Regions' 1Q earnings fall 29%

Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) produced $218 million in net income available to common shareholders, a 29 percent drop from $307 million earnings reported in the same quarter a year earlier.

The holding company of three Regions Bank branches in Springfield posted diluted share earnings of 16 cents for the three months ended March 31, a 6-cent downtick, according to a news release.

First-quarter financial notes:

• Revenue was roughly flat at $1.3 billion.
• Salaries and employee benefits totaled $458 million during the quarter, up from $455 million a year earlier.
• Total loans were $78.2 million as of March 31, up from $75.7 million at the same time in 2014.

Regions held assets of $122 billion and deposits of $97.5 billion as of March 31. The company operates 1,650 branches in 16 states, according to the release.

RF shares were trading at $9.66 as of 9:27 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $8.59 to $10.95.