Regions Bank’s Mortgage Team relocates to bank branch

RALEIGH -- The mortgage sales team at Regions Bank has moved from the Morgan Keegan offices at Glenwood South to the bank’s branch at 4900 Falls of the Neuse Road in Raleigh.

Regions entered the Raleigh mortgage market last October by hiring a mortgage sales team with Terry Hoey as the manager for mortgage sales in North Carolina. They were originally housed at the offices of Morgan Keegan – the investment arm of Regions Bank – because of space limitations at the branch.

“Being located with our commercial, commercial real estate and retail lenders will help us create synergies and encourage referrals to and from our mortgage team,” said Bill Dawkins, president of Regions Bank in North Carolina. “Improving our ability to provide mortgage loans will help us accomplish our goal in the Triangle of continued growth by meeting all the financial needs of business owners and real estate developers.”

In addition to its branch in Raleigh, Regions Bank has offices in Charlotte, Highlands, Cornelius, Greensboro and Wilmington.

About Regions Bank

A community-focused bank with local leadership, Regions Bank currently offers full-service commercial and retail banking from some 1,300 offices and a 1,600-ATM network across 16 states throughout the South, Midwest and Texas. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the bank, a part of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF), draws on the resources of its parent company’s other affiliates to ensure that both business and retail customers can avail themselves of a full range of financial products and services in the areas of mortgage banking, securities brokerage and insurance. Regions is one of the Top 15 banks in the United States with $84.6 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2005. Additional information about Regions Bank and Regions Financial Corporation – a member of both the Forbes and Fortune 500 – can be found at www.regions.com

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.