Regions Financial Corp. in Birmingham announced Thursday that it is combining its trust, private banking and insurance units into a newly created wealth management division that will be headed by former regional president Bill Ritter.
The $132 billion-asset company also said that it has hired former Whitney National Bank President John M. Turner to replace Ritter as president of its central region. Both will report to Regions President and Chief Executive Officer Grayson Hall and will serve on the bank's operating committee.
In a statement, Hall said that integrating the separate business lines into a new wealth management group should improve cross-selling efforts and help advance the bank's goal of increasing noninterest income. He said that Ritter's breadth of experience within the bank "make him an ideal fit" for the role.
"At the same time," Hall added, "the opportunity to add someone of John Turner's stature and experience to lead our central region will add even more strength to our management team."
Turner had been with Whitney since 1994 and was named president of the bank and its parent, Whitney Holding Corp., in 2008. The $11.5 billion-asset Whitney was sold to rival Hancock Holding Co. earlier this month.
