Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides comprehensive financial services.
The bank offers a broad range of traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business and retail customers, providing a variety of transaction and savings deposit products, treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products (including revolving credit facilities), letters of credit and similar financial guarantees. The bank pr...
Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides comprehensive financial services.
The bank offers a broad range of traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business and retail customers, providing a variety of transaction and savings deposit products, treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products (including revolving credit facilities), letters of credit and similar financial guarantees. The bank provides trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations and individuals and provides its customers access to investment advisory and brokerage products.
The company offers other services through bank and nonbank subsidiaries. The bank’s subsidiaries Hancock Whitney Equipment Finance, LLC and Hancock Whitney Equipment Finance and Leasing, LLC, provide commercial finance products to middle market and corporate clients, including leases and related structures. The company has other subsidiaries of the bank for purposes such as facilitating investments in new market tax credit activities and holding certain foreclosed assets. The company’s holding company's nonbank subsidiary, Hancock Whitney Investment Services, Inc., provides customers access to fixed annuity and life insurance products, investment advisory services and also participates in select underwriting transactions, primarily for banking clients.
The company operates primarily in the Gulf South region of the U.S., consists of southern and central Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern, central and northwest Louisiana; the northern, central, and panhandle regions of Florida; and certain areas of east and northeast Texas, including the Houston, Beaumont, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio areas, among others. The company also operates combined loan and deposit production offices in the metropolitan areas of Nashville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia. The company’s strategy is to provide customers with the financial sophistication and range of products of a regional bank, while successfully retaining the commercial appeal and level of service of a community bank.
The company’s priority is to continue to grow revenue in its existing markets with controlled expenses while providing five-star service through enhanced technology and processes that make banking simpler for its clients. The company has and will continue to invest in promoting new and enhanced products that contribute to the goals of continuing to diversify its sources of revenue from both new and existing clients. The company also continues to evaluate future acquisition opportunities that have the potential to increase shareholder value, provided overall economic conditions and its capital levels would support such a transaction.
The bank’s primary lending focus is to provide commercial, consumer and real estate loans to consumers, small and middle market businesses, and corporate clients in the markets and sectors served by the bank.
Commercial and industrial
The bank offers a variety of commercial loan services to a diversified customer base over a range of industries, including wholesale and retail trade in various durable and nondurable products, manufacturing of such products, financial and professional services, healthcare services, marine transportation and maritime construction, and energy, among others. Commercial and industrial loans are made available to businesses for working capital (including financing of inventory and receivables), business expansion, to facilitate the acquisition of a business, and for the purchase of equipment and machinery, including equipment leasing, among other items.
Commercial non-real estate loans may be secured by the assets being financed or other tangible or intangible business assets such as accounts receivable, inventory, enterprise value or commodity interests, and may incorporate a personal or corporate guarantee; however, some short-term loans may be made on an unsecured basis, including a relatively small portfolio of corporate credit cards, generally issued as a part of overall customer relationships. Asset-based loans, such as accounts receivables and business inventory secured loans, may have limits on borrowing that are based on the collateral values. The company’s source of repayment for asset-based loans is generally the conversion of those assets to cash and may be substantially dependent on the ability of the borrower to collect amounts due from its customers.
Commercial Real Estate – owner occupied loans consist of commercial mortgages on properties where repayment is generally dependent on the cash flow from the ongoing operations and activities of the borrower. Like commercial non-real estate, these loans are primarily made based on the identified cash flows of the borrower, but also have the added strength of the value of underlying real estate collateral.
Commercial Real Estate – Income Producing
Commercial real estate – income producing loans consist of loans secured by commercial mortgages on properties where the loan is made to real estate developers or investors and repayment is dependent on the sale, refinance or income generated from the operation of the property. Properties financed include retail, office, multifamily, senior housing, hotel/motel, skilled nursing facilities and other commercial properties.
Repayment of commercial real estate – income producing loans is generally dependent on the successful operation of the property securing the loan. Commercial real estate loans may be adversely affected by conditions in the real estate markets or in the general economy. The properties securing the commercial real estate – income producing portfolios are diverse in terms of type and geographic location. The company monitors and evaluates these loans based on collateral, geography and risk grade criteria. Past experience has shown that commercial real estate conditions can be volatile, particularly during economic downturns, so the company actively monitors concentrations within this portfolio segment, among others.
Construction and Land Development
Construction and land development loans are made to facilitate the acquisition, development, improvement and construction of both commercial and residential-purpose properties. Such loans are generally made to builders and investors where repayment is expected to be made from the sale, refinance or operation of the property or to businesses to be used in their operations.
Acquisition and development loans are underwritten utilizing feasibility studies, independent appraisal reviews, sensitivity analysis of real estate absorption and lease rates, and financial analysis of the developers and property owners. Construction loans are generally based upon cost estimates, the amount of sponsor equity investment, and the projected value of the completed project. The bank monitors the construction process to mitigate or identify risks as they arise. Construction loans often involve the disbursement of substantial funds with repayment largely dependent on the success of the ultimate project. Sources of repayment for these types of construction loans may be pre-committed permanent loans from approved long-term lenders, sales of developed property, or an interim loan commitment from the bank until permanent financing is obtained. These loans are typically closely monitored by on-site inspections and are considered to have higher risks than other real estate loans due to their ultimate repayment being sensitive to interest rate changes, governmental regulation of real property, general economic conditions, and the availability of long-term financing to repay the construction loan in full.
Owner occupied loans for the development and improvement of real property to commercial customers to be used in their business operations are underwritten subject to normal commercial and industrial credit standards and are generally subject to project tracking processes, similar to those required for commercial real estate – income producing loans.
This portfolio also includes residential construction loans and loans secured by raw land not yet under development.
Residential Mortgages
Residential mortgages consist of closed-end loans secured by first liens on 1- 4 family residential properties. The portfolio includes both fixed and adjustable rate loans, although most longer-term, fixed-rate loans originated are generally sold in the secondary mortgage market, depending on current strategies. The sale of fixed-rate mortgage loans allows the bank to manage the interest rate risks related to such lending operations.
Consumer
Consumer loans include second lien mortgage home loans, home equity lines of credit and nonresidential consumer purpose loans. Nonresidential consumer loans include both direct and indirect loans. Direct nonresidential consumer loans are made to finance the purchase of personal property, including automobiles, recreational vehicles and boats, and for other personal purposes (secured and unsecured), and deposit account secured loans. Indirect nonresidential loans include automobile financing provided to the consumer through an agreement with automobile dealerships, though the company are no longer engaged in this type of lending and the remaining portfolio continues to decline. Consumer loans also include a relatively small portfolio of credit card receivables issued on the basis of applications received through referrals from the bank’s branches, online and other marketing efforts.
The bank approves consumer loans based on income and financial information submitted by prospective borrowers as well as credit reports collected from various credit agencies. Financial stability and credit history of the borrower are the primary factors the Bank considers in granting such loans. The availability of collateral and whether the borrower is located in the bank’s primary market areas are also factors considered in making such loans.
Securities Portfolio
The investment portfolio primarily consists of the U.S. agency debt securities, the U.S. agency mortgage-related securities and obligations of states and municipalities classified as either available for sale or held to maturity. The company considers the available for sale portfolio as one of many sources of liquidity available to fund its operations. Investments are made in accordance with an investment policy approved by the Board Risk Committee. Company policies generally limit investments to agency securities and municipal securities determined to be investment grade according to an internally generated score, which generally includes a rating of not less than Baa or its equivalent by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The investment portfolio is tested monthly under multiple stressed interest rate scenarios, the results of which are used to manage the company’s interest rate risk position.
Deposits
The bank has several programs designed to attract deposit accounts from consumers and businesses at interest rates generally consistent with market conditions. Deposits are the most significant funding source for the company’s interest-earning assets. Interest paid on deposits represents a significant component of its interest expense. Deposits are attracted principally from clients within its retail branch network through the offering of a broad array of deposit products to individuals and businesses, including noninterest-bearing demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and time deposit accounts.
The bank also holds deposits of public entities. Brokered deposits, including time deposits and money market accounts, totaled $590 million at December 31, 2023. Brokered deposits are funds which the bank obtains through deposit brokers who sell participations in a given bank deposit account or instrument to one or more investors. These brokered deposits are fully insured by the FDIC because they are participated out by the deposit broker in shares of $250,000 or less. Brokered deposit issuances are approved by ALCO as one component of its funding strategy to support ongoing asset growth until such time customer deposit growth ultimately replaces the brokered deposits. Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA), the bank may continue to accept brokered deposits as long as it is either well-capitalized or adequately-capitalized.
Trust Services
The bank, through its trust department, offers a full range of trust services on a fee basis. In its trust capacities, the bank provides investment management services on an agency basis and acts as trustee for pension plans, profit sharing plans, corporate and municipal bond issues, living trusts, life insurance trusts and various other types of trusts created by or for individuals, businesses, and charitable and religious organizations.
Supervision and Regulation
The company is subject to extensive supervision and regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the ‘Federal Reserve’) pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the ‘BHC Act’).
The company is subject to regulation by the state of Mississippi under its general business corporation laws, and to supervision by the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance (the ‘MDBCF’). The Federal Reserve may also examine the company’s non-bank subsidiaries. Various federal and state bodies regulate and supervise the company’s brokerage, investment advisory and insurance agency operations. These include, but are not limited to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), federal and state banking regulators, and various state regulators of insurance and brokerage activities.
The bank is an FDIC-insured depository institution. The operation of the bank is subject to state and federal statutes applicable to state banks and the regulations of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The operations of the bank may also be subject to applicable Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) regulation to the extent state banks are granted parity with national banks.
The bank is subject to regulation, reporting, and periodic examinations by the FDIC, the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance (the MDBCF), and the CFPB.
The CFPB has rule writing, examination, and enforcement authority with regard to the bank’s (and the company’s) compliance with a wide array of consumer financial protection laws, including the Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (except Sections 615(e) and 628), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (sections 502 through 509 relating to privacy), among others. The bank is subject to direct supervision and examination by the CFPB.
The deposits of the bank are insured by the FDIC up to applicable limits. The Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) of the FDIC insures the deposits of the bank generally up to a maximum of $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.
The bank is subject to the provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which imposes a continuing and affirmative obligation, consistent with their safe and sound operation, to help meet the credit needs of entire communities where the bank accepts deposits, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Hancock Whitney Investment Services, Inc. is subject to supervision and regulation by the SEC, FINRA, and the state of Mississippi.
The company is required to comply with various corporate governance and financial reporting requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules and regulations adopted by the SEC, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and Nasdaq.
History
The company was founded in 1899. The company was incorporated in 1984. It was formerly known as Hancock Holding Company and changed its name to Hancock Whitney Corporation in 2018.
