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Bank Of Mississippi, Inc. Business Information, Profile, and History

One Mississippi Plaza
Tupelo, Mississippi 38802
U.S.A.

History of Bank Of Mississippi, Inc.

The Bank of Mississippi, Inc., is one of the strongest and most influential chains of state banks in America's deep South. Since statewide banking was first permitted in Mississippi in 1986, the bank has opened more than 80 branches from Biloxi to Vicksburg. The Bank of Mississippi also has very strong ties to local communities throughout the state; over 85 percent of the bank's shareholders are residents of Mississippi, and bank management has designated community programs, such as community college scholarships and educational loans to students, a high priority.

Mississippi was the heart of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. By the end of the war the state was in economic chaos, particularly since a Union Army blockade had prevented supplies of food and necessary materials from reaching the state and its economic lifeline, the cotton trade, had been brought to a complete halt. In order to rebuild the local economy, the Mississippi state legislature voted to grant a rare perpetual charter to Raymond, Trice & Company, the forerunner of the Bank of Mississippi, on March 31, 1876. Established in the small town of Verona, the bank was situated in the back room of a store.

Raymond, Trice & Company immediately began to grant loans to landowners to expand their operations, launch new enterprises, and buy horses and equipment, and to the community to fund schools and rebuilding projects. By 1886 the bank was granting loans and doing business over a wider and wider area, and its shareholders decided to move the bank to Tupelo in order to take advantage of the better communications between the town and rural communities. The company was renamed the Bank of Lee County, and shortly afterward the Bank of Tupelo.

The Bank of Tupelo grew with the state of Mississippi. The states that had seceded from the Union during the Civil War were nearly healed by the turn of the century, and cotton fields all over Mississippi were yielding profitable crops. The Bank of Tupelo merged with the Bank of Nettleton in 1904 and with the Fulton Bank in 1906, providing the Bank of Tupelo with a stronger presence in northeastern Mississippi. The bank continued to open offices, and by the end of the 1920s the Bank of Tupelo was regarded by many of its customers as the most stable financial institution in Mississippi.

Then the Great Depression swept across the United States. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt completely revamped the banking industry, attempting to establish policies that would ultimately reinvigorate U.S. financial institutions, but many banks went bankrupt before the new policies could be implemented. The Bank of Tupelo, however, with a conservative loan program and cautious management, was able to survive the worst years of the Depression.

In addition to the problems caused by the Great Depression, the Bank of Tupelo also confronted challenges specific to the southern United States. The place of agriculture in southern life began to diminish in importance during the mid-1930s, as individual cotton farms gave way to large combines. At the same time, the region was faced with inadequate rural housing, the regular flooding of the Mississippi, which displaced thousands of people, and the growing and obvious need for serviceable roads and highways. Management at the Bank of Tupelo regarded all of these problems as part of the bank's responsibility to address. Loans were made to rebuild homes destroyed by floods, and the bank joined forces with other financial institutions to help fund adequate housing for families in rural areas of northeastern Mississippi.

With the coming of World War II, the Bank of Tupelo sold war bonds to help finance the U.S. war effort. After the war, in pursuit of a stronger regional economy, the Bank of Tupelo joined forces with other Mississippi financial institutions, local development organizations, and such federal agencies as the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority. These groups laid plans for a strong economic foundation across northeastern Mississippi. The Bank of Tupelo helped cultivate the growth of small business ventures, retail stores, utility companies, and local school systems. By 1949 the bank was expanding once again, and acquired both the Merchants & Farmers Bank of Ecru and the Bank of Sherman.

For 30 years the Bank of Tupelo had been guided by President J. P. Nanney, whose leadership propelled the bank from the status of a local institution to a regional powerhouse. His cautious financial policies, combined with his commitment to developing an industrial base for the area (he was twice elected mayor of Tupelo), were in large part responsible for the bank's success. By the early 1950s Nanny had hired J. C. Whitehead, Jr., as his hand-picked successor. Whitehead, who had graduated from Mississippi State University and whose father had been president of the Fulton Bank since the early 1920s, began his career at the bank as a trust officer. When Nanney died in 1959, Whitehead became president of the bank.

During the 1960s, under Whitehead's leadership, the Bank of Tupelo entered a period of unprecedented growth. One of Whitehead's first priorities was to increase the bank's loan/deposit ratio. In just a few short years, Whitehead had increased the ratio from 21 percent to an impressive 60 percent. This development provided the bank with the capital necessary to make loans to encourage the growth of various industries in northeastern Mississippi. At the same time, Whitehead proposed that the bank change its name to better reflect the concerns of the state as a whole. After exhaustive discussion among the bank's managers, the name "Bank of Mississippi" was finally chosen.

The bank continued to prosper in the 1970s, initiating acquisitions and mergers that resulted in many new financial associates. Customer services were upgraded and communication among the bank's many offices was improved. Most importantly, the bank sharpened its focus on business and industrial development. The bank joined forces with the Community Development Foundation, the Lee County Soil & Water Conservation District, and the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District to encourage local entrepreneurs and attract national companies. The results of the consortium's efforts were dramatic, yielding economic gains throughout the state. Employment and wages increased, the tax base expanded, and citizens across the state gained greater access to a wider variety of services and products.

One of the most important of the bank's many activities during this period was its involvement in and support of the state of Mississippi's educational system. The bank supported programs within the public school system, encouraged and helped to develop curriculum at the community college level, provided loans and scholarships to students attending state universities, and contributed to educational programs at leading colleges and universities throughout the state.

Until restrictions were removed in 1986, Federal law prohibited statewide banking, with bank activities constrained to a one-hundred mile radius from a bank's main administrative headquarters. With the repeal of restrictions, the Bank of Mississippi expanded its presence across the state. Under a new president, Aubrey B. Patterson, Jr., the Bank of Mississippi merged with First Mississippi National. This merger resulted in the bank's gaining greater access both to the Gulf Coast and Jackson markets, and provided the bank with the largest market share in the region of Hattiesburg. A short time later, the bank acquired both the American Bank of Vicksburg and the Bank of North Mississippi. With these acquisitions, the Bank of Mississippi was able to serve communities from the Gulf of Mexico to the Tennessee state border.

By 1990 the Bank of Mississippi had grown to more than 70 offices and branches operating in more than 40 cities and towns. A new administration and operations facility was constructed for the bank's main headquarters in Tupelo, and a highly sophisticated telecommunications system between branches was put in place. On a daily basis, deposits were collected by air transportation and put into the Federal Reserve Bank located in Memphis.

In the early 1990s the Bank of Mississippi was acquired by BancorpSouth, Inc., a large regional banking institution. The terms of the acquisition stipulated that the Bank of Mississippi would remain a relatively autonomous financial institution. Within a few years, with the financial help of BancorpSouth, the Bank of Mississippi had expanded its network of branch locations in the state.

Related information about Bank

An organization which offers a wide range of services to do with the handling of money. Most banks are commercial banks, which keep money on behalf of their customers, lend it to them, and offer them such facilities as currency exchange, money transfer, credit facilities, mortgages, and investment advice. A central bank in a country (such as the Bank of England or the Banque de France) is the banker for the government, issuing money on its behalf and setting the chief interest rate for loans; it is much involved in the country's monetary policy. Merchant banks offer specialized services to businesses, such as managing shares, dealing in gold or foreign currencies, and providing funds to finance a new business. Savings banks were founded in the 19th-c to encourage people to save, small deposits being placed in interest-bearing accounts. There are also several international banks, which regulate currency matters between countries and handle international loans, notably the World Bank.

see :wiktionary:banker for more meanings.

A bank is a business that provides banking services for profit. Some banks (called Banks of Issue) issue banknotes as legal tender.

Currently in most jurisdictions the business of banking is regulated and banks require permission to trade. Authorisation to trade is granted by bank regulatory authorities and provide rights to conduct the most fundamental banking services such as accepting deposits and making loans. There are also financial institutions that provide banking services without meeting the legal definition of a bank (see banking institutions).

Banks have a long history, and have influenced economies and politics for centuries.

The word bank is derived from the Italian banca, which is derived from a Germanic language and means bench. In recent history, with historically low interest rates limiting banks' ability to earn money by lending deposited funds, much of a bank's income is provided by overdraft fees and riskier investments.

Services typically offered by banks

Although the type of services offered by a bank depends upon the type of bank and the country, services provided usually include:

Taking deposits from their customers and issuing checking and savings accounts to individuals and businesses
Extending loans to individuals and businesses
Cashing cheques
Facilitating money transactions such as wire transfers and cashiers checks
Issuing credit cards, ATM cards, and debit cards
Storing valuables, particularly in a safe deposit box

Financial transactions can be performed through several different channels:

Branch
ATM
Mail
Telephone
Internet

Types of banks

Banks' activities can be characterised as retail banking, dealing directly with individuals and small businesses, and investment banking, relating to activities on the financial markets. However, some are owned by government, or are non-profit making.

In some jurisdictions retail and investment activities are, or have been, separated by law.

Central banks are non-commercial bodies or government agencies often charged with controlling interest rates and money supply across the whole economy.

Types of retail banks

Commercial bank, is the term used for a normal bank to distinguish it from an investment bank. After the great depression, the U.S. Congress required that banks only engage in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital markets activities. Since the two no longer have to be under separate ownership, some use the term "commercial bank" to refer to a bank or a division of a bank that mostly deals with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses.
Community Banks are locally operated financial institutions that empower employees to make local decisions to serve their customers.
Community development bank are regulated banks that provide financial services and credit to underserved markets or populations.
Postal savings banks are savings banks associated with national postal systems.
Private banks manage the assets of high net worth individuals.
Offshore banks are banks located in jurisdictions with low taxation and regulation. Many offshore banks are essentially private banks.
Savings bank In Europe, savings banks take their roots in the 19th or sometimes even 18th century. Nowadays, European savings banks have kept their focus on retail banking: payments, savings products, credits and insurances for individuals or small and medium-sized enterprises.

Building societies and Landesbanks both conduct retail banking.
Ethical banks are banks that prioritize the transparency of all operations and make only social-responsible investments.

Types of investment banks

Investment banks "underwrite" (guarantee the sale of) stock and bond issues, trade for their own accounts, make markets, and advise corporations on capital markets activities such as mergers and acquisitions.
Merchant banks were traditionally banks which engaged in trade financing. For example, First Bank (a very large bank) is involved in commercial and retail lending, and its subsidiaries in tax-havens offer offshore banking services to customers in other countries. In Europe and Asia, big banks are very diversified groups that, among other services, also distribute insurance, hence the term bancassurance.

Other types of banks

Islamic banks adhere to the concepts of Islamic law. Also, deposit makers earn a share of the bank?s profit as opposed to a predetermined interest.

Banks in the economy

Role in the money supply

A bank raises funds by attracting deposits, borrowing money in the inter-bank market, or issuing financial instruments in the money market or a capital market. The bank then lends out most of these funds to borrowers.

However, it would not be prudent for a bank to lend out all of its balance sheet. Some governments (or their central banks) restrict the proportion of a bank's balance sheet that can be lent out, and use this as a tool for controlling the money supply.

Size of global banking industry

Worldwide assets of the largest 1,000 banks grew 15.5% in 2005 to reach a record $60.5 trillion. The large number of banks in the US is an indicator of its geographical dispersity and regulatory structure resulting in a large number of small to medium sized institutions in its banking system. Risks include liquidity risk (the risk that many depositors will request withdrawals beyond available funds), credit risk (the risk that those that owe money to the bank will not repay), and interest rate risk (the risk that the bank will become unprofitable if rising interest rates force it to pay relatively more on its deposits than it receives on its loans), among others.

Banking crises have developed many times throughout history when one or more risks materialize for a banking sector as a whole. Prominent examples include the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis in 1980s and early 1990s, the Japanese banking crisis during the 1990s, the bank run that occurred during the Great Depression, and the recent liquidation by the central Bank of Nigeria, where about 25 banks were liquidated.

Regulation

The combination of the instability of banks as well as their important facilitating role in the economy led to banking being thoroughly regulated. In addition, banks are usually required to purchase deposit insurance to make sure smaller investors are not wiped out in the event of a bank failure.

Another reason banks are thoroughly regulated is that ultimately, no government can allow the banking system to fail.

Public perceptions of banks

In United States history, the National Bank was a major political issue during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Jackson fought against the bank as a symbol of greed and profit-mongering, antithetical to the democratic ideals of the United States.

Currently, many people consider that various banking policies take advantage of customers. Specific concerns are policies that permit banks to hold deposited funds for several days, to apply withdrawals before deposits or from greatest to least, which is most likely to cause the greatest overdraft, that allow backdating funds transfers and fee assessments, and that authorize electronic funds transfers despite an overdraft.

In response to the perceived greed and socially-irresponsible all-for-the-profit attitude of banks, in the last few decades a new type of banks called ethical banks have emerged, which only make social-responsible investments (for instance, no investment in the arms industry) and are transparent in all its operations.

In the US, Credit unions have also gained popularity as an alternative financial resource for many consumers. Also, in various European countries, Cooperative banks are regularly gaining market share in retail banking.

Profitability

Large banks in the United States are some of the most profitable corporations, especially relative to the small market shares they have. For example, the largest bank, Citigroup, which for the past 3 years has made more profit than any other company in the world, has only a 5% market share. Merging banking, investment, and insurance functions allows traditional banks to respond to increasing consumer demands for "one stop shopping" by enabling cross-selling of products (which, the banks hope, will also increase profitability).

Bank size information

Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by tier 1 capital

Figures in U.S. dollars, and as at end-2005www.economist.com/markets/indicators/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7141354 The Economist, The world's biggest banks, List of the world's ten largest banks by tier 1 capital at the end of 2005

Citigroup — 60 billion
Royal Bank of Scotland — 38 billion

Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by assets

Figures in U.S. dollars, and as at end-2004www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6908408 The Economist, Thinking big, List of the world's ten largest banks by assets in 2004

UBS — 1,144 billion
Royal Bank of Scotland — 1,110 billion

Top ten bank holding companies in the world ranked by profit

Figures in U.S. dollars, and as 2003

Citigroup — 10 billion
Royal Bank of Scotland — 4 billion

Top ten banks in the world ranked by market capitalisation

Figures in U.S. dollars, and as at 26 July 2006www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7226067 The Economist, On Citi's tail, List of the world's biggest banks, by market capitalisation, as at 26 June 2006

Citigroup — 110 billion
Royal Bank of Scotland — 95 billion

History of banking

Main article: History of banking

Florentine banking — The Medicis and Pittis among others
Banknotes — The evolution of modern central banking policies
Bank of America — The invention of centralized check and payment processing technology
Swiss bank
United States Banking
History of Money and Banking in the United States by Murray N. History of banking in the Middle-East

Additional topics

Company HistoryFinance: Banks & Credit

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