First Tennessee National Corp. Named Most Profitable by Forbes for Fourth Consecutive Year.

Business Editors

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2000

For the fourth consecutive year Forbes magazine has named First Tennessee National Corp. (NYSE:FTN) the most profitable banking company in the country. The magazine said the Forbes Platinum 400 is "a list of exceptional big corporations that pass a stringent set of hurdles measuring both long- and short-term growth and profitability." The list appears in the Jan. 10, 2000, edition of Forbes.

Profitability is defined by Forbes as return on capital(1). First Tennessee's five-year return on capital average percentage was 19.6, the best ranking in the list of 20 banking companies on the Platinum 400.

"This four-time ranking by Forbes as the most profitable banking company is further evidence of our commitment to create value for our shareholders over the long term," said Ralph Horn, First Tennessee chairman and CEO. "Recently our stock has had a pretty rough time, but this shows we indeed are a top performer. Now we're just waiting for the market to have a renewed recognition of our potential."

(1) Return on capital as defined by Forbes: divide a hypothetical

profit number by total capitalization. The profit here is the sum

of aftertax profits, minority expense and the portion of interest

paid on long-term debt that would remain if it were taxed at the

standard corporate rate. Total capitalization is long-term debt,

common and preferred equity, deferred taxes, investment tax

credits and minority interests. If a company does not report

interest on long-term debt, Forbes uses an estimate. In the

five-year average of return on capital, recent years are weighted

more heavily. Forbes factors in losses as a negative return of

capital and penalizes firms for rare years in which they have

negative capital. Forbes also scales back statistical aberrations

(returns over 100 percent).