BancorpSouth executive Kunze retiring

Dave Kunze, BancorpSouth's Missouri division president, has elected to take part in a companywide early retirement plan offered by the Tupelo, Miss.-based bank holding company.

Kunze's anticipated retirement date is Oct. 1, and a successor has not yet been announced, according to a May 30 news release.

Kunze could not be reached for comment by deadline this morning. When asked by Springfield Business Journal on May 29 if he planned to resign, Kunze answered that he did not before abruptly hanging up.

The early retirement offer was made to 418 employees - roughly 10 percent of the company's workforce - who met criteria such as job classification, age and service years as of March 31, according to a news release.

As of the May 8 announcement, 296 employees had responded and 194 had accepted. Responses were due on or before May 23. The program is expected to result in a one-time, pretax charge of $8 million to $16 million, with annual savings ranging from $7 million to $12 million.

"This voluntary early retirement opportunity is part of an ongoing initiative designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs," BancorpSouth CEO Dan Rollins said in the release.

In a separate May 30 release announcing Kunze's retirement, Rollins lauded the executive for his 42-year career in banking.

"We believe the voluntary early retirement program appropriately recognizes the contributions and service of eligible employees who, like Dave, have chosen to participate," Rollins said.

Kunze had served as chairman of the board and CEO of The Signature Bank prior to its approximately $170 million merger in 2007 with BancorpSouth, which resulted in the dissolution of The Signature Bank, according to SBJ archives.