Regions, Union to Combine Mortgage Ops

Regions Financial Corp., Birmingham, Ala., and Union Planters Corp., Memphis, have announced plans to integrate their respective mortgage companies, Regions Mortgage and Union Planters Mortgage, in connection with their previously announced merger.The combined entity, Regions Mortgage, will be headquartered in Memphis. The current operations of Regions Mortgage in Montgomery, Ala., (excluding sales offices and an operations center) will be relocated to Memphis and to Hattiesburg, Miss., the companies said. Union Planters Mortgage's operations in Montgomery, except for the wholesale lending office, will also be relocated to Memphis. The companies said approximately 450 positions will be affected by the changes, which are scheduled to take place between October 2004 and March 2005. "Combining the strengths of our two mortgage companies will be an integral part of Regions' and Union Planters' efforts to create a new regional force in banking and financial services," said Regions Mortgage chairman Robert A. Goethe, who will be the chairman of mortgage banking for the combined company. ".... We did not approach these decisions lightly, and every attempt has been made to minimize the negative repercussions on the people involved." Regions can be found online at http://www.regions.com.