In January, Hancock Whitney executives and New Orleans community leaders celebrated the grand opening of Hancock Whitney Center (formally One Shell Square) - the bank’s new New Orleans regional headquarters. Located at the corner of Poydras Street and St. Charles Avenue, our move to Hancock Whitney Center, the tallest building in the state of Louisiana, marked another milestone in our 100-plus year history of creating opportunities for Greater New Orleans.
The University of South Alabama and Hancock Whitney announced in January that the University’s new on-campus football stadium, scheduled to open in 2020, will be named Hancock Whitney Stadium in recognition of a new, comprehensive financial partnership between the two organizations. “The new Hancock Whitney Stadium will offer an excellent experience to fans and the broader community, and we are proud to align our brand to this new showpiece venue,” said Hancock Whitney Chief Executive Officer John Hairston.
Our trust and asset management group ranks among the top-50 trust and asset management firms in the nation by revenue. Those in-house experts keep their fingers on the pulse of market and economic influences affecting clients’ financial goals. Regularly sharing that first-hand knowledge with clients and communities through multiple in-person and online forums, our Hancock Whitney wealth management professionals offer national, regional and industry insights people need to make informed decisions about proactively managing, growing, protecting and passing on their hard-earned money.
Doing the right thing for the people and communities we serve has been a fundamental commitment for us since the day we opened our doors. Our annual Hancock Whitney Environmental, Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance (ESG) Report spotlights initiatives that demonstrate how we help protect and preserve our environment, create opportunities for others through charitable contributions and volunteerism and operate according to the unwavering honor and integrity our founders set as the cornerstone of our company.
Members of the Hancock Whitney Community Development Advisory Council closed out their inaugural year in March. The Advisory Council was formed in late 2017 to provide strategic advice to senior management and recommend products and services based on the needs of the low and moderate income communities they serve. To make a more significant impact in our communities across our six state footprint, it was important to hear from these leaders in those communities how we could serve them better. This impressive group of individuals make a difference on a daily basis from affordable housing and economic development to small business development.
In March, Greenwich Associates awarded Hancock Whitney 19 national and regional awards for middle market and small business banking excellence and best brand for 2018, raising Hancock Whitney’s total Greenwich Awards to 161 - including 14 Best Brand Awards since 2013 and 147 Excellence Awards since 2005.
As the official bank of the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans, Hancock Whitney’s partnership with the home team combined in-game achievement with community commitment. Through the Move Dem Chains and Bank Dem Shots cash-for-charities campaign during the teams’ 2018-2019 seasons, Hancock Whitney awarded 18 local charities a share of $90,000 to support affordable housing, education, youth development, health and human services, recovery and rehabilitation, and other programs helping in-need, at-risk, and underserved populations around the region.
In May, Hancock Whitney was proud to join members of the Beaumont business community to cut the ribbon on the new Hancock Whitney financial center at Edison Plaza in Beaumont, TX. This celebration hailed Hancock Whitney’s debut in the heart of Beaumont while affirming our commitment to commerce and opportunities for the growth of Southeast Texas.
Hancock Whitney was proud to be part of the Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough Veterans Build Home Dedication in February. Habitat of Hillsborough was the winner of one of our $25,000 competitive grants and that money was used to fund this new home project. “At Hancock Whitney Bank, service goes well beyond the walls of our bank,” said Tim Coop, Hancock Whitney regional president for Tampa Bay. “Habitat Hillsborough is a shining force in our community, and we’re proud to take part in helping build their Veteran’s Initiative and, in turn, helping to serve those that have fought for our freedom so we can sleep soundly at night.”
Hancock Whitney and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation recognized 12 outstanding South Mississippi educators in April for creative excellence as winners of the Leo W. Seal Innovative Teacher Grants. Funded by Hancock Whitney, the Leo W. Seal Innovative Teacher Grants recognize outstanding educators with grants that help pay for creative and innovative projects that complement curriculums and bring subjects to life for their students.
Commitment to Service is one of Hancock Whitney’s core values, and throughout the year, our associates can be found living this value in the communities they call home. In July, our Houston area associates participated in a home renovation project for Rebuilding Together Houston. We’re proud to partner with organizations throughout the Gulf South that help revitalize and strengthen communities.
We call our team members “associates” rather than employees because of the vital roles they play in our success. We also promise each associate the chance to cultivate their own success: You can grow. You have a voice. You are important. For more than 120 years, our culture of core values—a way of doing business with clients and each other anchored in Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork and Personal Responsibility—has helped Hancock Whitney associates and clients thrive and earned our company affirmations such as one of America’s Best Mid-Size Employers.
In June, Hancock Whitney officially launched the rebuilding of its financial center on the same corner of Highway 77 and 23rd Street where the bank has been for 30-plus years. Hancock Whitney leadership recognized the many people and organizations whose helping hands jump-started regional recovery and rebuilding and rather than a traditional groundbreaking, guests traced their hands and left messages on the wall of the vault—the only structure remaining from the original Highway 77 financial center.
United Way of South Mississippi awarded 11 community impact grants during a presentation ceremony at the Knight Nonprofit Center in Gulfport in July. The ceremony marked the beginning of UWSM’s 2019-2021 grant cycle. Over the course of the two-year cycle, $650,000 in grant funding will be provided to 11 area nonprofits working in the sectors of education, financial stability, health, and family services and support. Hancock Whitney, which raised more than $53,000 as an early pacesetter during the 2018 giving campaign, gifted an additional $50,000 to the final amount of grant funding.
Hancock Whitney is proud to be a part of over 240 communities across the Gulf South and are thankful to be recognized by those we serve for providing 5-star service. We appreciate all of our clients in Louisiana for recognizing us as Best In-State Bank, Best Out of State Bank, Best Mortgage Company and Best Office Building – Hancock Whitney Center in New Orleans City Business Reader Rankings; Best Bank/Credit Union by Gambit New Orleans Best of 2019; and Best Bank for Best of Tangipahoa 2019.
It was a beautiful day in Baldwin County, AL in September to partner with the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce in cutting the official blue ribbon at our new Hancock Whitney financial center in downtown Fairhope, Alabama. Located in the heart of one of Southern Living’s 2019 Best Small Towns, the full-service location offers clients a comprehensive array of financial services, including consumer, commercial and small business, trust and investments, private and wealth, and mortgage banking.
In September, Hancock Whitney celebrated the union of two longtime neighbors – Hancock Whitney and MidSouth Bank after announcing a definitive agreement for MidSouth to merge into Hancock Whitney in April. Associates and community members gathered for a sign installation, ribbon cutting ceremony, and client appreciation at the Ambassador Caffery Parkway financial center in Lafayette. A total of 22 former MidSouth branches transitioned to full-service Hancock Whitney financial centers expanding Hancock Whitney into a number of new communities across Louisiana and Texas.
We reinvest in our communities and organizations that help those communities to ensure hard-working people can move forward. Last year, in partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation, we awarded Hancock Whitney competitive grants totaling $140,000 to 12 nonprofits making major differences across the Gulf South in affordable housing, small business, economic development and youth education. In 2019, 16 eligible 501(c)(3) agencies received Hancock Whitney competitive grants totaling $200,000 for programs supporting affordable housing construction and rehabilitation for low-to-moderate income individuals, small business growth and youth job training, entrepreneurship and internships.
During the season of giving, Hancock Whitney honored 56 Southeast Texas nonprofit organizations and presented grants totaling approximately $1.3 million on behalf of six prominent Beaumont-area foundations at the annual Harvest of Giving awards ceremony. In the last 38 years, almost 1,620 grants have been awarded to deserving nonprofits, and Hancock Whitney is honored to be a part of this effort to create more opportunities and stronger quality of life for Southeast Texas.
To help celebrate women-owned businesses—the fastest growing business segment in America—and support future successes, we proudly launched a company-wide focus on ways we can share client stories and partner to provide banking solutions that inspire more opportunities for women to lead and own businesses. Additionally, our Hancock Whitney Diversity Leaders Investment Strategy offers clients a way to invest in strong companies with solid commitment to gender and ethnic inclusion at all levels. The strategy reflects growing national interest among investors to look for companies with principles that align with their own perspectives on equality.
Hancock Whitney was proud to join Jambalaya News Louisiana in December for their grand re-opening after a fire devastated their offices in October. To mark the occasion, Hancock Whitney committed to $25,000 in paid advertising as a symbol of confidence in and gratitude for Jambalaya News for their commitment to Greater New Orleans and the city’s Spanish-speaking community.
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