Business Blog

Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank have released a joint statement detailing the closures of more than 40 of its banks in five states. Only one Mississippi bank will reportedly close. As discussed during the recent Gulf South Bank Conference in New Orleans, Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank will close a combined 40-45 branches across the [...]

Arkansas Business is reporting today that Tupelo-based regional banking company BancorpSouth Inc. is asking for voluntary early retirements for some of its workers. The article says the Tupelo-based financial holding company and parent of BancorpSouth Bank is making the offers to those 60 and over and with 10 consecutive years of experience with the company. [...]

If you are a federal worker on furlough this week — or an airline passenger delayed by federal furloughs — you might save your blood pressure, and go read another story. This one is about all the money the U.S. government spends on . . . nothing. As reported in the Washington Post, it is one of [...]

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union) and the Mississippi College Savings Account program will be featured on tonight’s (April 19)episode of Need to Know, a nationally broadcast Public Broadcasting System news magazine. MPTV airs the show at 7:30. In recognition of financial literacy month, the show highlights how the program helps families overcome the challenges [...]

Nine Mississippi teachers were honored today at a luncheon in Gulfport as winners of Leo W. Seal Innovative Teacher Grants. The grants are presented for excellence in creative education by Hancock Bank and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Honorees are Jean Adkison of East Central Upper Elementary School in Vancleave, Stephanie Beauchamp of North Woolmarket [...]

There’s always next year, says Mississippi Treasurer Lynn Fitch of her campaign to require financial literacy training in the state’s public schools. The effort gained easy passage in the House but failed to get a vote in the Senate, a circumstance she thinks could be related to a misconception that financial literacy is already widely [...]

  The Mississippi Council on Economic Education will observe April as Financial Literacy Month by bringing together high school students from across the state for the state Economics Challenge on Tuesday and the state Financial Literacy Challenge on Tuesday, April 23. Both Challenges will be at Millsaps College in the Leggette Center starting at 10 [...]

A forum titled “Commercial Real Estate an Economic Forecast” is on tab Thursday afternoon at the Mississippi Association of Realtors headquarters at 4274 Lakeland Drive. The forum presented by the Mississippi CCIM Chapter includes a panel discussion by Fountain Barksdale, Bank Plus; Jonathan Gould, Stonemar Realty; Paul Gunn, Watkins Eager Law Firm; Dr. Matthew Hill, [...]

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s early March concession that the banking executives who contributed to the nation’s banking collapse are “to big to jail” has brought protests from around the country. Holder, in March 6 testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, said going after leaders of the big banks for illegal activity related to the [...]

Just off the closing of its acquisition of Mobile-based BancTrust Financial Group and its 49 Alabama branches, Trustmark National Bank has agreed to buy the two Oxford locations of SOUTHBank, F.S.B. Under the agreement, Trustmark would acquire deposits of the two locations totaling about $11.8 million and the office buildings at 106 Court House Square [...]