BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- First Alabama Bancshares received stockholder approval to change its name to Regions Financial Corp. on May 2.
The approval came at First Alabama's 23d annual stockholders' meeting, held in Montgomery this week.
First Alabama Chairman J. Stanley Mackin revealed the company's intention to change its name in December as he announced the change of its Florida banking affiliate to Regions Bank of Florida.
'Strategic Change'
He described the move as "a very important strategic change for the company. We have resolved one of the last remaining issues that could impede our expansion throughout the Southeast."
First Alabama Bancshares Inc. was formed in 1971 by banks in Birmingham, Huntsville, and Montgomery and stands as the state's first multibank holding company.
In its 23-year history, the company has explained its presence ot include more than 250 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee and expanded its services beyond traditional banking services to include mortgage banking, securities brokerage, and credit-related insurance.
Growth Since 1971
The company's assets have grown from $596 million in 1971 to more than $10.5 billion today.
In addition to the Florida bank's adoption of the Regions Bank name at yearend 1993, First Alabama Bank of Columbus was renamed Regions Bank of Georgia last month, and plans have been announced to change the company's banking affiliate in Tennessee and Secor Bank, with offices in Louisiana, to Regions Bank this summer.
The holding company's flagship bank, First Alabama Bank, and its mortgage-banking subsidiary, Real Estate Financing, will retain their original names.
New Nasdaq Symbol
Stock certificates bearing the First Alabama name need not be replaced.
The company's common stock, traded in the Nasdaq national market system, will be found under the symbol RGBK beginning May 2.
Also at the annual meeting, stockholders voted to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 60 million to 120 million.
