Citizens Bank expanding in Cullman with new branch

Benjamin Bullard, The Cullman Times, Ala.
·2 min read

Mar. 25—Two decades after its homegrown beginnings in north Alabama, Citizens Bank is expanding in Cullman with a new branch that's targeting April as its opening date. It's the first time the still-growing institution has opened a second branch location anywhere in Alabama.

Sited near the bustling intersection between Alabama Highway 157 and Eva Road, the new branch sits along Park Avenue, part of the street loop that serves business traffic at the intersection's high-profile southeast corner.

"We liked that spot because it's an area of Cullman that looks like it's going to grow," said Alan Wood, the Cullman City president of Citizens Bank, from his office at the bank's already established main location in downtown Cullman.

"We debated between locating in south Cullman or north — and one day we'd love to be in both areas — but we believe retail in that Highway 157 area is going to really pop, especially once the highway widening project up there is done."

Like its local flagship location at the downtown corner of U.S Highway 278 and 2nd Avenue, the new branch will be a full-service bank that gives account holders access to everything they need in one convenient spot. Longtime local banking veteran Mark Aderholt will serve as the new location's branch manager.

"It's going to be a full-service branch," said Wood. "We'll have a loan officer there, both drive-through and walk-up tellers; everything you'd already expect to find at our current branch. Everybody who works there is a Cullman person ... well, except for two people who actually live out toward Addison," he laughed. "It's very much all-local."

Since its 2003 start in nearby Guntersville, Citizens Bank & Trust has expanded to include branches in Albertville, Arab, Cullman, Guntersville, Hazel Green, New Hope, Elkmont and Rogersville in addition to a separate mortgage department and a wealth management division, each also based in Alabama. Deepening the bank's commitment to the Cullman community by opening a second location, said Wood, came as an especially easy decision.

"We've been very fortunate in Cullman," he said. "It's always been a conservative town, but yet really progressive in terms of growth. We've seen a lot of loan growth over the past five years, and this area is just a good market. Cullman has really been good to us."