Regions reported third quarter 2011 earnings available to common shareholders of $101 million, or 8 cents per diluted share, driven by continued solid business performance and strong expense management. Pre-tax pre-provision income on an adjusted basis rose to $540 million, an 8 percent increase over the previous quarter and a 19 percent increase from a year ago. These improvements reflect the company's continued success in growing profitable consumer and business loans, as well as low-cost deposits, while also controlling expenses.

"This quarter's results demonstrate that we are making solid progress in executing our business plan and that our efforts are paying off," said Grayson Hall, president and chief executive officer. "Although we are realistic about the challenges posed by an uncertain economy and faltering consumer and business confidence, we believe that focusing on the customer, enhancing enterprise-wide risk management and building sustainable performance are keys to our long term success."

Key points for the quarter included:

• Reported earnings of 8 cents per diluted share reflect continued improvement in core business performance
• Adjusted pre-tax pre-provision income (PPI) totaled $540 million, increasing 8 percent linked quarter and 19 percent year-over-year
• Net interest income declined 1 percent and net interest margin decreased 3 basis points to 3.02 percent reflecting lower investment portfolio yields and an increase in cash reserves at the Federal Reserve
• Non-interest revenue, excluding securities gains/losses and leveraged lease termination losses, was down 1 percent over the previous quarter to $748 million
• Non-interest expenses, adjusted for prior quarter's branch consolidation and property and equipment charges, decreased 5 percent linked quarter to $1.06 billion driven by a reduction in salaries and benefits as well as lower FDIC premiums
• Loan growth in the middle market commercial and industrial customer segment continued, with ending loans in this segment up 12.9 percent from one year ago
• Funding mix continued to improve, as average low-cost deposits as a percentage of total deposits rose to 77.8 percent this quarter compared to 73.5 percent in the third quarter of last year
• Non-performing loans, excluding loans held for sale, declined 3 percent sequentially and non-performing assets decreased 6 percent linked quarter and 20 percent year-over-year
• Net charge-offs totaled $511 million, down 7 percent from prior quarter and 33 percent less than a year ago
• Loan loss provision of $355 million was $156 million less than net charge offs and $43 million lower than the prior quarter; loan loss allowance to non-performing loan coverage ratio of 1.09x and allowance for loan losses to net loans ratio of 3.73 percent
• Solid capital position with a Tier 1 Common ratio estimated at 8.2 percent and Tier 1 Capital ratio estimated at 12.8 percent; liquidity position remains strong with a loan-to-deposit ratio of 83 percent and cash held at the Federal Reserve of approximately $6 billion.