Hancock Holding Company acquires loans in Florida acquisition

GULFPORT, MS (March 17, 2004) - Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ: HBHC) announced today that Hancock has acquired approximately $40.0 million of performing loans from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the recently announced acquisition of all deposit liabilities of the former Guaranty National Bank of Tallahassee, FL.

In addition to the $40 million of performing loans, Hancock acquired approximately $1.7 million of investment securities and $13.5 million of federal funds (short-term securities) at fair market value. The previously announced premium of $13.6 million, or 20% of the acquired deposits, remains unchanged. Hancock Holding Company - the parent company of Hancock Bank Mississippi, Hancock Bank of Louisiana, and Hancock Bank of Florida - has assets of $4.3 billion.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed all locations of Guaranty National Bank of Tallahassee, FL at 5 p.m. (EST) on Friday, March 12, 2004. All five locations reopened on Monday, March 15, 2004, as new Hancock Bank of Florida branches.

Founded on October 9, 1899, Hancock Bank ranks among the top 4.6 percent of America's financial institutions for financial strength and stability, according to Veribanc, Inc., and has received a BauerFinancial, Inc., five-star superior rating (the highest rating possible) for the past 36 consecutive quarters. Hancock Bank operates more than 100 full service offices and 140 automated teller machines in South Mississippi and Louisiana as well as subsidiaries Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, Hancock Mortgage Corporation, Magna Insurance Company, and Harrison Finance Company. Additional corporate information and on-line banking and bill pay services are available at www.hancockbank.com.

"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Congress passed the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995 in an effort to encourage corporations to provide information about companies' anticipated future financial performance. This act provides a safe harbor for such disclosure, which protects the companies from unwarranted litigation if actual results are different from management expectations. This release contains forward-looking statements and reflects management's current views and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance, and financial results. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties which could cause the Company's actual results and experience to differ from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements

— 30 —

FOR MORE INFORMATION