BancorpSouth History

The BancorpSouth story is one steeped in tradition, leadership and innovation. It began over 130 years ago in the back of a hardware store in Verona, Mississippi and today has a footprint across six states bounded by Dallas, Texas to the West and Atlanta, Georgia to the East.

A thread of acquisitions is woven throughout the bank's history, based on economic development and a commitment to community service. Liberalization of the state and federal banking laws during the last quarter of the 20th Century created a platform for major geographic expansion as well as opportunities to provide new products and services to help clients meet and exceed their personal financial goals.

To tell the story of BancorpSouth is to tell the story of the banks that joined together to create it. Since the turn of the century many banks have merged into what ultimately became BancorpSouth banks.

The year was 1876; George Armstrong Custer and his men were massacred at Little Big Horn, Alexander Graham Bell spoke the first words over his new invention, the telephone, to his assistant Mr. Watson and Raymond Trice and Company, a mercantile operation in Verona, Mississippi received a perpetual charter to set up a bank in the corner of their store. What would eventually evolve into BancorpSouth was born.

Hand-in-hand this fledgling bank and its community began a journey toward maturity. As was the case across the entire South, cotton was still king and was the economic backbone of the region.

Ten years later, in 1886, Raymond Trice and Company would move its banking operations to a new city nearby-Tupelo-formed by the crossing of two railroads, and would change its name to Bank of Lee County. Later it would become Bank of Tupelo. In 1966, it would become Bank of Mississippi. Finally, in 1999 it became BancorpSouth to signal its move into states contiguous to Mississippi.

In August 1886, when Raymond Trice and Company was moving to Tupelo, a group of entrepreneurs in Jackson, Tennessee met in the law offices of Pitts, hays and Meeks to form Second National Bank. The population of Jackson was approximately 8,000 at the time. Second National Bank would later change its name to Jackson National Bank and then to Volunteer Bank in 1993 and finally to BancorpSouth.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi was founded in 1884 by Captain William H. Hardy, a pioneer lumberman and civil engineer who named the fledgling community after his wife Hattie. Eleven years after Hattiesburg's incorporation, the Bank of Commerce was chartered. Later it became First National Bank of Hattiesburg and then First Mississippi National bank when it expanded to Biloxi and Jackson, Mississippi.

The three banks not only shared a common destiny, they shared a common philosophy. Each bank's core belief was one of participating in and supporting the economic growth of the communities in which it was found.

BancorpSouth's markets weathered the depression and supported the war efforts during World Wars I and II. But growth was not significant among any of them during that period, and neither was the economic growth of the areas they served. However, after World War II, each of the banks began to grow, building its own major banking system through acquisitions, mergers and internal growth.

From here the story takes a different twist, to one of attitude, cooperation and a willingness to dream big; how Northeast Mississippi and Tupelo created a business environment that would become the headquarters of a large, multi-state, multi-bank holding company-BancorpSouth.

The formula for success in the region was one of cooperation. The banks worked together cooperatively in pursuit of the common goal of greater economic growth for all. Instead of each bank trying to get a bigger piece of the economic pie, they worked hard to make the pie larger. As a result, everyone prospered.

The attitude of growth through cooperation that permeated the economic development efforts of the area became an integral thread through the Bank of Mississippi. That attitude is one of commitment built on goal-oriented teamwork.

It is important to understand the philosophy and culture fostered at the Bank of Mississippi during this time because from that culture and philosophy of hard work, cooperation and enthusiasm came the management of BancorpSouth.

Immediately upon the approval of the statewide banking law in 1987, BancorpSouth became Mississippi's first statewide bank through its merger with First Mississippi National Bank. It followed the same strategy expanding into Tennessee shortly after the Federal interstate banking law was passed in 1992. Entry into Alabama came in 1998 with the merger with the Highland Bank in Birmingham.

A true watershed event occurred with the advent of the new millennium when BancorpSouth entered into Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas with the merger of First United Bancshares. This merger created a $9 billion bank and ranked BancorpSouth among the top 100 banking companies in America.

Subsequently, in 2004, the Business Bank of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Premier Bank of Brentwood, Tennessee joined the BancorpSouth family. A year later, the acquisition of American State Bank of Jonesboro, Arkansas added 11 more branches to the growing system and opened the door to Northeast Arkansas.

But the banking tapestry that is BancorpSouth is rich in more than geographic expansion. The banking law changes of the nineties provided new product and service opportunities-insurance, brokerage and more.

In 1999, the bank entered the property and casualty business with the acquisition of Stewart Sneed and Hewes, a South Mississippi agency which was then the largest independent insurance agency in Mississippi.

This was followed in 2003 by another major acquisition of the Wright and Percy agency, the oldest and largest independent agency in Louisiana with locations in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles and Alexandria. In August 2003, one of the largest independent agencies in Arkansas, Ramsey, Krug, Farrell and Lensing of Little Rock, came into the fold.

It is significant to note that, following the acquisition of these large agencies and a few smaller insurance groups during this time period BancorpSouth retained the principals and primary associates of these agencies. The continuity of this personnel retention is one reason why the American Bankers Insurance Association's 2004 rankings for Bank Holding Companies by insurance revenue placed BancorpSouth 21st in the nation for all bank holding companies in the insurance business.

The BancorpSouth philosophy is one of providing "World Class" financial products and services to help its clients reach their personal financial goals. In fact, BancorpSouth weighs the service philosophy of its merger partners to ensure they share the same values from which to continue building a world-class financial services company.

The BancorpSouth way is one of providing its clients with every financial service they need, but not a single service they don't need.

Whatever financial goals customers aspire to, they can achieve through BancorpSouth's wide variety of products and services, state-of-the-art technology, a growing network of commercial locations and financial experts who truly realize the backbone of the Bank's success is personal service and sound advice.