News

BancorpSouth, Inc. today announced its expansion in the attractive growth market of Alexandria, Louisiana through the opening of a loan production office. The office, which will be located at 3504 Parliament Drive, will focus on commercial lending, real estate construction and residential mortgage lending. Consistent with BancorpSouth's expansion strategy, the Company expects to seek regulatory approval to provide full-service banking operations at the appropriate time, including a comprehensive array of integrated retail and commercial financial products and services.

Aubrey B. Patterson, BancorpSouth Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, remarked, "Today's announcement reflects a continuation of one of BancorpSouth's central long-term growth strategies, that of expanding our market share within our eight-state mid-south franchise by entering new markets with attractive growth dynamics. A key aspect of this strategy is to enter the Alexandria market with experienced management who understand and embrace our style of community bank customer service, backed by sophisticated financial product and service capabilities. We are confident we are so positioned in Alexandria, and we will continue to evaluate additional plans for future expansion in attractive markets within or contiguous to our current eight-state footprint."

Lester Lucy, President of BancorpSouth's Texas-Louisiana Region, added, "Alexandria is one of the most appealing markets in our area, with a highly educated workforce and outstanding job growth in the private sector. We're proud of our involvement in this vibrant market. Eugene Scriber, our president in Alexandria, has a strong financial background in this community. We are fortunate to have him leading our Alexandria team, which includes Tracy Alletag, senior vice president, and Corey Lair, vice president, both with tenure in the Alexandria market."

BancorpSouth, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi with approximately $13.2 billion in assets. BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates approximately 300 commercial banking, insurance, trust and broker/dealer locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

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FCMN Contact: chuck.mcintosh@bxs.com

SOURCE: BancorpSouth, Inc.