Two area bank groups changing names this month

Two area banks will be getting new names this month -- one the result of a $6 billion merger with another bank, the other to honor its founder and shed the increasingly commonplace "First" as part of its name.

Union Planters Bank -- which has two banks in Cape Girardeau, three in Jackson and one in Scott City -- has merged as part of a $6 billion deal with Alabama-based Regions Bank and the new name will be unveiled Monday.

"It should be transparent to the customer in terms of any changes to the service," said Doug Watson, community president for Union Planters in Cape Girardeau. "We're bigger now, and that's a good thing. It gives us better opportunities to navigate in the business world."

Karen Grebing, regional marketing coordinator with Union Planters, said that the name is changing now, but the bank will not change its system until November.

As debit cards expire and checks run out, new Regions cards and checks will be issued, she said.

There are 16 Union Planters banks in Southeast Missouri and 13 in Southern Illinois. All are expected to change names on Monday.

According to Regions' Web site, the two entities combined now have 1,400 offices and 1,700 ATMs spread across 15 states in the South and Midwest. About 5 million customers have accounts with the merged entity.

Meanwhile, First National Bank, with locations in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Chaffee, is expected to have its signs changed to Montgomery Bank by the end of the month, according to regional president Jim Limbaugh.

He said the name officially changed last year, but the signs have been delayed for various reasons until now. He said they changed the name to create a more consistent brand across its market.

In Southeast Missouri, banks were called First National Bank. But as the company spread into St. Louis, First National Bank was already taken, so they called the banks there Montgomery First National Bank to honor Joel Montgomery Sr., who founded the bank.

"It's hard to market that way," he said.

"Also," he said, "with tongue in cheek, there are too many other Firsts. There's First This and First That. This helps create a much more stable identity."

smoyers@semissourian.com

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