The Signature Bank, BancorpSouth announce $170 million merger

BancorpSouth is a top-50 bank with $11.9 billion in assets. It’s traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BSX.

The Signature Bank, formed through a merger of The Bank and Signature Bank in 2004, has $847 million in assets.

The Signature Bank shareholders would receive 50 percent cash and 50 percent BancorpSouth common stock if federal and state regulators approve the merger, which BancorpSouth CEO Aubrey Patterson expects to happen early next year.

The Signature Bank would adopt the BancorpSouth name, though Patterson said no timetable has been set.

With the merger, BancorpSouth would enter Missouri for the first time. It plans to expand on The Signature Bank’s portfolio, which contains six Springfield locations and one St. Louis-area loan office.

BancorpSouth operates 282 locations in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.

See SBJ's Nov. 6 issue for more on this story.