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Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Louisiana › Bank of the South

FDIC certificate 22824 · Baton Rouge, LA

What happened to Bank of the South?

Bank of the South in Baton Rouge, LA failed, and The First National Bank in St. Mary Parish of Morgan City, LA took it over on Oct 30, 1991. After 3 more changes of hands, what was Bank of the South is today part of Hancock Whitney Bank (Gulfport, MS).

1979
opened
1991
failed
1
name it used
4
steps to today's bank

The chain, step by step

From the day it opened to the bank at the end of the chain today. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.

  1. 1979
    Bank of the South opens in Baton Rouge, LA
  2. Oct 30, 1991
    FAILEDBank of the South failed, and The First National Bank in St. Mary Parish of Morgan City, LA took it over.FDIC certificate 22824 ends; its business continues under certificate 4293.
  3. Mar 9, 1996
    MERGEDThe First National Bank in St. Mary Parish of Morgan City, LA merged into Whitney National Bank of New Orleans, LA.FDIC certificate 4293 ends; its business continues under certificate 18538.
  4. Jun 6, 2011
    MERGEDWhitney National Bank of New Orleans, LA merged into Whitney Bank of New Orleans, LA.FDIC certificate 18538 ends; its business continues under certificate 33029.
  5. Mar 31, 2014
    MERGEDWhitney Bank of New Orleans, LA merged into Hancock Bank of Gulfport, MS.FDIC certificate 33029 ends; its business continues under certificate 12441.
  6. Today
    OPEN
    Hancock Whitney BankMain office Gulfport, MS · FDIC certificate 12441 · 186 offices in 5 states on June 30, 2026

    Every Hancock Whitney Bank office →   Website on file with the FDIC: www.hancockwhitney.com

If you still have something from Bank of the South

A lien that was never released

Bank of the South failed on Oct 30, 1991. For a failed bank placed in FDIC receivership, the FDIC may be able to issue the lien release, if the loan was paid off to the bank before it failed or to the FDIC afterward. The FDIC says that where a failed bank had an acquirer, its records in most cases went to that acquirer. Here the chain from the acquirer leads to Hancock Whitney Bank, which is worth asking too.

Requests go through the FDIC Information and Support Center with the recorded mortgage or title, and proof of payoff. The FDIC says to allow 30 business days once it has every document, and does not take requests by phone or email. Questions: FDIC Resolution Inquiries, 888-206-4662, 8am–4pm Central on weekdays.

An old account, passbook or CD

When a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, insured depositors become its customers right away (here, The First National Bank in St. Mary Parish). Start with Hancock Whitney Bank, and ask them to search under the name Bank of the South.

This failure is older than the current federal rule on unclaimed deposits (mid-1993), so different rules apply. Search FDIC unclaimed funds search, search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and ask FDIC Resolution Inquiries at 888-206-4662 what applies to this institution.

A safe deposit box

The FDIC says that when a healthy bank assumes a failed bank's deposits, the branches usually reopen the next business day with box access. Today, ask Hancock Whitney Bank. A box abandoned for years may have been turned over to the state's unclaimed-property program.

Box contents are not covered by FDIC insurance.

Not sure this is your bank?

Many banks shared a name. Match the city and the years above against your paperwork, or search again with the town.

Credit unions were never FDIC-insured and are not in this record; the NCUA credit union lookup covers those. Banks that closed before about 1970 are not in the FDIC's list either.

One caution: banks also sell single branches. If the office you used was sold to a different bank along the way, the account went with the branch, not with this chain.

This page is drawn from FDIC records and federal guidance. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office. More detail: lien releases · old passbooks and CDs · safe deposit boxes · unclaimed money.

Where the guidance comes from ▾

Source: FDIC BankFind institution and history records, read Nov 15, 2026. The FDIC's list covers banks that ended in about 1970 or later. Look up certificate 22824 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.