Regions Financial to Acquire AmSouth Bancorp

Regions Financial will acquire AmSouth Bancorp in a merger that would create a bank with nearly $140 billion in assets and market capitalization of about $26 billion, said officials Thursday. The two banking giants will merge in a $9.8 billion stock deal, creating the nations 10th largest bank, and hold nearly $100 billion in deposits.

Although the combined company will employ 37,000 people, the deal would reportedly save the company $400 million a year by closing 150 branches, and cutting as much as 10% of the total combined work force, about 3,600 employees will lose their jobs. The resulting bank will keep the Regions Financial name, and will have about 2,000 branches across Texas, and 16 other states across the South and Midwest regions. Jackson Moore, president/CEO of Regions, will become chairman of the combined entity. C. Dowd Ritter, chairman and president/CEO of AmSouth, will become president/CEO. Regions Financial will remain headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.