Chris Allen: Story Financial Partners, Huntsville Market President | Senior Managing Director

Chris Allen began his banking career after earning a B.S. in Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions, and Contract Management from Athens State University. After two years in retail banking, he transitioned to commercial banking in 2015 and has spent 11 years developing and managing a large commercial client portfolio. He joined Story Financial Partners in 2025, leading the […]

Leslie Watts: Merit Bank, Vice President Private Banking Relationship Manager

Leslie Watts is a seasoned banking professional with two decades of experience in the banking industry. Currently, she serves as a Private Banking Relationship Manager at Merit Bank where she leverages her expertise to build strong client relationships and provide tailored financial solutions. Leslie is committed to serving her community. She actively serves as a […]

Sit Down with Success: A Conversation with Will Heaps of Merit Bank

Will Heaps, president and CEO of Merit Bank, grew up on his family’s cotton farm in Florence, Alabama. He began his banking career more than two decades ago with Regions Bank in Montgomery and has since worked with several financial institutions across the state.  As part of the founding team that brought Merit Bank to […]

Forrest Harrington joins First Horizon Bank’s Huntsville Commercial Banking Team

First Horizon Bank has announced that Forrest Harrington has joined its Huntsville Commercial Banking Team as Senior Vice President, Senior Commercial Banking Relationship Manager. Harrington comes to First Horizon with 30 years of commercial banking experience and an extensive background in commercial real estate. He is a strategic partner, providing customized financial solutions that help […]

Bank Independent launches Food and Family Share drive today

Bank Independent has announced the launch of its Food and Family Share initiative, which begins April 6. For the past 12 years, the bank has hosted the Food Share drive to address food insecurity in the communities it serves. Last year, the initiative expanded to include a Family Share component, collecting not only nonperishable food […]

FirstBank’s Customer-First Approach Drives No. 1 J.D. Power Ranking

FirstBank ranked No. 1 for retail banking customer satisfaction in the South Central region in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. The ranking is based on feedback from more than 100,000 retail banking customers nationwide. The study also found that FirstBank received the highest ratings in the region for trust and for […]

Ground is broken for ‘next chapter’ of ServisFirst bank

Citing the vision of Andy Kattos, ServisFirst Bank Regional CEO Jim Holtkamp celebrated the bank’s new Huntsville location during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday. “Andy drove by and saw a for sale sign and got on the phone,” Holtkamp said with Kattos, the bank’s director emeritus, among those in the audience. “Without Andy’s leadership over the […]

Protect the Local Deposits that Power Alabama’s Growth

Op-Ed provided by: Bank Independent CEO, Macke Mauldin The Vital Role of Community Bank Deposits Most conversations about new digital payment tools often miss a crucial reality: when money exits community bank deposits, local lending is directly impacted. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized, “In a fractional banking system, deposits finance lending. When deposits flow out, […]

ServisFirst Bank Huntsville Announces New Commercial Banking Officer

Jonathan Ceci has been promoted to Commercial Banking Officer at ServisFirst Bank Huntsville.  Ceci first joined ServisFirst Bank as a summer and winter intern in 2022 while attending the University of Alabama, where he graduated summa cum laude in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance.  After graduation, he joined the […]

First Horizon Bank Welcomes Scott Hulgan to Huntsville Business Banking Team as Senior Vice President

First Horizon Bank has announced that Scott Hulgan has joined its Huntsville Business Banking team as Senior Vice President and Senior Business Banking Relationship Manager. Hulgan has an extensive background in business banking and most recently served as a Retail Group Manager at Synovus. As a senior business banking relationship manager, he is a client-first […]