FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2006

GULFPORT, MS (December 21, 2006) - With a collective roar of enthusiasm as brilliant as the lighthouse logo glowing high atop the corporate tower itself, almost 1,000 local Hancock Bank associates cheered the first official lighting of One Hancock Plaza, the company's quarter-million-square-foot headquarters rising from the heart of downtown Gulfport.

Tonight's lighting ceremony - a symbolic corporate tribute to Hancock's nearly 2,000 Hancock associates across four states - honored employees' unwavering commitment to ensuring the 108-year-old company's recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The blaze of light radiating across the Gulfport skyline also pays homage to Coast residents' resilient spirit and represents the region's re-emergence as an economic growth center. "Hancock Bank was able to begin serving customers and non-customers less than 24 hours after Katrina because of the dedication of our associates throughout the Gulf South to the core ideals upon which Hancock was founded in 1899," said George A. Schloegel, the Hancock Holding Company chairman who helped lead the area's recovery from Hurricane Camille 37 years ago. "The company's success during the 15 months after the storm reaffirms our Hancock team's pledge to facilitate commerce and opportunity throughout the Gulf South."

LIGHTING THE WAY TO A NEW GULF SOUTH - Almost 1,000 local Hancock Bank associates cheered the first official lighting of One Hancock Plaza, the company's quarter-million-square-foot headquarters rising from the heart of downtown Gulfport. The lighting ceremony - a symbolic corporate tribute to Hancock's nearly 2,000 Hancock associates across four states - honored employees' unwavering commitment to ensuring the 108-year-old company's recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

Community leaders and bank officials gathered earlier today for official ribbon-cutting festivities at Hancock's 5,000-square-foot financial center on the first floor of One Hancock Plaza. Bank officers said strong attendance at the event (more than 125 guests) despite a winter solstice drizzle reiterates Coastians' determination to rejuvenate the region's economy.

"Hancock associates and folks everywhere in the storm zone made tremendous sacrifices following Katrina. We are honored to reopen this downtown financial center to serve folks rebuilding their homes and businesses. We look forward to partnering with all the communities we serve to rebuild a dynamic new Gulf South together," said John M. Hairston, who with Carl J. Chaney was recently named a CEO of Hancock Holding Company, the bank's parent organization.

Damages from Katrina to Hancock properties totaled more than $45 million at 59 of 155 Hancock properties in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida - more than $35 million at One Hancock Plaza alone. One hundred ninety Hancock associates lost their homes, and more than 400 associates and their immediate families suffered significant property damage and loss. Yet, within days of the storm, hundreds of Hancock employees, architects, designers, and construction specialists launched plans to restore One Hancock Plaza as a glistening hub of downtown activity.

Hancock departments and tenants will reoccupy the remaining floors of the 15-story One Hancock Plaza gradually through early spring, with restoration of the entire complex anticipated by the end of first quarter 2007.

Hancock Holding Company is the parent company of Hancock Bank (Mississippi), Hancock Bank of Louisiana, Hancock Bank of Florida, and Hancock Bank of Alabama (in organization) and has assets of more than $6 billion. Hancock Bank - the only financial services company headquartered in the Gulf South to rate among the top 20 percent of America's top performing banks - offers comprehensive financial solutions through more than 140 banking and financial services offices and more than 130 automated teller machines across South Mississippi, Louisiana, southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

R. Paul Maxwell
VP & Corporate Communications Manager
228.563.7953