Regions Financial Corporation

The publicly-traded company Regions Financial Corporation is headquartered in the Regions Center, Birmingham, Alabama. Included in the S&P 100 Index, the body operates in the areas of retail and consumer banking, brokerage, securities servicing, mortgage and insurance, trust, mutual funds, etc. The banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, provides checking and savings accounts, foreign exchange, individual retirement plans, time deposits, commercial lending, real estate loans, mortgage loans, overdrafts, consumer installment loans, etc. The company ranks in US top ten largest banks, with assets totaling $146 billion as of 2009. The banking division, Regions Bank, has around 2000 branches and operates approximately 2300 ATMs throughout the country. The company covers a 16-state area in the South and Midwest parts. Region’s ancillary covers asset management, while Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc., is a major servicer in the respective market, with over 450 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, etc. The body is focused on retail brokerage, securities underwriting, sales and trading, equity capital markets and fixed-income capital markets.

Regions Financial was established in 1971 under the name First Alabama Bancshares Inc. The institution was a pioneering multibank company in Alabama. It started off with $ 543 million worth of assets and offices in Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville, among 40 locations. The bank doubled its assets in 3 years, due to sound acquisitions. Another opportunity for expansion arose in 1986 when the banking laws were changed. According to the amended Interstate Banking Bill, banking holdings were permitted to acquire branches in a state different from the one that the company was chartered in. Thus, Alabama Bancshares was able to start an office in Florida, and later in Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia. To reflect the shift towards regional operation, the company chose a new name – Regions Financial Corporation. The network also included South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. The affiliates of the corporation comprise a bank subsidiary, a trust company, a mortgage bank, and an investment ancillary.

Regions Bank first facilitated their customers’ inquiries through providing a computer-based phone service, offering account information and financial operator assistance.

In 2004, a merger with Union Planters Corp., Memphis, took place. This put Regions ahead all the financial service providers in the region and made it one of the top 15 in the country. However, what put it atop the financial industry was its merger with AmSouth Bancorporation. The deal was finalized in November, 2006.


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