CAPITAL BANK SALE FOLLOWS THE TREND OF FINANCIAL WEDDINGS

For 107 years the banking establishment known today as Capital Bancorporation Inc. has served Cape Girardeau County. Founded as Cape County Savings Bank in Jackson, the company currently has five affiliate banks with 31 offices in Missouri. If stockholders and regulatory agencies approve, the multibank company will become a part of Union Planters Corp. of Memphis, which has 38 affiliate banks and 380 offices in six states.

This is the trend of modern banking: regional and even national alliances that give parent companies opportunities to serve and do business in as wide an area as possible. That trend has had an impact on cities like Cape Girardeau, where all the banks except one -- South East Missouri Bank -- will be owned by corporations with headquarters somewhere else once the Capital/Union Planters deal is completed.

Banking, like so many other things in society today, has changed dramatically. Automated tellers that provide around-the-clock services without any need for staffing are a way of life for most Americans. Credit cards, many of them issued by banks or with their logos, are as common in most wallets and purses as cash used to be. Computers and high-speed communications allow banks to keep track of transactions all over the country, even the world. Banks offer an array of services far beyond the checking, savings and lending of years gone by.

Keeping up with the fast-paced world of banking is the key to survival of even the fittest institutions. Capital Bancorporation and Union Planters both see benefits and advantages in their planned partnership. Overall, Cape Girardeau is well served by many fine financial institutions. The combined resources of Capital/UP should only add to that solid base.