U. S. Department of the Treasury Completes Investment in MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.

LAFAYETTE, La., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE
Alternext: MSL), the holding company of MidSouth Bank, N.A.
(www.midsouthbank.com) announced that it sold to the United States Department
of the Treasury shares of the Company's preferred stock for $20.0 million and
a 10-year warrant to purchase up to 208,768 shares of the Company's common
stock at an exercise price of $14.37 per share, for an aggregate purchase
price of $3.0 million. The preferred stock and warrant were issued in
association with the Capital Purchase Program under the Treasury Department's
Troubled Asset Relief Program (commonly referred to as "TARP").

MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.

MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Lafayette,
Louisiana, with total assets of $916.5 million as of September 30, 2008. It
has 35 locations in Louisiana and Texas and more than 170 ATMs. Through its
wholly-owned subsidiary, MidSouth Bank, N.A., the Company offers complete
banking services to commercial and retail customers in south Louisiana and
southeast Texas. The group is community oriented and focuses primarily on
offering commercial and consumer loan and deposit services to individuals, and
small and middle market businesses.

Established in 1985, MidSouth Bank has 27 offices extending along the
Interstate 10 corridor in south Louisiana located in Lafayette (9), Baton
Rouge (3), New Iberia (3), Lake Charles (2), Sulphur, Jeanerette, Jennings,
Thibodaux, Cut Off, Opelousas, Breaux Bridge, Cecilia, Morgan City and Houma.
A new banking facility is scheduled to open in Houma in early 2009.
Additionally, the bank has seven full-service offices in the southeast region
of Texas, including Beaumont (3), Vidor, College Station and Conroe. It also
has a mortgage loan office in Conroe.

MidSouth Bancorp's common stock is traded on the New York Stock
Exchange-Alternext (NYSE-Alternext) under the symbol MSL.

Forward Looking Statements

The Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for
disclosure of information about a company's anticipated future financial
performance. This act protects a company from unwarranted litigation if
actual results differ from management expectations. This press release
reflects management's current views and estimates of future economic
circumstances, industry conditions, MidSouth's performance and financial
results. A number of factors and uncertainties could cause actual results to
differ from anticipated results and expectations. These factors include, but
are not limited to, factors identified in Management's Discussion and Analysis
under the caption "Forward Looking Statements" contained in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.

C.R. "Rusty" Cloutier, President & CEO, +1-337-237-8343, or J. Eustis
Corrigan, Jr., CFO/SEVP, +1-337-237-8343, both of MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.