TUPELO, Miss. and NEW ORLEANS, La., Dec.
20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS)
and Liberty Financial Services, Inc. ("Liberty") jointly announced
today BancorpSouth Bank invested $8.5
million in Liberty in the form of non-cumulative perpetual
preferred stock positioning Liberty to redeem in full 11,334 shares
of Series A Fixed-rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock issued
in 2010 pursuant to the U.S. Department of Treasury's Community
Development Capital Initiative. The redemption amount totaled
$10.6 million.
Liberty Financial Services, Inc., the holding company of
Liberty Bank, is headquartered in
New Orleans, Louisiana.
Liberty Bank is a Minority
Depository Institution ("MDI"), Community Development Entity
("CDE") and a Community Development Financial Institution ("CDFI")
which focuses on low-to-moderate wealth communities and their
respective residents. Liberty qualified for participation in the
Community Development Capital Initiative based on its status as a
CDFI. Liberty's mission is to provide cost-effective delivery
of high quality, innovative, customer driven financial products and
services to diverse markets with a focus on disadvantaged minority
communities who have traditionally been underserved by depository
institutions.
"We are excited about the opportunity to invest in a financial
institution as highly regarded as Liberty," remarked Dan Rollins, BancorpSouth Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer. "Liberty is consistently one of the top
performing African-American-owned financial institutions in the
country. This investment reflects our continued focus on
supporting the revitalization of under-served communities both in
the markets we serve as well as neighboring markets."
Alden McDonald, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Financial Services, Inc. added,
"BancorpSouth shares a common vision with Liberty through
involvement in all aspects of the communities we serve while
meeting the specific financial needs of each individual
customer. We are appreciative of their desire to support the
strategic objectives of our bank. Their investment
strengthens our ability to redeem in full our outstanding Series A
Preferred Stock held by the U.S. Department of Treasury."
BancorpSouth was represented by Alston & Bird LLP.
Liberty was represented by Adams
and Reese LLP.
About BancorpSouth, Inc.
BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS) is a financial holding company
headquartered in Tupelo,
Mississippi, with $14.6
billion in assets. BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates 236 full service branch
locations as well as additional mortgage, insurance, and loan
production offices in Alabama,
Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, including an insurance location in
Illinois. BancorpSouth is committed to a culture of respect,
diversity, and inclusion in both its workplace and communities. To
learn more, visit our Community Commitment page at
www.bancorpsouth.com. Like us on Facebook; follow us on
Twitter: @MyBXS; or connect with us through LinkedIn.
About Liberty Financial Services, Inc.
Liberty Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company of
Liberty Bank. Liberty Bank was chartered in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1972 with a focus on
service, integrity and a sincere interest in community and business
development. With more than $600
million in assets today, Liberty
Bank operates 21 branch locations in eight states. To
learn more, visit our website at www.libertybank.net.
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SOURCE BancorpSouth, Inc.