Compass makes largest Florida acquisition.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1996--Compass Bancshares, Inc. increased its Florida assets by 50 percent and added seven prime locations in greater Jacksonville with completion of the acquisition of CFB Bancorp Inc. and its Community First Bank subsidiary. The purchase is Compass' largest in Florida to date.

CFB brings $313 million in assets and $262 million in deposits to Compass' Florida franchise. In addition to the Jacksonville locations, CFB also operates two bank offices in the Hernando County community of Spring Hill.

With the pending acquisition of Enterprise National Bank of Jacksonville scheduled to be finalized by the end of this year, Compass will have over $1.1 billion and 36 bank offices in the Sunshine State. Twenty-three of those locations will be in the rapidly growing Jacksonville area where Compass will then have approximately seven percent of the deposit market share and rank as the third largest bank based upon deposits.

Under terms of the transaction, Compass exchanged 1,326,154 shares of its common stock, which was purchased in April 1996 and held as treasury stock since that time, for all of the outstanding shares of common stock and unexercised stock options of CFB Bancorp. Compass will use purchase accounting in the transaction.

Compass Bancshares, Inc. is a $10.8 billion Birmingham, Alabama-based bank holding company with 202 bank offices in Alabama, Florida and Texas.

When all pending acquisitions in Florida and Texas are completed, Compass will operate 214 bank offices in the three states.

Compass reported record earnings of $67.4 million for the first six months of 1996, and has a capital base of $701 million. Shares of the company's common stock are traded through the NASDAQ national market system under the symbol CBSS.

CONTACT: Compass Bancshares, Inc., Birmingham

Ellen Laden, 205/933-3554