CapStar hires banker to enter Western North Carolina

CapStar Financial Holdings in Nashville, Tenn., is entering Asheville, N.C., after hiring a banker from First Horizon. 

The $3.2 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that Martin Nesbitt will serve as its Asheville market president. Nesbitt will build a team of bankers to focus on small and midsize business, professionals, real estate investors and retail customers. 

Nesbitt previously served as a senior commercial relationship manager at First Horizon, which is being sold to TD Bank. 

CapStar said it had formed a local advisory board to support Nesbitt’s efforts. 

“CapStar is excited to continue its momentum by expanding into the dynamic Western North Carolina market,” Timothy Schools, the company’s president and CEO. 

"Asheville lost the majority of its community banks over the past decade and is now principally served by extremely large banks, often with less personal service and bankers out of Charlotte,” Schools added. 

CapStar is following a model it used to enter the Tennessee markets of Chattanooga and Knoxville over the last two years. The company now has nearly $400 million of assets in those cities and achieved a preprovision profit within the first six months.