Loss Narrows for Tennessee Lender

First Horizon National Corp. — once a large player in mortgages — saw its third-quarter loss narrow as loan-loss provisions continued to fall. Last year it sold part of its mortgage division to Metropolitan Life, a life insurance company. The parent of First Tennessee Bank, Memphis, lost $52.9 million in the period compared to a loss of $125 million in the third quarter of 2008. Revenue dropped 5% to $494.7 million. Results beat analysts' expectations. FNC has trimmed its mortgage banking operations over the past 18 months and sold branches outside its Tennessee footprint. Loan-loss provisions fell 29% to $185 million from the prior quarter and dropped 46% from a year earlier. Last fall, First Horizon received $866 million from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.