The Carson Medlin Company announced today that Garry Barnes has joined the firm and will head the firm's new Salt Lake City, Utah office. A native of Boise, Idaho, Mr. Barnes is a veteran western banker, having previously served in management positions in community banks in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada and Utah. He received a B.S. degree in finance from Boise State University and has taught in numerous national banking schools. Mr. Barnes will offer the firm's services primarily to community banks in the nation's western states.

Gray Medlin, founder and chairman of The Carson Medlin Company, had the following comments about the firm's latest expansion. "CMC was founded in 1991 during the depths of the last serious banking downturn. We began believing there would always be a need by high quality financial institutions for high quality financial advisors. Now, in the midst of the most challenging climate for bankers since the Great Depression, we remain very optimistic for the future of America's financial services industry. Banking will certainly change and evolve, as it must, but we are confident that America's bankers are up to the challenge. As Carson Medlin begins its third decade, we hope that this new commitment to bankers in the West demonstrates our confidence in the industry we serve. We are delighted to have Garry join the Carson Medlin team."

The Carson Medlin Company is an investment banking firm founded in 1991. The firm provides mergers & acquisition advisory, capital raising, valuation, and equity research services to independent financial services firms, including community banks, wealth managers, mortgage bankers, and insurance agencies. Beginning with our original Tampa office, we now have professionals in Raleigh, Atlanta, Houston, and Salt Lake City. Having advised on well over 100 successful bank merger transactions, the firm is one of the country's ten most active bank merger advisors over the last decade. CMC is a FINRA (formerly NASD) member broker-dealer firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.