UPDATE 1-First Horizon posts second-quarter loss, names CEO

NEW YORK, July 14 (Reuters) - First Horizon National Corp (FHN.N), the largest bank in Tennessee, said on Monday that it had reported a second-quarter loss, hurt by continuing difficulties in credit markets and charges.

The company, which suspended its cash dividend last month and has been battling stability fears, also offered a successor for its current chief executive.

First Horizon reported a net loss of $19.1 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with net income of $22.1 million, or a profit of 17 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

It said Bryan Jordan would take over as president and chief executive of the bank in September, succeeding current president and CEO Jerry Baker.

Baker, who took the reins at the company in January 2007, will become vice chairman of the company's board of directors and assist in the CEO transition until he retires on Dec. 31, the bank said.

The company announced its second-quarter results earlier than planned due to market speculation. Its shares dropped 25 percent on Monday prior to the release of its results, closing at $5.04 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.

First Horizon said it had issued an additional $690 million in stock to provide a cushion against further deterioration in the economy.

The company is also selling its mortgage business, winding down its national lending portfolio, and working to reduce balance sheet risk, it said on Monday. The company said its capital ratios improved "significantly" during the quarter.

First Horizon's provision for loan losses decreased slightly from the first quarter, but its average total assets decreased 3 percent compared with the first quarter.

The company's quarterly loss, however, was wider than expected, as analysts polled by Thomson Reuters Estimates had, on average, expected a loss of 1 cent per share.

First Horizon said its quarterly results included $26 million of net charges due to its implementation of plans to restructure, reposition itself, and increase efficiency. It also recorded $12.6 million in gains from repurchasing debt, the bank said. (Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Ben Tan)