[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Regions Financial Corp. finally clawed its way out of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, by repaying the U.S. Treasury $3.5 billion last week.  Regions was the biggest bank remaining in TARP.  In addition to its $3.5 billion payment, Regions has paid the Treasury about $593 million in dividends.  The Treasury says it still holds warrants to purchase common stock in the bank, the sale of which will provide the U.S. government further returns. Regions last week completed the sale of Morgan Keegan to Raymond James, generating $1.2 billion in proceeds and allowing it to make a lump sum payment to the Treasury. Click for the referenced story:  [WSJ, 4/5/12].