Anticipating savings from the corporate tax rate reduction in the GOP’s tax reform law, Regions Bank says it is boosting its hourly minimum wage to $15 for 5,000 employees.
The Birmingham-based bank is one of the latest in a string of companies to announce bonuses or pay raises for employees in the wake of the passage of $1.5 trillion tax plan. President Donald Trump signed the bill—which cuts the corporate tax rate to 21%—into law on Dec. 22.
The tax plan is the first major overhaul of U.S. tax laws in 31 years. Critics say it will add to the nation’s soaring debt.
The bank will phase in the hourly pay increase—which impacts approximately 335 Louisiana-based workers—in coming months, says Regions spokesman Jeremy King. The pay hike benefits 25% of Regions’ total workforce and impacts associates like entry-level tellers and at call centers.
Regions, the fourth largest bank by local market share in the Baton Rouge metro area, previously adopted an official minimum wage of $10.15 an hour, but a vast majority of associates earn $12 or more per hour, King says. The bank is still evaluating how much it will save from the tax overhaul.
The hourly pay increase is one part of a three-tier approach the institution is adopting to apply the expectant savings, King says. Regions Bank also is directing $40 million to its charitable foundation which supports financial education, job training, economic development, and affordable housing.
In addition, the bank plans to increase its capital expenditures by approximately $100 million—or by 50%—over its 2017 level to support investments in facilities, technology, products and customer service.
Regions Financial Corp. has $123 billion in assets approximately 1,500 banking offices and 1,900 ATMs in the South, Midwest and Texas.
—Alexandria Burris
