ASO Airshares EU Carbon

AmSouth Bancorporation (NYSE:ASO) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the repurchase of up to 25 million shares of the company's outstanding common stock. "These share repurchases demonstrate our confidence in the company and our continued commitment to returning capital to our shareholders," said C. Dowd Ritter, AmSouth's chairman, president and chief executive officer. The authorization represents more than 7 percent of the company's outstanding shares and would be valued at $711 million based on AmSouth's April 19, 2006, closing price of $28.46 per share. The common shares may be repurchased in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. The reacquired common shares will be held as treasury shares and may be reissued for various corporate purposes. As of March 31, 2006, there were 346 million shares outstanding. The company has been repurchasing shares under a 25 million share authorization approved in April 2003. As of March 31, 2006, there were approximately 4 million shares remaining under that authorization. AmSouth's Board of Directors also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.26 per common share, payable July 3, 2006, to shareholders of record as of June 16, 2006. AmSouth's dividend yield as of April 19, 2006, was 3.7 percent. AmSouth holds Mergent's "Dividend Achiever" designation for its record of increasing dividends for 35 consecutive years, an honor accorded just 3 percent of U.S.-listed, dividend-paying publicly traded companies. AmSouth also was named to Forbes magazine's Platinum 400 list, a prestigious ranking of the best big companies in America. About AmSouth AmSouth is a regional bank holding company with $53 billion in assets, more than 680 branch banking offices and more than 1,200 ATMs. AmSouth operates in Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia. AmSouth is a leader among regional banks in the Southeast in several key business segments, including consumer and commercial banking, small business banking, mortgage lending, equipment leasing, and trust and investment management services. AmSouth also offers a complete line of banking products and services at its web site, www.amsouth.com.