Hancock Whitney Founders Month in October

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Paul Maxwell, Senior Communications Officer
800.448.8812 or [email protected]

Annual observance honors bank's origins and ongoing story

GULFPORT, Miss.-A great story begins with a vision. Over time, people, milestones, and shared successes shape that vision into a lasting legacy.

October is Hancock Whitney Founders Month, an annual observance honoring the visionaries who launched a legacy of service, commitment, and core values that continues to guide the company today.

"In 1949, on the 50^th anniversary of our bank charter, then bank president Leo W. Seal, Sr., described our organization as 'a business that will never know completion,' continuing to grow and become better with, for, and because of people and places putting their trust in us," said Hancock Whitney President and CEO John M. Hairston. "During Hancock Whitney Founders Month, we celebrate our story, a story that started more than 125 years ago and continues today with the clients and communities we serve. Each new chapter builds on our founders' farsighted sense of what people need and expect from a strong financial and community partner."

A Time to Serve and Teach

Each year, Hancock Whitney Founders Month includes a concentrated focus on community volunteerism and financial education for people of all ages, a founding commitment associates continue all year.

Additionally, bank associates work closely with local schools, churches, and workforce development, business, and civic organizations to teach financial education supporting a more secure financial future for individuals and families.

Hancock Whitney offers associates up to eight paid hours annually to volunteer with eligible organizations providing important services and resources to local people.

How the Hancock Whitney Story Started

In the late 1800s, America faced the juxtaposition of progress and economic uncertainty. An industrial revolution had transformed the nation, but a national recession gripped most of the country. The Gulf Coast boomed with opportunity, however. New Orleans thrived as an international center of commerce and trade. Sixty-five miles east, South Mississippi's economy flourished, fueled by timber, seafood, agriculture, and tourism.

Business and civic leaders with Mississippi Coast and New Orleans connections saw the need for strong, safe banks to help people manage the prosperity. Their visions became two banks embracing similar missions and ideals rooted in what's right.

On October 26, 1883, Whitney National Bank in New Orleans received its charter. Sixteen years later, on October 9, 1899, Hancock County Bank opened on the Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, beachfront.

For more than 100 years, the banks' stories intertwined. Bank leaders developed lasting business and social relationships transcending peer competition. The first business transaction between Hancock and Whitney happened when Hancock sold the Bank of Orleans to Whitney on May 25, 1918.

In 2011, the two banks came full circle when Hancock and Whitney merged. On May 25, 2018-100 years to the day of the Bank of Orleans sale, the company changed its name to Hancock Whitney and debuted a new brand honoring the legacies of both banks.

More about Hancock Whitney

Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; and mortgage services. The company also operates combined loan and deposit production offices in the greater metropolitan areas of Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia. More information is available at www.hancockwhitney.com.