SOUTHWEST
Compass Banks of Texas Inc., the Dallas subsidiary of Compass Bancshares, Birmingham, Ala., has promoted Ralph O. Thompson to president of its office in Irving.
He will oversee small and middle-market companies there, focusing on loans of $100,000 to $1 million.
Mr. Thompson had been vice president of business lending for greater Dallas with Compass Banks of Texas.
Melinda Ashcraft was promoted to vice president and regional small- business banking manager for Compass Bank's small-business division in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. She will focus on small companies with credit needs of less than $250,000.
Ms. Ashcraft had been a small-business lending officer for the Compass unit; before that she was vice president of marketing for small-business lending at Equitable Bancshares, Dallas, which Compass bought in April 1996.
Compass Banks of Texas also promoted Allison Hammer to vice president of energy lending.
Ms. Hammer was a business development officer in Bank of Montreal's energy lending group in Houston, where she started as a credit trainee and later became a member of the business development team. She specialized in independent and integrated energy companies on the Gulf Coast and in the midcontinent.
Ms. Hammer, who will be based in Houston, will help manage the bank's oil and gas corporate customers.
