Jimmy Brown of Union Planters Bank
sees merger as win-win
Move seen as a perfect fit for Mississippi
by Eva Ann Dorris
DBJ Contributing Writer
Part of Jimmy Brown’s optimistic nature is to have a smile on his face, but now, sitting in the midst of one of the nation’s
most significant banking mergers, he’s really got a lot to grin about.
Brown, regional president for the North Mississippi region of Union Planters Bank, is about to become a part of the 12th
largest bank holding company in the United States, and he won’t have to leave his hometown and office headquarters of Grenada,
Miss., to be a part of the move.
By June of this year, Union Planters and Regions Financial Corp. will merge into one financial institution with 5.1 million
customers in 15 states. The merger is a natural fit for two financial mega giants, and Brown says customers of both institutions
will be the big winners in the merger.
Union Planters Bank is already in 12 states and is ranked as the 27th largest bank in the nation. Two of UP’s 17 regions
are in Mississippi, and one of those is Brown’s north Mississippi region.
“We serve north Mississippi customers from Washington County to Lowndes County and from Benton County to Attala
County. We have 50 branches, 420 employees, $1 billion in loans and $1 billion in deposits-and that’s just in the north Mississippi
region,” he says.
“Out of the bank’s 17 regions, only three regions made more money than the north Mississippi region, and those were in
the metropolitan areas of Miami, Memphis and St. Louis.”
Brown says Union Planters was a strong bank coming into the merger and will become even stronger and more responsive
to evolving customer needs as the merger completes.
“When we come together, we’ll have assets of about $81 billion, and the merger also brings to our customers the services
of Morgan Keegan Brokerage Company, which is probably one of the best brokerage firms in the South,” says Brown.
“What I’m preaching now to employees, to customers and to investors is the vastness of the corporation that is going to
result from this merger,” he says. “We will be able to provide our customers with more products and better service through
better technology. Regions is known for its state-of-the-art technology, and we are going to be able to do more for our customers’
private investments through the Morgan Keegan presence.”
Brown describes the merger in three confident words. “This is huge.”
The merger is expected to close in June of this year. The combined organization will be known as Regions Financial Corp.
and will be headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., while Morgan Keegan and the combined mortgage business will be headquartered
in Memphis, Tenn.
“When we merge into the one group we will have about 1,400 branches in 15 states and only about 45 of those branches
overlap, so there will be very few closures nationwide and none in Mississippi,” says Brown. “Really, we anticipate this as
a smooth transaction that will be transparent for our customers. All I can see from a customer’s point of view is that this is
a perfect fit.”
The resulting bank will operate as six multi-state regions with Mississippi being in the Mid-South region. “With this merger,
Regions will have the No. 1 market share in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Alabama,” says Brown.
Union Planters’ north Mississippi region is particularly strong in agriculture lending, ranking sixth in lending volume, with
some $150 million in ag-related loans currently on the books. The merging corporation will become the third largest agricultural
lending commercial bank in the United States.
Brown has grown up and with Grenada
Brown, a University of Mississippi graduate, has lived in Grenada since the age of three. His father was a doctor in Grenada
and delivered many of Brown’s bank customers. Brown began his banking career in 1970 as a teller for a bank and worked
his way up through the banking business with such steps as a lending officer and customer service representative. He was
with the former Sunburst system when it was acquired by Union Planters in 1995. “Working my way up the system allows
me to understand every situation and what is needed,” he says. “My motto is ‘It’s all about selling.’ In this business you need
to be very sales oriented with strong people skills. And, you have to be able to identify the needs of your customers. You have
to have the right attitude, leadership and passion.”
Brown speaks proudly and confidently that his Union Planters’ team has those characteristics.
“I love the people here, and I really care about them,” he says. “I am not a micromanager. I like for people to know their
jobs and then I get out of the way and let them do what they know how to do. Our people enjoy that.”
At the age of 56, Brown has been in the banking business for 34 years with no plans to retire any time soon.
“It’s business as usual,” he says. “I’ve always been young at heart and banking is my passion. Now, with this merger,
it’s like being a kid and getting a bunch of new toys.”
Those new toys include advanced technology, more services and products in retail, small business, private and corporate
banking.
And, there’s also the challenge of growth.
“While we (UP) only had two new branches on the drawing board, Regions has 50 new branches in the expansion plan,”
says Brown.
Brown is married to Susan Lisenby Brown. They have one son, Lee; one daughter, Natalie; and a six-month-old grandson,
Andrew.
When he’s not putting in eight to 10-hour days at the bank or spending time with his family, he’s most likely with his next
passion-golf.
Brown has served numerous community service roles including president of the Grenada Chamber of Commerce and cochairman
of the Forward Grenada campaign, which raised more than $2 million for education and development in Grenada. He
serves on the executive committee of the Mississippi Bankers Association and is on the board of trustees and teaches Sunday
school at First United Methodist Church of Grenada. DBJ
