BancorpSouth Expands in Louisiana

Opens Loan Production Office in Alexandria

TUPELO, Miss., June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BancorpSouth, Inc.
(NYSE: BXS) today announced its expansion in the attractive growth market of
Alexandria, Louisiana through the opening of a loan production office. The
office, which will be located at 3504 Parliament Drive, will focus on
commercial lending, real estate construction and residential mortgage lending.
Consistent with BancorpSouth's expansion strategy, the Company expects to seek
regulatory approval to provide full-service banking operations at the
appropriate time, including a comprehensive array of integrated retail and
commercial financial products and services.
Aubrey B. Patterson, BancorpSouth Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
remarked, "Today's announcement reflects a continuation of one of
BancorpSouth's central long-term growth strategies, that of expanding our
market share within our eight-state mid-south franchise by entering new
markets with attractive growth dynamics. A key aspect of this strategy is to
enter the Alexandria market with experienced management who understand and
embrace our style of community bank customer service, backed by sophisticated
financial product and service capabilities. We are confident we are so
positioned in Alexandria, and we will continue to evaluate additional plans
for future expansion in attractive markets within or contiguous to our current
eight-state footprint."
Lester Lucy, President of BancorpSouth's Texas-Louisiana Region, added,
"Alexandria is one of the most appealing markets in our area, with a highly
educated workforce and outstanding job growth in the private sector. We're
proud of our involvement in this vibrant market. Eugene Scriber, our president
in Alexandria, has a strong financial background in this community. We are
fortunate to have him leading our Alexandria team, which includes Tracy
Alletag, senior vice president, and Corey Lair, vice president, both with
tenure in the Alexandria market."
BancorpSouth, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Tupelo,
Mississippi with approximately $13.2 billion in assets. BancorpSouth Bank, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates approximately 300
commercial banking, insurance, trust and broker/dealer locations in Alabama,
Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
SOURCE BancorpSouth, Inc.

L. Nash Allen, Jr., Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, +1-662-680-2330, or
Gary C. Bonds, Senior Vice President and Controller, +1-662-680-2332, both of
BancorpSouth, Inc.