Compass Bancshares Acquires Warren Benefits Group, LP; Purchase of Houston-Based Insurance Agency Enhances Small Business Insurance Product Line.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Compass Bancshares Compass Bancshares, Inc. is a privately held company based in Birmingham, Alabama. Its subsidiary, Compass Bank, is a Southwestern financial holding company with $47 billion in assets and 417 full-service banking offices in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. , Inc., (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CBSS CBSS Council of Baltic Sea States CBSS Craft and Boat Support System CBSS Coastal Border Surveillance System (MSSC) CBSS Closed-Breach Scavenging System (compressed air system for removing smoke from tank gun tubes) ) announced that it has acquired the assets of Warren Benefits Group, LP, a Houston, Texas-based insurance brokerage firm. Established as Gulf Coast Insurance Brokers in 1988, Warren specializes in providing broad-based group health and welfare benefits to small businesses as well as health and life insurance to individuals. President Warren Kolb will assume a management role as part of the Apogee division of Compass Insurance Agency, Inc. "This acquisition is a logical extension of our business plan to increase fee-based revenues," said D. Paul Jones, Jr., Compass' chairman and chief executive officer. "In addition to enhancing our product offerings and revenue stream in the insurance area, it also allows us to more effectively serve small business customers throughout our Texas markets." Compass Insurance Agency, Inc. is the 19th largest bank owned insurance broker based on annual insurance revenues. In 2000, Compass completed its initial insurance agency acquisition through the purchase of Texas Insurance Agency based in San Antonio. Since then, Compass has completed seven insurance agency acquisitions including: Horizons Insurance Group, Inc. and Maxson-Mahoney-Turner, Inc. in Dallas; Apogee Holdings Inc. in Houston; Olson & Olson, Ltd. in Denver; Schaefer-Smith-Ankeney Insurance Agency, Inc. in Phoenix; Mueller & Associates, Inc. in Tucson; and Sevier Insurance Agency in Birmingham. Compass Bancshares, Inc. is a $28 billion Southwestern financial holding company which operates 376 full-service banking offices including 136 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 71 in Arizona, 42 in Florida, 28 in Colorado and 10 in New Mexico. Compass is among the top 30 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity. The company's earnings per share have increased for 16 consecutive years and dividends per share Dividends per share Dividend paid for the past 12 months divided by the number of common shares outstanding, as reported by a company. The number of shares often is determined by a weighted average of shares outstanding over the reporting term. have increased for 23 consecutive years. Shares of Compass' common stock are traded through the Nasdaq stock market Nasdaq stock market The first electronic stock market listing over 5000 companies. The Nasdaq stock market comprises two separate markets, namely the Nasdaq National Market, which trades large, active securities and the Nasdaq Smallcap Market that trades emerging growth companies. under the symbol CBSS. Additional information about Compass, a member of the S&P 500 Index, can be found at www.compassweb.com. "Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Compass Bancshares, Inc. notes that any statements in this press release, and elsewhere, that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results of operations to differ materially from expected results. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the most recently ended fiscal year as well as its other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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