AmSouth Bancorporation was a banking company headquartered in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, and operated for its final year in existence as a

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') or bancorporation is often used to refer to such companies as w ...

(subsidiary) of

Regions Financial Corporation Regions Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in the Regions Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The company provides retail and commercial banking, trust, stock brokerage, and mortgage services. Its banking subsi ...

after a merger between the two banks. AmSouth was previously known as First National Bank of Birmingham, which was first organized by Charles Linn in 1872. AmSouth was in the financial services industry and at its peak employed over twelve thousand people. AmSouth's size more than doubled in 2000 when it absorbed

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

-based First American National Bank. With the merger came hundreds of branches primarily in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

but also in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. This is cited as a rare example of one bank absorbing another bank larger than itself. As part of the deal, AmSouth also acquired

Deposit Guaranty Bank Deposit may refer to: *Deposit (finance) (also security deposit) *A down payment or partial payment in advance *Deposit (town), New York *Deposit (village), New York *Deposit account, a bank account that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by ...

(which was operating as a subsidiary of First American). AmSouth was known for its low risk accounts through its specialty in Wealth Management, especially in its largest market of Birmingham, Alabama, where it started its specialty. Following AmSouth's merger with First American in 1999, the company expanded its Wealth Management reach into many of First American's markets such as Nashville, Tennessee.

Merger with Regions Financial Corporation

On May 25, 2006, AmSouth announced it would merge with

, another Birmingham-based bank, in a $10 billion deal. A list of branches that will be divested for the merger to be approved was issued by the Department of Justice on October 19, 2006. The 39 branches divested in Alabama were sold to RBC Centura Bank and converted in Spring 2007. On November 4, 2006, Regions completed its acquisition of AmSouth. AmSouth branches in Alabama, Florida, or Columbus, GA, either closed or converted to Regions on July 13, 2007. Branches in remaining states (except parts of Northwest Georgia) closed or converted on October 26, 2007. The branches in Northwest Georgia were converted on December 6, 2007, officially retiring the AmSouth name.

References

External links

Yahoo! - AmSouth Bancorporation
profile
Regions Financial
official site of parent corporation {{DEFAULTSORT:Amsouth Bancorporation Regions Financial Corporation Companies based in Birmingham, Alabama Banks based in Alabama Banks established in 1970 Defunct banks of the United States Banks disestablished in 2006 Defunct companies based in Alabama American companies established in 1970