News Tagged ‘Birmingham

Regions Financial eyes ‘any and all’ options to raise capital

regions financial1A report by Reuters news service says Regions Financial Corp. CEO Dowd Ritter is open to “any and all” possibilities to raise capital in order to repay the U.S. goverment for the bailout money it loaned the institution. , based in Birmingham, Ala., received $3.5 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. However, despite this pledge, it is unclear that Region’s brokerage arm, Morgan Keegan, is on the table.

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FINRA statistics show uptick in bond fund lawsuits

FINRA logoAccording to a report in U.S. News & World Report, recent statistics released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the organization that handles almost all securities arbitration, including claims by Regions Morgan Keegan investors, show there has been a notable increase in the number of filings. In particular, the organization is seeing an increase in claims involving bond funds, which are represented as generally secure investments.

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Morgan Keegan appeals hit Regions shareholders in the pocketbook

In an unusual move recently, Morgan Keegan & Co. has filed for appeal on three rulings handed down by arbitration panels against the company. This development was reported today by the Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones Newswires. In most cases of arbitration, awards are usually binding, with parties only allowed to appeal when arbitrators clearly ignore established laws.

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Regions stock drops in light of arbitration losses

stock market crash2 100x100Regions Financial Corp., based in Birmingham, Ala., was on the recent Market Watch list of “notable moves” in the stock market. Unfortunately for the company, it was listed alongside General Motors (GM) on the list of “decliners” after experiencing a 5.9 percent drop in stock value.

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McCarver gets $100,000 in RMK claim

tim mccarver 150x150Noted baseball announcer Tim McCarver, who entered an arbitration case against Morgan Keegan & Co. in November 2008 claiming $1.6 million in losses has received $100,000 in compensatory damages, The Memphis Daily News reports.

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Regions selling off RMK Select Funds

Today the Birmingham Business Journal reported that Regions Financial Corp., which is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is selling off its 11 Regions Morgan Keegan (RMK) Select Funds. These funds are currently managed by ’ investment arm, Morgan Keegan & Co., based in Memphis. The funds will be sold to Pioneer Investment Managment, Inc., the Journal reports.

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Morgan Keegan buys investment bank

Today The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported that Morgan Keegan & Co., the investment arm of Regions Financial Corp., has purchased an investment bank, Burke Capital Group, based in Atlanta. The sale price was not released. Financial Corp. is based in Birmingham.

According to its company web site, Burke Capital Group is an independent investment banking firm that provides “superior corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions advisory services to financial institutions and middle market companies.” The company was founded in 1995. In 2006, the SNL Financial’s Bank M&A Scoreboard listed Burke at No. 1 among the Top Southeast regional financial advisers for the third quarter.

Regions Morgan Keegan has been staggering since late 2007 when it was revealed that a number of its investment funds that were presented as low-risk had actually been tied to the volatile subprime mortgage lending market. When the mortgage industry collapsed, investors found their portfolios devalued literally overnight, resulting in massive losses.

In August, Hyperion Brookfield, based in New York, NY, took over the management of three open-end funds and four closed-end funds that had been managed by Morgan Asset Managment, an arm of Morgan Keegan, which is based in Memphis. Morgan Asset Management is owned by Financial Corp.

RMK lawsuits may be consolidated in Tennessee

The Daily News, which covers Memphis, reported yesterday that class action cases against Regions Morgan Keegan (RMK) pending in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee may be consolidated under U.S. District Judge Hardy Mays. The paper reports Judge Mays issued a ruling Tuesday that answers some questions about the request, and which group or groups could be selected as lead plaintiff in that event.

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MK funds get new asset manager

After seven Regions Morgan Keegan investment funds took a nose dive because of their ties to the subprime mortgage lending crisis, stockholders found themselves holding greatly devalued portfolios. Because the funds had been initially represented as low-risk, when in actuality they were tied to the volatile subprime lending market, stockholders are bringing suit against Morgan Keegan for their losses. Now, the investment portfolios have a new manager, Hyperion Brookfield Asset Manager.

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Regions hit by double whammy

A combination of defaulted loans in the plunging housing market and unique woes with its Morgan Keegan & Co. investment arm caused shares of Regions Financial Corp. stock to plunge 73 percent in the past year, according to a report in The Birmingham News. The company is headquartered in Birmingham.

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