MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2004--First Tennessee
National Corp. (NYSE: FTN) became First Horizon National Corporation
following an overwhelmingly positive vote from shareholders announced
at the corporation's annual meeting this morning at its headquarters
office in Memphis. Company executives and the board of directors asked
for the change to better reflect the corporation's growing national
presence. Tomorrow, the corporation's stock will begin trading on the
New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FHN.
"This is an important day for this corporation," said First
Horizon National Corp. Chairman and CEO Ken Glass. "We've been telling
the world how we've grown from a small bank in Memphis to become a
national financial services company. This name will reflect our
national presence as we become one of the nation's premier financial
services companies. My hat's off to our 12,000 employees who are
working hard to make that happen. Our new name is a testament to how
far we've come already."
Today's shareholder vote will not change the name of the
corporation's businesses: FTN Financial, First Horizon Home Loans and
First Tennessee Bank.
First Horizon National Corporation companies operate more than
1,000 offices in 42 states. Its first office opened in 1864 as a bank
in Memphis. Today, First Tennessee Bank has the largest market share
in Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any
bank in the country. The corporation recently opened a First Horizon
Bank in the Washington, D.C., area, which is its first bank outside
the Tennessee vicinity. Other First Horizon Banks will open in markets
where First Horizon Home Loans has established a strong customer base,
like the 30,000 customers it has in the Washington area.
Considering the corporation's resounding success in Tennessee,
some may find it surprising that today more than half of its customers
live outside the state. These customers do business with one of
several national businesses:
-- The capital markets group of FTN Financial successfully
competes with Wall Street firms and is one of the nation's top
underwriters of U.S. government agency securities.
-- First Horizon Merchant Services is one of the largest
processors of credit card payments for the travel and
entertainment industry.
-- In 1993, the corporation began acquiring mortgage companies to
create a national presence in the mortgage business. That
business is now called First Horizon Home Loans and is one of
the 15 largest providers of mortgage loans to consumers.
More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=4620350
CONTACT: First Tennessee National Corp., MemphisKen Glass, 901-523-4050
or
Kim Cherry, 901-523-4726
SOURCE: First Tennessee National Corp.