 years of sustained growth, reflected in its recent announcement to acquire Pinecrest-based South Florida Bank, and in its 2005 record earnings of $43.1 million and $4.1 billion in assets.

Commercebank Houston Hours of operation and contact numbers:

    9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday
    9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday
    Telephone: [phone]
    Facsimile: 713-571-7080

    Contact Person: Francisco Rivero

About Commercebank

Commercebank N.A., one of the largest national privately held banks in South Florida, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Commercebank Holding Corp., owned by Mercantil Servicios Financieros, the largest financial institution headquartered in Venezuela, with 80 years of experience in banking. Commercebank has assets in excess of $4 billion. The Bank is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, with eight branches throughout Miami-Dade County, two in Broward County, one in Manhattan, New York, and one in Houston, Texas. It also has loan production offices in Tampa and in Weston, Florida. The bank offers a wide variety of domestic, international and personal banking services, including investment, trust and estate planning through its subsidiaries, Commercebank Investment Services, and Commercebank Trust Company, N.A.

Editor's Note: The Houston branch is located in the 77702 ZIP code.