First Tennessee Bank closes on acquisition of restaurant franchise loans from GE Capital

First Tennessee Bank, the regional bank of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN), announced today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of the Southeast and Southwest regional loan portfolios of GE Capital’s restaurant franchise finance business. The loans totaled approximately $535 million as of close, down from the previously announced $637 million due to amortization and additional principal payments related to normal course of business activity. 

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to First Horizon’s earnings per share. The acquired loans will be combined with existing First Tennessee relationships to establish a restaurant franchise finance specialty lending business. The new line of business will have approximately $750 million of outstanding loans.  

First Tennessee has hired Todd Jones to lead the franchise finance team and added 10 others in new banking roles. Jones brings more than a decade of experience in the franchise finance business, most recently as senior managing director for brand management at GE Capital Franchise Finance.

“The addition of Todd and his team of experienced bankers rounds out our capabilities in this new specialty lending area,” said David Popwell, president of banking for First Horizon. “We are excited about this addition and look forward to serving our customers, growing our relationships and further developing this specialty lending area in the years ahead.”   

About First Horizon

The 4,300 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services through more than 160 bank locations across Tennessee and the southern U.S. and 29 FTN Financial offices across the U.S. The company was founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country. First Tennessee has the largest deposit market share in Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. FTN Financial is a capital markets industry leader in fixed income sales, trading and strategies for institutional customers in the U.S. and abroad. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Working Mother and American Banker. More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.

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CONTACT: First Horizon
Investor Relations, Aarti Bowman, [phone]
Media Relations, James Dowd, [phone]