BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In response to unprecedented flooding following Hurricane Harvey, Regions Bank on Tuesday announced the company is giving $100,000 to support relief efforts, rebuilding and recovery. The funds will be divided between the United Way of Greater Houston’s Flood Relief Fund and a relief program to assist Regions associates directly affected by the flooding.

“The Greater Houston area faces a long road to recovery as historic flood waters recede and rebuilding begins,” said Grayson Hall, Chairman, President and CEO of Regions Financial Corp. “We are committed to providing long-term support to meet the needs of our clients, communities and associates personally affected by Hurricane Harvey. By providing financial resources, guidance and services, we hope we can make the recovery easier.”

The United Way of Greater Houston has established a Flood Relief Fund to help with the recovery needs of those most impacted by Hurricane Harvey. All funds raised by United Way’s Flood Relief Fund will be used to help with both immediate, basic needs and long-term recovery services such as case management and minor home repair.

Approximately 275 Regions associates call the greater Houston area home, and many have been personally affected by widespread flooding following Hurricane Harvey. The Regions Associate Relief Program, which is administered by a third party, provides financial assistance to associates who have been affected by disasters.

Regions is also offering a variety of financial services to help people in communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey and ongoing flooding related to the storm. Special offers include:

• Regions fees waived for our customers at other banks’ ATMs in the affected areas²
• Regions ATM fees waived for non-customers at Regions ATMs in the affected areas²
• One penalty-free CD withdrawal³
• Personal loan payment extensions and forbearances through the Regions Customer Assistance Program⁴
• Payment extensions available for existing credit card holders⁴
• Discounts on standard rates for new business loans up to $1 million to help with recovery needs for those in the affected disaster areas⁵
• Business loan payment deferrals for up to 90 days available on existing loans for those in the affected disaster areas⁴
• A dedicated team to assist Regions customers who are facing difficulties making payments on credit cards, loans or lines of credit. Customers may call 1-800-411-9393 for immediate assistance.

“Right now, there’s nothing more important than helping our customers, neighbors and coworkers begin to recover and rebuild,” said Marc Angle, Area President for Regions Bank in Texas. “We’ve seen first-hand the impact of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath, and we stand with our communities as we work to recover together.”

Regions has established a dedicated toll-free number (1-800-411-9393) to expedite assistance to affected customers. Through its Customer Assistance Program Regions provides assistance to consumers and businesses facing financial challenges. General account services are also available at any time via regions.com and Regions’ mobile services.

For the safety of customers and associates, Regions branches in Houston remain closed. Branches in the impacted areas will be reopened as soon as possible.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $125 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates approximately 1,500 banking offices and 1,900 ATMs. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.

© Regions Bank, Member FDIC.

1 Special offers are available for a limited time and only to individuals and businesses in a designated FEMA disaster area in the Houston area, may be subject to other exclusions and restrictions, and are subject to change without notice. All loans and lines, extensions and forbearances are subject to required documentation and credit approval. Residency restrictions may apply.

2 Regions’ customers who use non-Regions ATMs may be charged an ATM service fee by the owner of the ATM. Regions’ ATM services to non-customers may be subject to fees charged by their banks.

3 The no-penalty offer allows customers to make one partial or complete withdrawal without penalty. The penalty-free withdrawal must be made more than seven days after the issue date or the most recent renewal date (whichever is later). Any other withdrawals will be subject to penalties.

4 Payment extensions and forbearances are subject to credit approval. Interest will continue to accrue during the period that the payment is extended, skipped or deferred. For installment loans, extending, deferring or skipping payment will extend the maturity of your loan but will not automatically extend any optional insurance.

5 New business loan rate discount may not be combined with other special offers or discounts.

6 Payment deferrals are subject to credit approval. Interest will continue to accrue during the period that the payment is skipped or deferred. For installment loans, deferring or skipping payment will extend the maturity of your loan but will not automatically extend any optional insurance.

Regions and the Regions logo are registered trademarks of Regions Bank. The LifeGreen color is a trademark of Regions Bank.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170829006208/en/

Regions Bank

Evelyn Mitchell, 205-264-4551

www.regionsbanknews.com

Regions News on Twitter: @RegionsNews

Source: Regions Financial Corporation

(Legal Newsline) — A federal judge won’t prematurely end a class action accusing State Farm of misleading thousands of life insurance customers by selling policies issued by a company it knew was facing a massive capital shortfall.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss a complaint from clients in nine states who bought PHL Variable Life Insurance Company policies from State Farm and its subsidiaries between 2001 and 2009.

According to Kendall, the complaint alleged four counts on behalf of a putative nationwide class: breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, unjust enrichment and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Subclasses from Illinois, California and New Jersey would bring state law allegations. Kendall said she ordered additional briefing on choice-of-law issues for the state law claims and noted those issues preclude her from resolving the dismissal request.

“Judicial economy favors addressing class certification before reaching the merits of the claims,” Kendall wrote in the ruling. “The 14 named plaintiffs are from nine different states and are bringing state law claims on behalf of themselves and a purported nationwide class.”

Although both sides argued Kendall didn’t need to analyze which laws should apply in order to rule on the motion to dismiss, given no differences in state law would dictate different outcomes, she said that framing “is difficult to accept given the parties’ apparent misapprehension of the laws they invoke. Throughout their briefing, the parties conflate the distinct roles of insurer, insurance agent and insurance broker and cite legal rules applicable to those roles interchangeably. Even a cursory review of the relevant states’ laws reveals material differences across jurisdictions.”

For example, she said, under Illinois law, only brokers, and not agents or insurers, have a fiduciary duty to insured customers. But “the Insurance Placement Liability Act bars liability for a breach of fiduciary claim brought against an insurance broker unless it involves the wrongful retention or misappropriation of funds,” she wrote, while “none of the other eight states limits liability for breach of fiduciary claims in this way. Seven states recognize breach of fiduciary duty claims in the insurance context, albeit with their own caveats and nuances.”

She further explained how Illinois law on insurance-based negligence claims conflicts with other states and said she is obligated to consider nuances when deciding which laws to use while analyzing the underlying allegations, especially since the complaint proposes a nationwide class.

Were she to rule on the dismissal motion before the choice-of-law analysis, that may require her “to determine the laws governing the claims of the nine named plaintiffs, potentially dismiss some claims, and then revisit those same state-law differences in determining whether and to what extent a nationwide class may be certified,” Kendall wrote. “Further, resolving class certification first may substantially narrow the case if the court narrows the nationwide class or declines to certify it.”

Kendall acknowledged State Farm might’ve been cost conscious in moving for dismissal before the plaintiffs sought certification, but reiterated that “is not the most efficient course” regarding this litigation and said she wouldn’t rule on dismissal until she addresses certification. Although the plaintiffs haven’t yet filed such a motion, she advised both sides to discuss next steps at a status hearing and denied the motion to dismiss without prejudice.