S-8

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2004

Registration No. 333-          

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ALABAMA NATIONAL BANCORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware	63-1114426
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

1927 First Avenue North

Birmingham, Alabama 35203

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

CYPRESS BANK DIRECTORS’

STOCK OPTION PLAN

(Full Title of the Plan)

John H. Holcomb, III

1927 First Avenue North

Birmingham, Alabama 35203

(205) 583-3600

(Name and Address of Agent For Service)

(Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

With a Copy to:

Christopher B. Harmon

Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C.

1901 Sixth Avenue North

Suite 2400

Birmingham, Alabama 35203

(205) 254-1000

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered	Amount to be Registered(1)	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)		Amount of Registration Fee
Common Stock, $1.00 par value	15,966 shares	$	249,070	$	31.56

(1) Pursuant to Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the offering price is estimated solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee and is based on the exercise prices of the options granted under the Plan.

(2) Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the number of shares of securities registered in this Registration Statement will be increased as a result of future stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

This Registration Statement is being filed in order to register 15,966 shares of common stock, $1.00 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), of Alabama National BanCorporation (the “Registrant”), which may be issued pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Cypress Bank Directors’ Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”).

The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be sent or given to each person participating in the Plan, as specified in Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). Such documents will not be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are incorporated into this Registration Statement by reference:

(a) The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, as amended by the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed on August 1, 2003.

(b) All other reports of the Registrant filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since December 31, 2002 (other than Current Reports on Form 8-K furnished to the Commission pursuant to Item 12 of Form 8-K).

(c) The description of the Registrant’s shares of Common Stock contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed by the Registrant with the Commission on November 21, 1994 to register such securities under the Exchange Act, including all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of updating such description prior to the termination of the offering of the Common Stock offered hereby.

All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been issued or which deregisters all securities then remaining unissued, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing such documents.

Any statement contained herein, or in a document all or a portion of which is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed

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document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

See Item 3(c) above.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant contains a provision which, subject to certain exceptions described below, eliminates the liability of a director to the Registrant or its stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of duty as a director. This provision does not eliminate the liability of the director (i) for violations of his duty of loyalty to the Registrant or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or involving intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) relating to unlawful dividends and distributions or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

The Bylaws of the Registrant require the Registrant to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant) by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant, or is or was serving at the request of the Registrant as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise (or any predecessor of any such entities), including service with respect to employee benefit plans maintained or sponsored by the Registrant (or any predecessor). Directors, officers, employees and agents are entitled to be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.

The Registrant must also indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Registrant to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant, or is or was serving at the request of the Registrant, as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise (or any predecessor of any such entities), including service with respect to employee benefit plans maintained or sponsored by the Registrant (or any predecessor), against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Registrant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no indemnification will be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Registrant unless and only to the extent that the Delaware Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine that such person is fairly and

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reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Delaware Court of Chancery or such other court deems proper.

Directors and officers are entitled to have the Registrant advance any expenses incurred in connection with a proceeding prior to final disposition of the proceeding, upon delivery of a written undertaking to repay the amounts advanced if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification.

In addition to the Bylaws of the Registrant, Section 145(c) of the DGCL requires the Registrant to indemnify any director who has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defending any proceeding described above. The DGCL also provides that a court may order indemnification of a director if it determines that the director is fairly and reasonably entitled to such indemnification.

Insofar as indemnification of liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers, or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

The following exhibits are filed herewith or incorporated by reference herein as part of this Registration Statement:

4.1	Restated Certificate of Incorporation (filed as an Exhibit to Alabama National’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2002 and incorporated herein by reference).
4.2	Bylaws (filed as an Exhibit to Alabama National’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Commission File No. 33-83800) and incorporated herein by reference).
5.1	Opinion of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C.
23.1	Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
23.2	Consent of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1 hereto).
24.1	Power of Attorney of the Officers and Directors of the Registrant.

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Item 9. Undertakings.

(a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;

(2) that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

The Registrant. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Birmingham, State of Alabama, as of March 3, 2004.

ALABAMA NATIONAL BANCORPORATION
By:	/s/    John H. Holcomb, III
	John H. Holcomb, III Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated as of March 3, 2004.

Signature	Title
/s/    John H. Holcomb, III John H. Holcomb, III	Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
* Victor E. Nichol, Jr.	Vice Chairman and Director
/s/    Richard Murray, IV Richard Murray, IV	President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
/s/    William E. Matthews, V William E. Matthews, V	Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
/s/    Shelly S. Williams Shelly S. Williams	Senior Vice President and Controller (Principal Accounting Officer)
* Dan M. David	Vice Chairman and Director
* W. Ray Barnes	Director

Signature	Title
* John V. Denson	Director
Griffin A. Greene	Director
* John D. Johns	Director
John J. McMahon, Jr.	Director
* C. Phillip McWane	Director
* William D. Montgomery	Director
* C. Lloyd Nix	Director
* G. Ruffner Page, Jr.	Director
* John Plunk	Director
* W. Stancil Starnes	Director

* By	/s/    John H. Holcomb, III	Attorney-in-Fact
	John H. Holcomb, III

EX-5.1

EXHIBIT 5.1

MAYNARD, COOPER AND GALE, P.C.

1901 Sixth Avenue North

Suite 2400

Birmingham, Alabama 35203

(205) 254-1000

March 3, 2004

Alabama National BanCorporation

1927 First Avenue North

Birmingham, Alabama 35203

Re:        Registration Statement on Form S-8

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to Alabama National BanCorporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) in connection with the registration on Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) of 15,966 shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the Company, to be issued in accordance with the terms of the Cypress Bank Directors’ Stock Option Plan, as amended by that certain Assumption of Stock Option Plan, dated as of June 1, 2003, and that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 14, 2003, between the Company and Cypress Bankshares, Inc. (as amended, the “Plan”). This opinion is provided pursuant to the requirements of Item 8 of Form S-8 and Item 601(b)(5)(i) of Regulation S-K.

In connection with the foregoing, we have examined such records, documents and proceedings as we have deemed relevant as a basis for the opinions expressed herein.

Based on the foregoing, we are of the opinion that (a) the Company is authorized to issue the Shares pursuant to the provisions of the Plan, and (b) when the Registration Statement on Form S-8 relating to the Shares (the “Registration Statement”) has become effective under the Act, and the Shares will have been duly issued as contemplated by the Registration Statement and the Plan, such Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

The foregoing opinion is limited to the Federal laws of the United States and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, and we express no opinion as to the effect of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

We hereby consent to the filing of a copy of this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or other rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.

Very truly yours,

MAYNARD, COOPER & GALE, P.C.
By:	/s/    Christopher B. Harmon
	Christopher B. Harmon

EX-23.1

EXHIBIT 23.1

Consent of Independent Accountants

We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated January 15, 2003, except for Note 22 as to which the date is January 29, 2003, relating to the consolidated financial statements, which appears in Alabama National BanCorporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002.

/s/    PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Birmingham, Alabama

March 2, 2004

EX-24.1

EXHIBIT 24.1

POWER OF ATTORNEY

WHEREAS, Alabama National BanCorporation (the “Corporation”) proposes to file two registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to the issuance of shares of common stock of the Corporation, under or pursuant to the Cypress Bank Directors’ Stock Option Plan and the Cypress Bank Officers’ and Employees’ Stock Option Plan.

NOW, THEREFORE, KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned directors and officers of said Corporation, individually as a director and/or as an officer of the Corporation, hereby make, constitute and appoint each of John H. Holcomb, III, Richard Murray, IV, and William E. Matthews, V, their true and lawful attorneys-in-fact for each of them and in each of their names, places and steads to sign and cause to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission said registration statements and any appropriate amendments thereto, together with all necessary exhibits, and all other documents in connection therewith, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all said attorneys-in-fact or any of them or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

The undersigned directors and officers of the Corporation hereby authorize said persons or any one of them to sign said registration statements on their behalf as attorney-in-fact and to amend or remedy any deficiencies with respect to said registration statements by appropriate amendment or amendments and to file the same as aforesaid.

Dated as of February 18, 2004.

/s/    John H. Holcomb, III        

John H. Holcomb, III

Chief Executive Officer and Director

/s/    Victor E. Nichol, Jr.        

Victor E. Nichol, Jr.

Vice Chairman and Director

/s/     Dan M. David        

Dan M. David

Vice Chairman and Director

/s/    Richard Murray, IV        

Richard Murray, IV

President, Chief Operating Officer and Director

/s/    William E. Matthews, V        

William E. Matthews, V

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

/s/    Shelly S. Williams        

Shelly S. Williams

Senior Vice President and Controller

/s/    W. Ray Barnes        

W. Ray Barnes

Director

/s/    John V. Denson        

John V. Denson

Director

/s/    John D. Johns        

John D. Johns

Director

John J. McMahon, Jr.

Director

/s/    C. Phillip McWane        

C. Phillip McWane

Director

/s/    William D. Montgomery        

William D. Montgomery

Director

/s/    C. Lloyd Nix        

C. Lloyd Nix

Director

/s/    G. Ruffner Page, Jr.        

G. Ruffner Page, Jr.

Director

/s/    John Plunk        

John Plunk

Director

/s/    W. Stancil Starnes        

W. Stancil Starnes

Director