Local organizers have received tremendous community response after announcing they will open a locally owned bank in Murfreesboro within the next year, said the bank¹s president, Ben Weatherford, who resigned from his position as president of Rutherford Bank and Trust earlier this month, is joining his father and area banking legend Jack Weatherford and Lee Moss, who also resigned from his position as president of SunTrust, to organize the new MIDSOUTH BANK.

       Weatherford said the organizers have received a large number of phone calls from people interested in investing in ownership of the bank since the announcement was made two weeks ago.

       Lee Moss added the bank has not solicited any of the calls, and all of the interest in investing in MIDSOUTH has been a result of community members contacting the bank.

       "The response has been overwhelming. It is more interest than even our most positive dreams," Moss said. "We have to be careful to say they are calling us. We are not asking them at this point, but it is very encouraging - the number of calls we are getting without any solicitation."

       The new organization plans to be selling stock subscriptions in approximately three weeks to a month.

       The new bank, which will be headquartered in Murfreesboro, likely will be capitalized with about $15 million raised by organizers from residents in Middle Tennessee.

       Albert Deprince, professor of finance at MTSU, said the bank is likely to affect consumers more than it will other Murfreesboro banking institutions.

       "Studies have shown this area could use more branches, given the size of the population of Rutherford County," Deprince said. "The opening of the bank will provide additional branches, and I think it will be really positive in terms of the community."

       Deprince added other Murfreesboro banks may suffer slower growth for awhile, but they should not see any long-term effects.

       "I think it is a good time for a new bank, and the collection of individuals funning it, well they are certainly an impressive group of folks," Deprince said, addition such leadership is crucial in attracting qualified and experienced senior managers.

       "Leadership defines the direction any institution goes." he said.

       The initial plans for the new bank include offices in Murfreesboro and one in Smyrna, but no site locations have been announced.

       Jack Weatherford said the organization is in the process of looking at sites for bank branches, but nothing has been nailed down yet.

       "We know approximately where the branches are going to go, but nothing has been nailed down. We hope to make those decisions in the next several weeks," he said.

       "A lot of the key to early success is in where the bank branches are located," Deprince said, adding both the president and chairman of the board have been successful in locating branches in the past.

       MIDSOUTH BANK is not a new name for many in the Murfreesboro community.

       Jack Weatherford was a banking legend as chief executive of Murfreesboro Bank & Trust when it acquired banks in other Middle Tennessee counties. Weatherford was still with the bank when it was sold to Third National in Nashville and eventually taken over by SunTrust.

       Weatherford will serve as senior chairman of MIDSOUTH, with Moss serving as chairman and CEO and Ben Weatherford serving as president. Additional officers and board members will be announced later in the process.

       A tentative timeline for the forming of MIDSOUTH BANK, which will hinge on regulatory approval, began January 15 with the filing of a letter of intent. Organizers hope to begin selling stock by January 30 and to file their application with the state of Tennessee Commissioner of Banking on April 15.

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