First Tennessee Bank

Encyclopedia : F : FI : FIR : First Tennessee Bank

First Tennessee NYSE: [FHN] is a financial services company based in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of First Horizon National Corporation.

Contents

1 Corporate History
2 Expansion Within Tennessee
3 Expansion Outside of Tennessee
4 Marketing Strategy
5 Community Involvement
6 Awards
7 External links

Corporate History

First Horizon National Corporation began as the former First National Bank of Memphis, which by the late 1970s was operating throughout most of the state of Tennessee as First Tennessee National Bank. In April 2004, the Company changed its name from First Tennessee National Corporation to First Horizon National Corporation.

Expansion Within Tennessee

While First Tennessee had a large market share in West and East Tennessee for decades, it largely ignored Middle Tennessee until the early 2000s, due mostly to Nashville's dominance as a banking center. It was only when all major Nashville-based banks merged and moved operations elsewhere that First Tennessee began to increase its presence and market share in the Middle Tennessee area. It is now the largest Tennessee-based bank (in thanks to the recent merger of Union Planters Bank into Alabama-based Regions Bank), and the only Tennessee-based banking company with any genuine influence beyond the borders of the state.

Expansion Outside of Tennessee

First Horizon National Corporation, the parent company of First Tennessee Bank, also includes the subsidiary First Tennessee Bank National Association. The First Horizon family of companies includes First Horizon Home Loans and First Horizon Bank. First Horizon Home Loan Corporation is one of the top 20 U.S. mortgage (originations and servicing) providers and First Horizon Bank, established in December 2003, offers traditional banking products and services outside the state of Tennessee.

For the purpose of securities sales, First Tennessee Brokerage (FTBR) is licensed in all 50 states, except Alaska.

For the purpose of investment advisors, First Tennessee Brokerage (FTBR) is licensed to do business in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

For the purpose of insurance sales and services, First Horizon Insurance Services, Inc. (FHIS) is not licensed in the following states: Alaska and New Mexico.

Marketing Strategy

First Horizon uses the same general logo as First Tennessee, though the name has been altered to make the bank more marketable outside Tennessee

The company has tended to take emphasis off the word "bank" by eliminating the word from all marketing initiatives and calling its branches "financial centers."

First Tennessee is also known for its aggressive marketing campaign featuring actors inside costumes designed to look like U.S. currency.

First Tennessee is very active in aligning itself with Tennessee's sports teams, holding the "official bank" rights to the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, the Memphis Grizzlies, the University of Memphis, and the Nashville Predators, as well as most of Tennessee's minor league baseball teams: the Memphis Redbirds, the Nashville Sounds, and the Tennessee Smokies. The bank has agreed in principle to be the naming rightsholder for a proposed new downtown AAA baseball stadium in Nashville.

First Tennessee has bought the rights to the title "Official Bank of Beale Street" through a marketing partnership with Performa Entertainment Real Estate Inc. The deal involves duel sponsorship with Pepsi for a two by seven foot LED sign at Handy Park, located on Beale Street. The bank has also placed an ATM at the entrance to the park. Other minor details of the agreement include First Tennessee's right to place signs in Handy Park. The bank will promote some Beale Street events by way of printed advertisement in local financial centers, and will share a link to Beale Street on it's website. Financial terms of the marketing venture were not disclosed to the public. [link]

Its logo is a cutout portion of the Tennessee state flag. Though the logo is shared among all three subsidiaries of FHNC, the First Horizon name is virtually nonexistent in Tennessee, and the First Tennessee name is virtually nonexistent outside of Tennessee.

Community Involvement

First Tennessee budgets one to two percent of its pre-tax income for community investment. Projects include:

Building for the Future, a program that teaches carpentry to minimum-security inmates to construct houses for community development
Lesson Line, a free home-to-school messaging service available to teachers and principals to keep parents informed about homework assignments and upcoming tests. Nearly 700 schools receive around four million calls a year in this program.
30,000 volunteer hours from employees in community programs
First Tennessee Housing Corporation which has renovated a long-vacant property and converted it to apartment buildings and converted a closed school into elderly housing with a daycare center.
The First Tennessee Foundation gave $250,000 to relief efforts in the wake of the September 11, 2001 tragedies.

Awards

100 Best Companies To Work For in America; Fortune, eight consecutive years, 1998-2005.
Best Banking Companies in the U.S.; Forbes, 1997-2004.
100 Best Corporate Citizens; Business Ethics, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
100 Best Companies for Working Mothers; Working Mother, ten consecutive years, 1995-2004.
25 Best Employers for Workers Over 50; AARP, 2003 and 2005.
Best Products of 2001; Business Week, December 17, 2001. For pioneering the Visa Payroll Card.
2003 InformationWeek 500; Information Week, September 22, 2003. 500 leading business users of technology.
Annual CIO 100: 100 Leaders for the Next Millennium; CIO, August 15, 1999

External links

Commercial banks in the United States