REGIONS FINANCIAL CORP

Regions Financial Corp is a banking and financial services company that operates in the United States through its subsidiaries. The company was created out of the merger of three Alabama banks in 1971: the First National Bank of Montgomery, which was established in 1871, Exchange Security Bank of Birmingham, established in 1928, and First National Bank of Huntsville, established in 1856. The merged company would be the first state chartered bank holding company within the state of Alabama and would be known as First Alabama Bancshares. While the company would soon after acquire and merge with other companies, the original three banking entities would operate independently until the formal merger in 1985. The company would change to its current name Regions Financial Corp in 1992 after its expansion into other states including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas, reflecting its development into a regional bank and consolidating its operating subsidiaries under the Regions Bank name. Regions Financial Corp would then continue to expand its presence, adding branches in a variety of southwestern states including Texas, Louisiana, and others until it had branch locations throughout the southwestern region of the United States. In 2002, the company would be listed in the New York Stock Exchange, prompting further expansion and the opening of Regions Mortgage, its mortgage bank, a trust company, and Regions Investment Company, an investment firm. Regions Financial Corp is currently the largest deposit holder in Alabama and a member of the Fortune 500. The company has over 23,000 employees operating through over 1,700 branches located in 16 states and has over $120 billion in total assets, generating an annual revenue of $5.4 billion. The company invests most heavily in the finance sector, which alone makes up almost a third of its total asset allocations, and also invests in the information technology, health care, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and energy sectors, among others, in order of decreasing allocation.