Regions Financial announces earnings

BIRMINGHAM - Regions Financial Corporation today announced earnings for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2001. Net income totaled $138.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2001, compared to $128.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2000.

Fourth quarter revenue growth was very strong, as the interest margin continued to improve and fee income reached record levels. Revenues for the fourth quarter increased $42.0 million or 27% annualized, compared to the third quarter.

Carl E. Jones, Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Regions, said, "We are especially pleased to have achieved record operating income for 2001. The year just ended was a year of transformation and change for Regions. We greatly expanded our product set in investments, asset management, and insurance through our mergers with Morgan Keegan and Rebsamen in early 2001. With the integration of these new partners into our banking franchise, we increased fee income as a percentage of total revenue to over 40% while adding diversity and stability to our earnings stream."


Operating income for 2001, which excludes a second quarter, non-recurring after-tax charge of $17.8 million, totaled a record $526.7 million or $2.32 per diluted share. Operating income for 2000, which excludes a first quarter, non-recurring after-tax gain of $17.8 million, totaled $509.7 million or $2.30 per diluted share. Net income for 2001 totaled $508.9 million or $2.24 per diluted share, compared to net income for 2000 of $527.5 million or $2.38 per diluted share.

Regions also announced that its Board of Directors increased the quarterly cash dividend to $.29 per share. The increased dividend is payable April 1, 2002, to stockholders of record as of March 15, 2002. This is the 31st consecutive year that Regions has increased its quarterly cash dividend and the 123rd consecutive quarter in which the company has paid cash dividends, going back to its formation in 1971.

Regions Financial Corporation, with $45.4 billion in assets, ranks among the 25 largest financial services companies in the nation. Regions' banking affiliates offer banking services from more than 675 banking offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.