CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS


The Administrative Committee

Compass Bancshares, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan:


We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-8 of Compass Bancshares, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan of our 
report dated June 25, 1997, relating to the statements of net assets 
available for plan benefits of Compass Bancshares, Inc. Employee Stock 
Ownership Plan as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the related statements 
of changes in net assets available for plan benefits and related schedules 
for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 1996, which 
report appears in the December 31, 1996 Annual Report on Form 11-K of Compass 
Bancshares, Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.




/s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

Birmingham, Alabama

June 25, 1997