Gaffney to Head Commercial Banking Group, Joins AmSouth's Management Committee; Tortorici to...

Business Editors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002

John M. Gaffney, AmSouth's (NYSE:ASO) North Central Alabama area executive and Birmingham city president for the past three years, has been named to head AmSouth's Commercial Banking Group and will join the company's

"John Gaffney has proven himself an outstanding banker as he led one of our most high-profile areas, and his background in commercial lending makes him the perfect person to run this group," said C. Dowd Ritter, AmSouth's chairman, president and chief executive officer.

As head of Commercial Banking, Gaffney will be responsible for the unit that meets large and middle-market corporate customers' needs with a comprehensive array of credit, treasury management, international, and capital markets services. Included among these are several specialty services such as commercial real estate finance, asset-based lending, corporate finance, and healthcare banking. It also includes AmSouth Leasing, which has $1.7 billion in assets and is one of the largest bank-owned leasing companies in the Southeast.

Sam Tortorici, head of the Corporate Banking Division, will take over as North Central Alabama area executive and Birmingham city president, responsible for the delivery of small business, commercial, consumer and wealth management services in the eight-county region with 55 branches that stretches from Tuscaloosa to Gadsden. Tortorici, an executive vice president, has previously served as Central Alabama area executive and Montgomery city president, as well as in other senior management positions in commercial banking and finance.

"I'm thrilled to have Sam take over our North Central Alabama area," said Charles Mayer, head of the Alabama/South Louisiana Banking Group. "Sam's broad range of experience will serve both the bank and our customers well."

Ward Cheatham, the Birmingham Commercial sales manager, will be the new head of AmSouth's Corporate Banking Division.

Gaffney, 47, joined AmSouth's Management Associates program in 1977 and was named manager of the National Banking Department in 1981. A year later, he transferred to Mobile to serve as manager of Corporate Banking. He returned to Birmingham in 1984 and managed the Metropolitan Commercial Loan Department and the Regional Banking Group before being named manager of Birmingham Commercial Banking in 1994. He was named North Central Alabama area executive and Birmingham city president in December 1998.

Gaffney received a bachelor's degree in economics from Vanderbilt University and is also a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware.

Active in numerous organizations, Gaffney serves on the board of directors and as treasurer of the Business Council of Alabama. He is also active in Highlands United Methodist Church. He serves on the boards of Operation New Birmingham, the St. Vincent's Foundation, Samford University Business School of Advisors, Birmingham Urban Revitalization Partnership, the Boy Scouts, and is a member of the Birmingham Kiwanis club.

About AmSouth

AmSouth is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham with $38 billion in assets, 600 branch banking offices and more than 1,200 ATMs. AmSouth operates in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, 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, annuity and mutual fund sales, and trust and investment management services. AmSouth also offers a complete line of banking products and services at its web site, www.amsouth.com.