Morgan Keegan & Company was the ninth leading underwriter of municipal bonds in the nation for 2011, serving as book running manager on 488 issues with a par amount of $9.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters, one of the nation's leading municipal bond information services.

"Our extremely talented and hard-working public finance team stayed focused on serving our clients in 2011, and I'm proud of our achievements," said Rob Baird, president of Morgan Keegan's Investment Banking division. "Thanks to our clients who put their trust in us, we moved up in the rankings in several sectors last year, including housing and healthcare. We continue to invest in our public finance practice and look forward to building lasting relationships with our issuer clients."

For the 19th consecutive year, Morgan Keegan dominated municipal bond underwriting in the South Central region of the U.S. in 2011. The six-state region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Serving as senior manager on 175 issues with a par value of $2.8 billion, the firm captured an 18.6 percent market share.

Morgan Keegan was also the leading municipal bond underwriter, in number of completed transactions, in the 10-state Southeast region of the country that includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The firm senior managed 191 issues with a par value of $4.4 billion.

Other notable achievements in 2011:*

  • Tennessee: #1 underwriter of negotiated and competitive issues (based on par amount);
  • Virginia: #1 underwriter of negotiated issues (par amount);
  • Georgia and Louisiana: #1 underwriter of negotiated and competitive issues (based on number of issues);
  • Texas: #1 underwriter of negotiated and competitive issues, Full to Each, (par amount);
  • Top 5 underwriter of negotiated and competitive issues (par amount) in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia;
  • Top 10 underwriter of negotiated and competitive issues (par amount) in Connecticut, Florida, New Hampshire and Rhode Island;
  • Top 10 underwriter nationally of negotiated and competitive issues (par amount) in industry sectors including airports, healthcare, housing, public power, schools, water/sewer/gas;
  • #1 underwriter nationally of Bank Qualified competitive issues (par amount): 181 issues with a par amount of $849.5 million;

*Source: Thomson Reuters

About Morgan Keegan

Morgan Keegan & Company Inc. is a full-service brokerage and investment banking firm and the securities brokerage arm of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF). Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., Morgan Keegan serves individual and institutional investors in some 300 offices in 20 states. Additional information about Morgan Keegan can be found at www.morgankeegan.com.

Morgan Keegan & Co.
Eric Bran, 901-524-4114
Corporate Communications
eric.bran@morgankeegan.com
or
Melinda Rutland, 901-531-3259
Investment Banking
melinda.rutland@morgankeegan.com