Regions Bank 2012 Annual Report Download - page 37

paid out, withdrawn, set off or transferred in any manner without a license from OFAC. Failure to comply with
these sanctions could have serious legal and reputational consequences.
Regulation of Insurers and Insurance Brokers
Regions’ operations in the areas of insurance brokerage and reinsurance of credit life insurance are subject
to regulation and supervision by various state insurance regulatory authorities. Although the scope of regulation
and form of supervision may vary from state to state, insurance laws generally grant broad discretion to
regulatory authorities in adopting regulations and supervising regulated activities. This supervision generally
includes the licensing of insurance brokers and agents and the regulation of the handling of customer funds held
in a fiduciary capacity. Certain of Regions’ insurance company subsidiaries are subject to extensive regulatory
supervision and to insurance laws and regulations requiring, among other things, maintenance of capital, record
keeping, reporting and examinations.
Regulation of Residential Mortgage Loan Originators
On July 28, 2010, the Federal Reserve and other Federal bank regulatory authorities adopted a final rule on
the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (“S.A.F.E. Act”). Under the S.A.F.E. Act,
residential mortgage loan originators employed by banks, such as Regions Bank, must register with the
Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, obtain a unique identifier from the registry, and maintain
their registration. Any residential mortgage loan originator who fails to satisfy these requirements will not be
permitted to originate residential mortgage loans.
Competition
All aspects of Regions’ business are highly competitive. Regions’ subsidiaries compete with other financial
institutions located in the states in which they operate and other adjoining states, as well as large banks in major
financial centers and other financial intermediaries, such as savings and loan associations, credit unions,
consumer finance companies, brokerage firms, insurance companies, investment companies, mutual funds,
mortgage companies and financial service operations of major commercial and retail corporations. Regions
expects competition to intensify among financial services companies due to the sustained low interest rate and
ongoing low-growth economic environment.
Customers for banking services and other financial services offered by Regions’ subsidiaries are generally
influenced by convenience, quality of service, personal contacts, price of services and availability of products.
Although Regions’ position varies in different markets, Regions believes that its affiliates effectively compete
with other financial services companies in their relevant market areas.
Employees
As of December 31, 2012, Regions and its subsidiaries had 23,427 employees.
Available Information
Regions maintains a website at www.regions.com. Regions makes available on its website free of charge its
annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments
to those reports which are filed with or furnished to the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. These documents are made available on Regions’ website as soon as reasonably practicable after
they are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. Also available on the website are Regions’
(i) Corporate Governance Principles, (ii) Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, (iii) Code of Ethics for Senior
Financial Officers, and (iv) the charters of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, Audit
Committee, Compensation Committee and Risk Committee.
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