Compass Bancshares Third Quarter Conference Call and Webcast at 10:00 A.M. CDT on October 17.

Business Editors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2003

Compass Bancshares, Inc., (Nasdaq: CBSS) today announced that D. Paul Jones, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, and Garrett R. Hegel, chief financial officer, will host a conference call to discuss third quarter 2003 results at 10:00 a.m. CDT on Friday, October 17, 2003. Additional material information, including forward-looking information such as considerations regarding future results, may be discussed during the presentation. Interested parties may access the call via either the Internet or telephone. Internet access to the call and to the supporting slide presentation will be available through Compass' web site www.compassweb.com. Click on the link labeled "Compass Bancshares Quarterly Conference Call" to access the webcast and slide presentation. For telephone access, dial 1-888-543-2107, passcode Compass. Telephone participants are requested to dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call to allow time for all participants to log in.

A replay of the conference call will be available through Compass' web site and by telephone at 1-800-642-1687 (conference ID 3143888) until midnight on October 24, 2003.

Compass Bancshares, Inc. is a $25.6 billion Southwestern financial holding company which operates 358 full-service banking offices including 126 in Texas, 89 in Alabama, 66 in Arizona, 42 in Florida, 26 in Colorado and nine in New Mexico. Compass is among the top 40 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity. The company's earnings per share have increased for 15 consecutive years and dividends per share have increased for 22 consecutive years. Shares of Compass' common stock are traded through the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol CBSS.