Hancock Holding Company CEO Schloegel to participate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30 , 2003

Hancock Holding Company CEO Schloegel to participate
in today's Wall Street Reporter analysts roundtable conference call

GULFPORT, MS (September 30, 2003) - George A. Schloegel, Vice Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ: HBHC), will join other regional bank CEOs and financial analysts for a roundtable conference call on regional banking sponsored by The Wall Street Reporter magazine today at 1:00 p.m. (CST).

To hear the conference call, listeners can dial (918) 222-7424 and enter code 9043.

Providing a regional industry perspective, conference call discussions will highlight interest rates and the effects on bank stocks, opportunities for expansion and new business acquisition, key developments in finance affecting fund manager investment decisions, best prospects to attract investors' attention, and prospects for investment in regional bank stocks this year and for the long term.

Panelists will include Peyton Green, bank analyst at FTN Midwest Research; Richard Bove, Hoefer & Arnett; Anthony Pollini, FTN Midwest Research; Jefferson Harralson, Keefe Bruyette & Woods; Joseph Stieven, Stifel Nicolaus, & Company; and Mark Fitzgibbon, Sandler O'Neill & Partners.

A transcript of today's roundtable conference call will be published in a future issue of The Wall Street Reporter focusing on the banking industry. Interested individuals can research additional information at www.wallstreetreporter.com/roundtables/regionalbank/index.html.

Hancock Holding Company, parent company of Hancock Bank (Mississippi) and Hancock Bank of Louisiana, has more than $4.1 billion in assets. Founded 1899, Hancock Bank consistently ranks as one of America's strongest, safest five-star financial institutions. Hancock Bank operates 102 full-service offices and more than 135 automated teller machines throughout South Mississippi and Louisiana; corporate trust offices in Gulfport, Jackson, MS, Baton Rouge, LA, and New Orleans, LA; a business financial center in Mobile, AL; and subsidiaries Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, Hancock Mortgage Corporation, and Harrison Finance Company.

Additional corporate information and on-line banking and bill pay services are available at www.hancockbank.com.

— 30 —

FOR MORE INFORMATION
George A. Schloegel, Vice Chairman, President, & Chief Executive Officer
Carl J. Chaney, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Paul D. Guichet, Vice President, Investor Relations
1.800.522.6542 (x. 85242) or (228) 214-5242
paul_guichet@hancockbank.com