Bowlin Head of New Regions Insurance Group.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF) has named David L. "Casey" Bowlin president and CEO of its newly created Regions Insurance Group Inc., the corporate parent structure for all of the company's insurance operating subsidiaries. With annual premiums of approximately $800 million, Regions Insurance Group ranks as the 10th-largest bank-owned insurance agency in the United States.

Bowlin, 56, is the former president of E. H. Crump and Co., chairman and CEO of Sedgwick Global Ltd and managing director of Marsh Inc. He comes to Regions from his most recent position as president and CEO of Retail Operations of Dallas, Texas-based Summit Global Partners Inc., which has announced its pending acquisition by USI Holdings Corp. In his new role with Regions Insurance Group, Bowlin will be responsible for setting and executing the insurance strategy for the company.

"Regions sees tremendous opportunities for growth in the insurance area," said Regions Chairman and CEO Carl E. Jones Jr. "We already have a strong foundation in this area thanks to our acquisitions of Rebsamen Insurance of Arkansas and the ICT Group of Louisiana, both of which are the largest independent insurance agencies in their respective states.

"Bringing on board an individual of Casey Bowlin's caliber - an executive who has one of the best track records in the industry - gives us a proven leader with national stature and the requisite management expertise we need to take our insurance business to the next level," Jones said.

Bowlin, a Memphis native who holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation and was formerly an underwriting member at Lloyd's of London, is a graduate of the University of Virginia and has completed the Insurance and Risk Management Executive Course at the Wharton Graduate School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served on numerous civic, corporate and charitable boards, including the University of Virginia Board of Managers, Dallas Opera Society and National Bank of Commerce Board of Directors.

Bowlin said his first priority after joining Regions was to visit each of the insurance offices and speak to all of the associates about his vision for the company's future. Regions Insurance Group currently employs some 500 associates operating from 24 offices in five states.

"We want to be recognized by our key constituencies - our associates, clients, insurance carriers and communities - as the best insurance brokers in our trading territories," Bowlin said. "To accomplish this, we must be renowned for our professionalism and integrity while ensuring that we hold our client service performance to a world-class standard of excellence."

Bowlin said Regions Insurance Group's plans for the future include generating organic revenue growth from existing offices as well as a disciplined acquisition strategy.

"Acquisition candidates will be insurance agencies that are located in our 15-state footprint and share our values and client-focused culture," he said. "Our goal is for earnings from Regions Insurance Group to become a more meaningful component of the company's non-interest income stream.

"Having this umbrella corporate structure will enable us to brand our local insurance products and services with the strong Regions name and to create savings in the administrative expenses of our agencies by consolidation of services at the group level," he said. "I am confident that our streamlined structure will make us one of the most efficient insurance operations in the industry."

Other members of the Regions Insurance Group team are John Bennett, chief financial officer; Tim Derouen, chief information officer; Gail Boland, chief administrative officer, Bill Quinlan, CEO of ICT; Al McDowell, CEO of Rebsamen; and Chip Harper, CEO of Regions Insurance Services.

Regions Insurance Group is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., in the former corporate headquarters building of Union Planters Bank on Poplar Avenue. Both Regions Mortgage and Morgan Keegan Company Inc. - Regions' investment and securities brokerage, trust and asset management division - are also headquartered in Memphis.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is a full-service provider of retail and commercial banking, securities brokerage, mortgage, and insurance products and services. With its merger with the former Union Planters Corp. complete, Regions has some $84.1 billion in assets, making it one of the nation's Top 15 financial services providers. Regions' banking subsidiaries, Regions Bank and Union Planters Bank, operate some 1,400 offices and a 1,700-ATM network across a 15-state geographic footprint in the South, Midwest and Texas. Its investment and securities brokerage, trust and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., provides services from more than 145 offices. Additional information about Regions, which is a member of both the Forbes and Fortune 500 and operates one of the Top 20 mortgage companies in the United States, can be found at www.regions.com.