MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Jan. 28, 2009) — Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. moved into the ranks of the nation’s top ten underwriters of municipal bond issues in 2008, according to Thomson Reuters, one of the nation’s leading municipal bond information services.
Morgan Keegan was the tenth largest underwriter in the country for the year. The firm served as book running manager on 457 issues with a par value of $10.7 billion.
“We begin the New Year in a strong position as a top ten national underwriter,” said Rob Baird, president of Morgan Keegan’s Fixed Income Capital Markets division. “Through a continued focus on providing relationship and idea-oriented investment banking services to issuers throughout the country, we expect to further grow our market share and remain a top ten underwriter in 2009.”
Additionally, for the 16th consecutive year, Morgan Keegan dominated municipal bond underwriting in the South Central U.S. The five-state region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Serving as senior manager on 219 issues with a par value of $4.9 billion, the firm’s market share in the region jumped from 15 percent in 2007 to 24.8 percent in 2008.
Morgan Keegan was also the leading municipal bond underwriter, in terms of number of transactions, in the Southeast and Southwest regions of the country. In the 10-state Southeast region that includes Virginia, the firm senior managed 226 issues with a par value of $5.6 billion. Morgan Keegan completed 136 issues with a par value of $4 billion in the Southwest region, an area that includes Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico.
Baird said Morgan Keegan was able to take advantage of market changes last year, hiring 11 industry veterans who helped to expand the firm’s footprint in the Northeast U.S. and in Florida.
About Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc.
With more than 4,300 employees providing services in some 300 offices, Memphis, Tenn. based Morgan Keegan is one of the largest full-service brokerage and investment firms in the nation. The firm’s staff of more than 180 public finance professionals provides underwriting services through 23 banking offices in 13 states. Additional information about Morgan Keegan, the securities brokerage subsidiary of Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF), can be found at www.morgankeegan.com.
About Regions
Regions Financial Corporation, with $146 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 100 Index and one of the nation's largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, trust, securities brokerage, mortgage and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates 1,900 banking offices and approximately 2,300 ATMs. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.
Contact:
Melinda Rutland
901.531.3259
melinda.rutland@morgankeegan.com
