633 Alabama, Florida Branches Successfully Converted, Re-branded Regions
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) announced today that it completed the first phase of its merger integration in two key geographies -- Alabama and Florida. A total of 633 branches were successfully converted and re-branded Regions. This first phase of integration represents the company's single largest planned conversion as part of the merger between Regions Financial Corporation and AmSouth Bancorporation and reflects nearly one-third of the company's total branches.
"We executed a smooth conversion as planned, which is a testament to the diligent preparations our team made during the last several months. Our associates did what they do best -- put the customers' needs first, and it has paid off remarkably well," said Dowd Ritter, president and chief executive officer of Regions Financial Corporation. "We took the best combination of systems, policies and practices from both companies and blended them together, which will enable us to deliver more convenience and better products, along with a single-minded focus on making banking simple and easy."
More than 2.9 million deposit accounts and 400,000 loan accounts are served between Alabama and Florida and were successfully converted on time and in balance. According to the FDIC, Regions is the largest financial institution in Alabama and ranks as Florida's fourth largest financial services company. Overall, the corporation is the nation's ninth-largest bank holding company.
Merger Integration Preparation
Since the merger was completed on November 4, 2006, the company has been planning and implementing various components of the conversion. Key decisions regarding systems platforms, products, and branch distribution were made in the early days following the merger announcement, leaving ample time for implementation to occur in a thoughtful, systematic manner.
Over the past eight months leading up to the first conversion, Regions has:
-- Given customers free access to the combined banks' 2,400 ATMs in
16 states
-- Issued new Regions credit, debit and ATM cards to converting AmSouth
customers
-- Eliminated duplicate account numbers
-- Offered free bill payment
-- Re-branded regions.com online banking site
-- Converted business banking and mortgage servicing systems
Regions and AmSouth associates in Alabama and Florida completed more than 181,000 hours of training in preparation for the conversion. More than 475,000 hours have gone into systems programming and testing.
Systems Conversion
"All along, our objective was to focus on our customer. We made every merger integration decision based on minimizing customer impact," said Ritter. "We converted 70 core banking systems and processed millions of transactions before opening for business on Monday. Our customers' response was overwhelmingly positive during the merger integration, and we appreciate their patience as we converted all of our banking channels."
Following the first conversion event, the company's banking channels -- branches, ATMs, point of sale, telebanking and online banking -- are fully functional and processing at above normal transaction rates. Some converting customers are required to reset their passwords for access to online banking, and additional telebanking staff is available to assist these customers. The online banking customer usage rate remains high.
"It's Time to Expect More"
Along with its re-branded bank signage, Regions launched a new branding and marketing campaign. With a brand promise of "It's time to Expect More," Regions is committed to monitoring customer satisfaction and loyalty and making process changes to improve the customer experience. The company has engaged an independent research firm to monitor customer satisfaction and has created an executive-level Quality Service Council to address process changes aimed at improving the customer experience.
Phase II of the merger integration is planned for October, when the company's branches in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana will convert systems and re-brand under the new Regions banner. Subsequent merger integrations will follow in Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky in late 2007 or early 2008.
About Regions Financial Corporation
Regions Financial Corporation is a member of the S&P 100 Index and Forbes Magazine's "Platinum 400" list of America's best big companies. With nearly $140 billion in assets, Regions is one of the nation's largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, trust, securities brokerage, mortgage and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates some 1,900 AmSouth and Regions banking offices and more than 2,400 ATMs. Its investment and securities brokerage, trust and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., provides services from more than 400 offices. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at http://www.regions.com/.
DATASOURCE: Regions Financial Corporation
CONTACT: Rick Swagler, Media Relations, +1-205-801-0105,
, or List Underwood, Investor Relations,
+1-205-801-0265, , both of Regions Financial
Corporation
Web site: http://www.regions.com/