GULFPORT, MS (January 14, 2009) - Hancock Bank's banking and financial services offices in South Mississippi, south central Louisiana, southern Alabama, and north Florida will not open on Monday, January 19, 2009, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr., federal banking holiday.

All Hancock corporate locations, trust offices, branches, and subsidiaries will resume regular business hours on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

Customers can access the conveniences of 24-hour, seven-days-a-week financial services through Hancock's HandyCall® telephone banking, e-Banking and e-Pay at www.hancockbank.com, and 136 ATMs across the company's Gulf South I-10 corridor markets.

Founded in 1899, Hancock Bank - an FDIC-insured institution - consistently rates among the nation's strongest, safest banks. Hancock subsidiaries include Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency and its divisions of Ross King Walker and J. Everett Eaves, and Harrison Finance Company. Additionally, Hancock has corporate trust offices in Gulfport, Jackson, MS, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Orlando.

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For More Information

R. Paul Maxwell, VP & Corporate Communications Manager
228.563.7953 or paul_maxwell@hancockbank.com