Regions’ presence in Hall County came from its 1996 acquisition of First National Bancorp, the parent of First National Bank of Gainesville and by far its largest subsidiary. One can understand the attraction of this institution to Regions. According to FDIC branch office data compiled as of June 30, 1995, First National Bank of Gainesville had $729 million in deposits in Hall County, about 50% of the total deposits in the county ($1.47 billion) at that time.

Regions paid $654 million in stock, a premium of $350 million over First National Bancorp’s stated shareholders equity. The deal was consummated in March, 1996.

Regions’ experience in Hall County since paying such a premium has been, well, less than stellar. According to the latest FDIC branch office survey (June 30, 2004), Hall County’s deposits had grown to $2.32 billion, reflecting the dynamic growth of this suburban Atlanta locale. At the same date, Regions reported $722 million in deposits in Hall County.

It’s no misprint. Despite operating in one of Georgia’s fastest growing counties, Regions has actually lost deposits in Hall County over nine years.

The FDIC branch office survey is admittedly imperfect. It does not reflect all the deposit wealth in a community, as it does not reflect deposit balances at brokerage firms, credit unions, or internet banks. Moreover, banks change branches they assign deposits to, not only for operational reasons but because this information is so readily available and scrutinized by competitors, analysts, and the press.

The sum of Regions’ acquisition experience in Georgia is equally dismal. In roughly four years from 1994 to 1998, Regions purchased sixteen different Georgia banking institutions. Most of these assets were in the Atlanta area, or where the sprawling growth of Atlanta could reasonably be expected to reach over the next decade.

The graph below suggests what Regions shareholders have to show for all the deal activity in Georgia. Although its deposit growth in Georgia was positive for a couple of years after its acquisition spree stopped, Regions’ franchise in the state is clearly stagnant. The recent loss of so many banking professionals is likely to deepen this stagnation over the next few years.

For all the shareholder resources distributed in Georgia in the form of shares paid for banking acquisitions, Regions shareholders don’t have much to show for it.

In recent years management and investor attention has turned to Arkansas, where Regions purchased First Commercial Corp. in 1998, and ultimately to the merger with Union Planters completed last year. These deals and others have turned Regions Financial into an $84 billion behemoth.

Regions’ experience in Georgia has almost been lost in the shuffle. Indeed, such it is one of the unspoken benefits of the more recent deals Regions’ management has engineered since its late 1990s Georgia foray.