Regions Bank earnings flat in 3Q

Regions Financial Corp., parent company of Regions Bank, said Friday that earnings growth fell flat in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 due to its merger with Union Planters Corp. earlier this year and other charges.

Birmingham, Ala.-headquartered Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), which has seven Regions Bank branches in Orlando, earned $256.6 million, or 55 cents per share, in the quarter. In comparison, Regions earned $256.7 million, or 55 cents per share, in third-quarter 2004.

Regions incurred $11 million in costs related to the merger.

As of Sept. 30, the bank had total assets of $84.6 million, up from $84.1 million at Sept. 30, 2004. Total deposits were $59.5 million, up from $56.6 million at the same time last year.

During the quarter, the bank converted Union Planters bank branches to Regions' customer systems. Regions successfully completed the conversion of 200 branches in Mississippi, southern Alabama, western Tennessee and Memphis, Tenn., in mid-August and plans to convert another 320 Union Planters branches in Florida and the Midwest by early November.

Regions offers full-service banking via 1,300 offices and 1,600 ATMs in the South, Midwest and Texas.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.