Regions to Host Group of Indonesian Bankers Sept. 15-26.

Business Editors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2003

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF), in conjunction with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, will host five Indonesian bankers Sept. 15-26 as part of an international program to teach financial executives about commercial banking and credit underwriting in a market-oriented economy.

The five bankers to visit Regions and Birmingham are part of a larger group of 18 from Bank Mandiri in Indonesia that arrived in New York this week and will spend time in meetings there before flying out to different parts of the United States to do internships.

"The management of Bank Mandiri sees the middle market as the future for the Indonesian economy as well as for the bank," said Bill Fisher, Regions vice president of International Services. "The internships are intended to give the participants a practical view of commercial credit and risk management and relationship development in the United States.

"We can show them that in market-oriented economies, banks do not operate in isolation, but works with other organizations to get business done successfully," Fisher said.

Included on the agenda for the two weeks are visits to the Entrepreneurial Center and Birmingham Business Assistance Network, and presentations from the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Small Business Administration and Alabama Development Office. Regions executives will also present to the group on numerous topics such as risk management, credit, marketing, commercial services, portfolio management, technology and regulatory issues.

"Financial Services Volunteer Corps is privileged to have Regions, an institution with a history of excellence in lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises, participate in the program," said FSVC Managing Director Laura McQuade. "Regions' commitment to personalized service and community relations will serve as an exemplar for the visiting bankers from Indonesia as they seek to support the growth of vibrant local businesses and establish cooperative partnerships with the wider communities they serve."

Regions was named the No. 1 small-business friendly financial holding company in the country by the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2002.

The Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) is a not-for-profit organization and a private-public partnership whose mission is to help build the sound banking and financial systems required by countries seeking to develop transparent market-oriented economics. FSVC helps to create the financial infrastructure that is a prerequisite for a functioning market economy and sustainable development. Current co-chairs of the board are founder John Whitehead and Paul Volcker.

Regions Financial Corp., with $49.5 billion in assets, ranks among the 25 largest financial services companies in the nation. Serving customers throughout the South, it provides traditional, commercial, and retail banking services and other financial services in the fields of investment banking, asset management, trust, mutual funds, securities brokerage, insurance, leasing and mortgage banking. Regions Bank offers banking services online from its Web site at www.regions.com and from more than 680 offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Regions provides investment and brokerage services from more than 140 offices of Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc., one of the South's largest investment firms. Regions ranks on both the Forbes 500 and Fortune 500 listings of America's largest companies; its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol RF.