Southern First Bancshares operates in two markets: Greenville, South Carolina, where it operates under the Greenville First Bank moniker, and in Columbia, South Carolina as Southern First Bank. Selling itself as a local alternative to larger institutions, the company, which has more than five bank branches, targets individuals and small to midsized businesses. It offers traditional deposit services and products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, and CDs. The banks use funds from deposits mainly to write commercial mortgages, residential mortgages, and commercial business loans.

Citizens Holding Company has taken the proletariat approach to banking. The firm is the holding company for The Citizens Bank of Philadelphia, Mississippi, which operates some 20 locations in the eastern part of the state. Founded in 1908, the bank targets individuals and local businesses, offering products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs, IRAs, and trust services. Lending activities consist mostly of real estate loans (about 70% of the loan portfolio) and commercial, industrial, and agricultural loans (more than 10%). Citizens Holding offers discount brokerage services through an agreement with First Tennessee Bank. Subsidiary Title Services offers title insurance.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania will keep your money close to its vest. The holding company for Univest National Bank and Trust serves the Keystone State's southeast region. The bank has more than 30 traditional and supermarket branch locations and provides standard retail and commercial banking services. Real estate loans account for nearly 80% of the company's lending portfolio; it also offers business loans, municipal loans, and personal loans. Subsidiaries Univest Capital provides commercial financing, while Univest Investments offers investment advisory services. Univest Insurance offers commercial and personal insurance covering workers' compensation, property, automobiles, life, and health.

Banco Guipuzcoano (BG) offers a variety of financial services to individuals and businesses, including savings, checking, and credit card services. Financial consultation, asset management, retirement planning, insurance, and investment products are also available; in addition, the bank is active in international business and real estate. Its ASPRO division handles corporate finance. BG, which was founded in 1899, operates nearly 260 branches in the region. The company is merging with larger rival Banco de Sabadell.

Capitol Bancorp raises banks. The holding company owns a network of community banks in more than a dozen states around the country. Many of the banks have only one location and are run locally. They target area business customers and high-net-worth individuals, with offerings such as checking and savings accounts, loans and mortgages, and trust and investment services. Its Capitol Wealth subsidiary provides wealth management services. Commercial real estate loans make up about half of Capitol Bancorp's total loan portfolio, which also includes residential mortgage, business, consumer, construction, and land development loans.

Founded in 1865, Banca Popolare di Milano (also known as Pop Milano) is a cooperative bank with more than 580 branches in Italy, concentrated in and around Milan and in northern and central portions of the country. It also operates a virtual bank (Webank) and commercial banks Banca di Legnano and Cassa di Risparmo di Alessandria. In addition to standard retail services such as deposit accounts, credit cards, and loans, the company offers corporate and investment banking, insurance, and wealth management. Merger talks between Banca Popolare di Milano and Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna have stalled.

Marquette Financial Companies to finance their companies. Marquette Financial comprises about a dozen subsidiaries that provide financial services such as commercial banking and lending services to small and midsized enterprises. The company's commercial finance activities include asset-based lending, accounts receivable financing, and equipment leasing, as well as niche lending services such as factoring for the trucking industry and leveraged finance for small businesses that are being acquired by private equity firms. Marquette Financial has two units devoted to providing real estate construction lending to builders, developers, contractors, and investors.

DnB NOR ASA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Norway and internationally. It operates in four segments: Retail Banking, Large Corporates and International, DnB NOR Markets, and Life and Asset Management. The Retail Banking segment offers various financial products and services, including financing and leasing, and deposit and investment alternatives, as well as insurance, real estate broking, and financial advisory services. It also provides information and communication technology equipment leasing, factoring, vehicle financing, and fleet management services; and credit card and consumer finance services, as well as distributes life and pension insurance, non-life insurance, and banking products. This segment offers its services through Internet bank, mobile banking, SMS services, branch offices, in-store banking outlets, in-store postal outlets, and Norway Post. The Large Corporates and International segment provides various financial products and services, including various types of financing solutions, deposits and investments, insurance, e-commerce products, commercial property brokerage, foreign currency, interest rate products, trade finance, and corporate finance services. The DnB NOR Markets segment offers foreign exchange, interest rate, and commodity products; securities and other investment products; debt and equity financing in capital markets; research; and advisory services, as well as custodial and other securities services to corporate clients and the public sector. The Life and Asset Management segment provides individual and group life insurance, pension savings, mutual funds, and discretionary asset management products and services. DnB NOR ASA also owns 51% ownership interest in Bank DnB NORD AS, which offers various banking products to the retail and corporate markets in Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland. The company was founded in 1822 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.

Value Financial Services gives customers bucks for their bling. Founded in 1994 by former CEO John Thedford, the company runs about 70 pawn shops in Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, and Tennessee, operating as Value Pawn and Jewelry and Check Jewelry & Loan. It makes non-recourse loans secured by customers personal items, including jewelry, electronics, and musical instruments. The average amount of the company's pawn loans is about $150; its pawn service charges range from about 188% to 300% annually. At the end of 2008 Texas-based EZCORP acquired the company after initial talks had fallen through.

Heritage Bankshares, Inc. is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. Heritage Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that offers commercial and retail banking services to individuals and small to medium sized businesses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Heritage Bankshares, Inc. accepts various deposits, which include noninterest-bearing checking accounts, interest-bearing checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan portfolio consists of construction and real estate loans; loans to individuals for personal, household, and family purposes; working capital loans, financing of facilities, and equipment purchase loans for businesses; commercial business loans; land acquisition and development loans; and home equity, consumer, and residential mortgage loans. In addition, Heritage Bankshares, Inc. offers insurance and investment services. As of December 31, 2009, it operated from seven locations.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.