In any other Tennessee county, it would sound cliché. But for Greene County Bancshares to rename its banks GreenBank, it fits.

The change of brand name is just one of many aggressive moves made by the Greeneville-based banking company, whose recent acquisitions have catapulted the publicly traded institution to $2.8 billion in assets.

GreenBank’s rapid expansion as of late can be attributed to the financial talent of regional banking veteran and GreenBank’s chairman and CEO, Stan Puckett. Puckett, along with a board comprised of Greene County’s most influential people, has been plotting the bank’s moves as a breakout corporate star since the former banking head of Johnson City’s First American National Bank branch came to Greeneville in 1990. (Nashville-based First American was acquired by AmSouth Bank in 2000.)

Now, it’s Puckett’s turn to man the takeovers and change the logos, which he has been doing with smaller banking systems from Bristol to Clarksville. The bank has grown from 28 branches in 2002, when Greene County Bancshares first listed on the NASDAQ, to 49 locations today. Earlier this year, GreenBank moved west again bringing Franklin’s Civitas BankGroup into the fold in a $164 million deal.

Though such acquisitions show that GreenBank is anything but “green” when it comes to increasing market share, it is still viewed as one of Tennessee’s minor players. When news hit of the Civitas merger, Greene County Bancshares was labeled as small and rural. “It’s not an inaccurate statement,” Puckett admits, and, with GreenBank headquartered in a town the size of Greeneville (pop. 15,383), he expects that perception to always be there to some extent.

Many may have forgotten the change in Tennessee’s financial landscape, as most of the state’s locally based banks have been gobbled up by the giants—a situation deemed as negative by some outsiders.

Amazingly, GreenBank reigns as the second largest Tennessee-based bank in the state—albeit a distant second behind Memphis-based First Horizon/First Tennessee, which holds $37.9 billion in assets.

For an institution with a history dating back to 1890, what is prompting GreenBank to strike now?

Tennessee’s banking markets have become fertile ground for newcomers, especially for community banks such as GreenBank. Industry veterans, too young to retire, are raising capital hand-over-fist to start de novo banks in their own backyards.

“Capital has been fairly easy to raise,” says Mark Muth, industry analyst with Nashville’s FTN Midwest Securities Corp. “The industry has enjoyed above-historical performance levels—specifically double-digit earnings and balance sheet growth rates—as well as historically low credit costs.”

Greene County Bancshares, GreenBank’s holding company, is a prime example supporting Muth’s observation, with stocks trading at an average of $33 per share.

“[We] like to compete in markets dominated by large, out-of-state banks,” Puckett says. And just about “every market in Tennessee” fits this scenario, he adds. “Community banks generally feel pretty good about their chances of competing effectively. As a citizen, it kind of makes me sad. As a banker, it’s a great opportunity.”

GreenBank continues its aggressive foray throughout the East-to-Middle Tennessee corridor—through acquisitions and by building new banking centers in its newly chartered markets.

Yet Puckett’s approach is anything but hostile. After all, despite the name change and an increase in total assets well past the $1 billion benchmark, GreenBank remains a community bank and aims to preserve its homegrown, Greene County feel.

The bank keeps its acquired employee base intact to ensure a smooth transition for its existing customers.

And, to live up to its new tagline, “Tennessee’s Most Convenient Bank,” some GreenBank locations will now be open on Sunday afternoons. It certainly gives new meaning to the term, “banker’s hours.”

What will GreenBank’s next move be—buy, sell or hold? In the near-term, Puckett says the company has plenty of work on its plate building out its newfound markets, although he keeps his ears perked for a good deal.

With room at the financial center of Nashville for a new Tennessee banking king, would GreenBank consider relocating?

“We’re very comfortable that Greeneville is the best place for us to be headquartered. I’m not going to be the CEO in 20 years, so you don’t know how things might change,” Puckett says. That kind of move would be damaging to Greene County’s economy, and would leave logistics company Forward Air as the county’s only publicly traded company.

For now, GreenBank is staying true to its roots, but do not be surprised if some banks near you start looking a little green.