MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 26, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- First Horizon National Corp.'s (NYSE:FHN) principal banking subsidiary, First Tennessee Bank National Association, and Fifth Third Bank, an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq:FITB), have reached agreement on terms for the completion of the sale of nine Atlanta-area First Horizon Bank branches by First Tennessee to Fifth Third. The banks are moving forward to finalize the sale as soon as reasonably possible. The currently pending litigation will be dismissed promptly after closing the transaction.
Upon closing of the transaction, Fifth Third will acquire the nine branches and will assume the deposits. Employees of the branches have been offered continued employment with Fifth Third. First Horizon will retain all loans held at the branches.
Gerald L. Baker, president and CEO of First Horizon National Corp., said, "We are pleased that with this transaction we have completed the sales of our First Horizon Bank branches that we announced last September. We are focusing our capital on our higher-return full-service banking businesses that are located primarily in Tennessee, where we have the largest business and consumer market share."
About First Horizon
The 10,000 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services to individuals and business customers through hundreds of offices located in more than 40 states. The corporation's three major brands -- FTN Financial, First Horizon and First Tennessee -- provide customers with a broad range of products and services including:
-- Retail/commercial banking, with the largest market share in
Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any
bank in the country
-- Capital markets, one of the nation's top underwriters of U.S.
government agency securities
-- Mortgage banking, one of the nation's top mortgage originators
and recipient of consecutive awards for servicing excellence from
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
FHN has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by AARP and Working Mother magazines. More information can be found at www.fhnc.com
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