Finance & Business World

Regions Financial Corp. CEO Dowd Ritter volunteered not to receive a cash bonus for 2008.

Ritter, who leads the Birmingham-based regional banking giant, was eligible to rake in more than $1.1 million in bonuses based on his performance amid the difficult economic climate, according to public documents filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Instead of a cash bonus, the bank’s Compensation Committee awarded Ritter about the same amount in restricted stocks, which is a part of his 2009 long-term incentive process. He received 323,676 shares at Feb. 24’s closing price of $3.29, which amounts to $1.06 million.

The committee’s decision would comply with new executive compensation rules outlined in the latest federal stimulus bill, which only allows executives at companies that received federal bailout funds to receive restricted stock bonuses instead of cash car loans for people with bad credit. Regions accepted $3.5 billion in federal TARP funds last year.

Despite declining a cash bonus, Ritter’s overall compensation climbed to $9.2 million in 2008, compared to $7.7 million in 2007. A stock award increase and changes to his pension plan helped contribute to the more than $2 million extra in pay for the year, according to the filing.

Within the past year, Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF) encountered hefty real estate losses within its loan portfolios and it recorded its first net loss during the economic crisis in the fourth quarter. The company posted a $6.2 billion loss during the three-month period ended Dec. 31.

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