Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A recent report in the Memphis Business Journal says the relationship between Regions Financial Corp., based in Birmingham, Ala., and its investment arm, Morgan Keegan & Co., located in Memphis, Tenn., has sweetened. At a recent “Investor Day” event held in New York City, the Business Journal reports company executives talked about strengthening the relationship between the two organizations, and Regions heads included Morgan Keegan as part of the company’s “strategic future.” Last December, and as recently as March of this year, there were rumors that Regions was planning to unload the investment brokerage in order to raise capital to pay back its Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) loans, and to distance itself from lawsuits aimed at alleged fraudulent investments made by Morgan Keegan.

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An administrative hearing to discuss allegations of fraud against Morgan Keegan & Co. has been set for October 5, 2010, in Montgomery, Ala. Morgan Keegan is owned by Regions Financial Corp., based in Birmingham, Ala. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the company, alleging it misrepresented high-risk funds tied to the volatile mortgage bond markets as “safe” or low-risk investments.  As a result, lawsuits allege investors lost huge portions of their funds almost overnight. It is estimated that losses may top $2 billion.

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A 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. Regions, 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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According 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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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 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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Noted 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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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 Regions’ 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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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. Regions 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 Regions Financial Corp.

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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