AmSouth Reports Earnings for Third Quarter 2006.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- AmSouth Bancorporation (NYSE: ASO) today reported earnings for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2006, of $.54 per diluted share, compared to $.51 per diluted share reported for the third quarter of 2005. Net income for the third quarter of 2006 was a record $187.7 million and resulted in a return on average equity of 20.3 percent, a return on average assets of 1.38 percent, and an efficiency ratio of 51.8 percent.

"AmSouth continued to deliver solid results despite a very difficult interest rate environment," said Dowd Ritter, AmSouth's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We are looking forward to completing our merger with Regions Financial Corp. in November, and we believe it will create a formidable franchise with stronger and more diverse sources of revenue."

Net interest income in the third quarter was $388.8 million, an increase of 3.7 percent compared with the third quarter of 2005, as loans grew 11.7 percent. Commercial loan growth was particularly strong, increasing 17.5 percent compared with the third quarter of 2005, led by a 33.8 percent increase in commercial real estate lending compared with the prior year. Residential mortgages increased 9.4 percent compared with the third quarter of 2005.

Despite the solid loan growth, the net interest margin compressed to 3.19 percent as a result of the continued difficult interest rate environment and a shift in consumer preference toward higher cost time deposits. Although average total deposits increased 5.7 percent to $37.4 billion compared with the third quarter of 2005, low cost deposits declined 1.3 percent to $23.9 billion on the same basis.

Noninterest revenue, which includes earnings from service charges, trust, investment services, interchange, and other sources of fee income, was $248.4 million for the quarter, compared with $259.6 million for the same quarter in 2005, which included a gain of $44.0 million from the sale of the company's mutual fund management business. Noninterest expenses in the third quarter were $335.7 million, essentially unchanged from the comparable quarter of last year.

Credit quality remained strong, with net charge-offs of $15.9 million or 0.17 percent of average net loans in the third quarter, a decrease of 2 basis points compared with the third quarter of 2005. The provision for loan losses totaled $25.5 million for the third quarter, while the ratio of loan loss allowance to total loans was 0.97 percent at Sept. 30, 2006.

Total nonperforming assets at Sept. 30, 2006, were $113.5 million, or 0.30 percent of loans net of unearned income, foreclosed properties and repossessions, compared to $98.1 million, or 0.29 percent for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2005 and $109.4 million, or 0.29 percent, in the second quarter of this year.

For supplemental financial information about the third quarter results, please refer to the Form 8-K filed by AmSouth with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 17, 2006, or visit the Investor Relations Resource Center on AmSouth's web site at www.amsouth.com.

About AmSouth

AmSouth is a regional bank holding company with $54 billion in assets, 700 branch banking offices and more than 1,200 ATMs. AmSouth operates in Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. AmSouth is a leader among regional banks in the Southeast in several key business segments, including consumer and commercial banking, small business banking, mortgage lending, equipment leasing, and trust and investment management services. AmSouth also offers a complete line of banking products and services at its web site, www.amsouth.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this document that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), including any statements regarding descriptions of management's plans, objectives or goals for future operations, products or services, and forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other measures of performance. Forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations and, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors - many of which are beyond AmSouth's control - could cause actual conditions, events or results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the execution of AmSouth's strategic initiatives; legislation and regulation; general economic conditions, especially in the Southeast; the performance of the stock and bond markets; changes in interest rates, yield curves and interest rate spread relationships; prepayment speeds within the loan and investment security portfolios; deposit flows; the cost of funds; cost of federal deposit insurance premiums; demand for loan products; demand for financial services; competition, including a continued consolidation in the financial services industry; changes in the quality or composition of AmSouth's loan and investment portfolios including capital market inefficiencies that may affect the marketability and valuation of available-for-sale securities; changes in consumer spending and saving habits; technological changes; adverse changes in the financial performance and/or condition of AmSouth's borrowers which could impact the repayment of such borrowers' loans; changes in accounting and tax principles, policies or guidelines and in tax laws; other economic, competitive, governmental and regulatory factors affecting AmSouth's operations, products, services and prices; the effects of weather and natural disasters, such as hurricanes; unexpected judicial actions and developments; results of investigations, examinations, and reviews of regulatory and law enforcement authorities; the outcome of litigation, which is inherently uncertain and depends on the findings of judges and juries; the impact on AmSouth's businesses, as well as on the risks set forth above, of various domestic or international military or terrorist activities or conflicts; and AmSouth's success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. AmSouth does not undertake a duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.

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