Nashville Business Journal reported that CapStar is opening equipment lending offices in three states as it builds a broader commercial loan presence.

According to the report, CapStar recently signed to establish a commercial loan office in St. Louis, Mo. as well as offices in Louisville, Ky. and Charlotte, N.C.  Lee Palm, executive vice president of CapStar’s commercial finance division, said it serves as a potent way to extend the bank's reach to key clients. "We can increase our bank customer base by going into those other markets and those other states," Palm said.
 
Palm, who with senior vice president Brian Shapiro has a long career in building commercial finance companies, heads a CapStar division that's grown to 10 people since May of 2011. The division does not do leasing, but steers a portion of CapStar's lending balance sheet toward equipment loans.

CapStar, which otherwise has a tight local focus in terms of market, may pursue more commercial loan offices in states contiguous to Tennessee, Palm said. Such moves are for future years, he said, and will be dictated by where the bank finds the right talent to populate its outposts.