HWC 10-K Fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2014

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.

OR

Commission file number 0-13089

Hancock Holding Company

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes ¨ No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes ¨ No x

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by nonaffiliates of the registrant as of February 20, 2015 was $2.9 billion based upon the closing market price on NASDAQ on June 30, 2014. For purposes of this calculation only, shares held by nonaffiliates are deemed to consist of (a) shares held by all shareholders other than directors and executive officers of the registrant plus (b) shares held by directors and officers as to which beneficial ownership has been disclaimed.

On January 31, 2015, the registrant had 80,436,669 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive proxy statement for our annual meeting of shareholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “The Commission”) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

Hancock Holding Company

Form 10-K

Index

ORGANIZATION AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Hancock Holding Company (which we refer to as Hancock or the Company) is a financial services company that provides a comprehensive network of full-service financial choices to the Gulf South region through its bank subsidiary, Whitney Bank, a Mississippi state bank. Whitney Bank operates under two century-old brands: “Hancock Bank” in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and “Whitney Bank” in Louisiana and Texas.

Hancock was organized in 1984 as a bank holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended. In 2002, the Company qualified as a financial holding company giving it broader powers. The corporate headquarters of the Company is in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Prior to March 31, 2014, Hancock was the parent company of two wholly-owned bank subsidiaries, Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank. On March 31, 2014, Hancock consolidated the legal charters of its two subsidiary banks and renamed the consolidated entity Whitney Bank. Whitney Bank continues to do business under the original regional brand names, Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank. Hancock Bank, Whitney Bank, and the recently consolidated Whitney Bank are referred to collectively as the “Bank” throughout this document.

At December 31, 2014, the Company had 3,794 employees on a full-time equivalent basis. Our balance sheet, with $20.7 billion in assets, has grown substantially over the past several years. Historically, our growth was primarily through internal branch expansions into areas of population that were not served by a dominant financial institution and through several small acquisitions. However, the substantial growth we have had in the last several years is primarily attributable to our acquisition of two sizeable institutions, which significantly expanded the geographic scope of the overall organization.

Our growth since the Whitney acquisition has been organic through the expansion of products that are targeted across the Company’s footprint.

NATURE OF BUSINESS AND MARKETS

The Bank operates across the Gulf South region comprised of southern Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern Louisiana; the northern, central, and panhandle regions of Florida; and Houston, Texas. The Bank offers a broad range of traditional and online community banking services to commercial, small business and retail customers, providing a variety of transaction and savings deposit products, treasury management services, investment brokerage services, secured and unsecured loan products, (including revolving credit facilities), and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees. The Bank also provides trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations and individuals.

We also offer other services through several nonbank subsidiaries. Hancock Investment Services, Inc. provides discount investment brokerage services, annuity products, and life insurance. Hancock Insurance Agency provides general insurance agency services, including life and title insurance. Harrison Finance Company

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provides consumer financing services. We also have several special purpose subsidiaries that operate and sell certain foreclosed assets. Total revenue from nonbank subsidiaries accounted for less than ten percent of our consolidated revenue in 2014.

In April, 2014, Hancock sold its property and casualty and group benefits lines of business within its subsidiary insurance agencies. Hancock established a referral program through which the Bank can continue providing clients with these services. Although the lines of business divested represented approximately half of the Company’s 2013 insurance revenue, they did not have a material impact on operating results.

Our operating strategy is to provide customers with the financial sophistication and range of products of a regional bank, while successfully retaining the commercial appeal and level of service of a community bank.

The main industries along the Gulf Coast are energy and related service industries, military and government-related facilities, educational and medical complexes, petrochemical industries, port facility activities and transportation and related industries, tourism and related service industries, and the gaming industry.

We will continue to evaluate future acquisition opportunities that have the potential to increase shareholder value. In-market expansion is our first priority. However, we would also consider strategic opportunities in new markets that would expand our geographic and industry diversity, such as Texas locations outside the Houston area and northern Alabama.

Acquisitions and continued organic growth have diversified our sources of revenue and enhanced core deposit funding. Hancock’s size and scale enables us to attract and retain high quality associates. We remain focused on maintaining two hallmarks of our past culture: a strong balance sheet and a commitment to excellent credit quality.

Additional information is available at www.hancockbank.com and www.whitneybank.com.

Loan Production, Underwriting Standards and Credit Review

The Bank’s primary lending focus is to provide commercial, consumer and real estate loans to consumers, to small and middle market businesses, and to corporate clients in the markets served by the Bank. We seek to provide quality loan products that are attractive to the borrower and profitable to Hancock. We look to build strong, profitable client relationships over time and maintain a strong presence and position of influence in the communities we serve. Through our relationship-based approach we have developed a deep knowledge of our customers and the markets in which they operate. The Company continually works to improve the consistency of its lending processes across our banking footprint, to strengthen the underwriting criteria we employ to evaluate new loans and loan renewals, and to diversify our loan portfolio in terms of type, industry and geographical concentration. We believe that these measures better position Hancock to meet the credit needs of businesses and consumers in the markets it serves while it pursues a balanced strategy of loan profitability, loan growth and loan quality.

The following describes the underwriting procedures of the lending function and presents our principal categories of loans. The results of our lending activities and the relative risk of the loan portfolio are discussed in “Part II— Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Report.

The Bank has a set of loan policies, underwriting standards and key underwriting functions designed to achieve a consistent approach. These underwriting standards address:

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Additionally, we consistently monitor our loan concentration policy to review limits and manage our exposures within specified concentration tolerances, including those to particular borrowers, foreign entities, industries and property types for commercial real estate. This policy calls for portfolio risk management and reporting, the monitoring of large borrower concentration limits and systematic tracking of large commercial loans and our portfolio mix. We continue to monitor our concentration of commercial real estate and energy-related loans to ensure the mix is consistent with our risk tolerance. The Company defines concentration as the total of funded and unfunded commitments (excluding loans acquired in the People’s First transaction covered under loss-sharing agreements with the FDIC) as a percentage of total Bank capital (as defined for risk-based capital ratios). The Company had the following industry concentrations as of December 31, 2014:

Our underwriting process is structured to require oversight that is proportional to the size and complexity of the lending relationship. We delegate designated relationship managers and credit officers loan authority that can be utilized to approve credit commitments for a single borrowing relationship. The limit of delegated authority is based upon the experience, skill, and training of the relationship manager or credit officer. Certain types and size of loans and relationships must be approved by either one of the Bank’s centralized underwriting units or the Bank’s executive loan committee.

Loans are underwritten in accordance with the underwriting standards and loan policies of the Bank. Loans are underwritten primarily on the basis of the borrower’s ability to make debt service payments timely, and secondarily on collateral value. Generally, real estate secured loans and mortgage loans are made when the borrower produces evidence of the ability to make debt service timely along with appropriate equity in the property. Appropriate and regulatory compliant third party valuations are required at the time of origination for real estate secured loans.

Loan portfolio data is presented as either originated, acquired, or FDIC acquired loans because these segments use different accounting and allowance methodologies. Loans reported as “originated” include both loans originated for investment and acquired-performing loans where the discount (premium) has been fully amortized (accreted). Loans reported as “acquired” are those purchased in the Whitney acquisition on June 4, 2011. Loans reported as “FDIC acquired” are those purchased in the December 2009 acquisition of Peoples First, which were

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covered by loss share agreements between the FDIC and the Company that afford significant loss protection against loan losses from the Peoples First loan portfolio. The non-single family portfolio of the loss share agreement expired on December 31, 2014. Within these categories, we have commercial, residential mortgage and consumer loans.

Commercial

The Bank offers a variety of commercial loan services to a diversified customer base over a range of industries, including energy, wholesale and retail trade in various durable and nondurable products, manufacturing of such products, marine transportation and maritime construction, financial and professional services, and agricultural production. Commercial loans are categorized as commercial non-real estate, construction and land development, and commercial real estate loans.

Commercial non-real estate loans, both secured and unsecured, are made available to businesses for working capital (including financing of inventory and receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery. These loans are primarily made based on the identified cash flows of the borrower and, if secured, on the underlying collateral. Most commercial non-real estate loans are secured by the assets being financed or other business assets such as accounts receivable or inventory and may incorporate a personal or corporate guarantee; however, some short-term loans may be made on an unsecured basis. In the case of loans secured by accounts receivable, the availability of funds for the repayment of these loans may be substantially dependent on the ability of the borrower to collect amounts due from its customers.

The Bank makes construction and land development loans to builders and real estate developers for the acquisition, development and construction of business and residential-purpose properties. Acquisition and development loans are underwritten utilizing feasibility studies, independent appraisal reviews, sensitivity analysis of real estate absorption and lease rates, and financial analysis of the developers and property owners. Construction loans are generally based upon cost estimates and the projected value of the completed project. The Bank monitors the construction process to mitigate or identify risks as they arise. Construction loans often involve the disbursement of substantial funds with repayment largely dependent on the success of the ultimate project. Sources of repayment for these types of construction loans may be pre-committed permanent loans from approved long-term lenders, sales of developed property, or an interim loan commitment from the Bank until permanent financing is obtained. These loans are typically closely monitored by on-site inspections and are considered to have higher risks than other real estate loans due to their ultimate repayment being sensitive to interest rate changes, governmental regulation of real property, general economic conditions, and the availability of long-term financing to take out the construction loan. The Bank also makes owner occupied loans for the acquisition, development and improvements of real property to commercial customers to be used in their business operations. These loans are underwritten subject to normal commercial and industrial credit standards and are generally subject to project tracking processes, similar to those required for the non-owner occupied loans.

Commercial real estate loans consist of commercial mortgages on both income-producing and owner-occupied properties. We have executed a strategy to increase the proportion of loans secured by owner-occupied properties in recent years and reduce the number of speculative real estate projects. Loans secured by income-producing properties are viewed primarily as cash flow loans and undergo the analysis and underwriting process of a commercial and industrial loan, as well as that of a real estate loan. Repayment of non-owner occupied loans is generally dependent on the successful operation of the income-producing property securing the loan. Commercial real estate loans may be adversely affected by conditions in the real estate markets or in the general economy. The properties securing the Bank’s commercial real estate portfolios are diverse in terms of type and geographic location. We monitor and evaluate commercial real estate loans based on collateral, geography and risk grade criteria. Many of the markets within the footprint have shown signs of improvement in values over the past 12 months. However, commercial real estate lending can represent an area of elevated risk, so we actively monitor this segment of the portfolio.

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Residential Mortgage

A portion of the Bank’s lending activities consists of the origination of both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate home loans, although we re-sell most longer-term fixed-rate loans that we originate in the secondary mortgage market on a best-efforts basis. The sale of mortgage loans allows the Bank to manage the interest rate risks related to such lending operations.

Consumer

Consumer loans include second mortgage home loans, home equity lines of credit and non-residential consumer purpose loans. Non-residential consumer loans include both direct and indirect loans. Direct non-residential consumer loans are made to finance automobiles, recreational vehicles, boats, and other personal (secured and unsecured) and deposit account secured loans. An indirect non-residential loan is automobile financing provided to the consumer through an agreement with automobile dealerships. Consumer loans are attractive because they typically have a shorter term, provide granularity of size for the overall portfolio, and produce a higher overall yield. The Bank also has a small portfolio of credit card receivables issued on the basis of applications received through referrals from the Bank’s branches and other marketing efforts. The Bank approves consumer loans based on employment and financial information submitted by prospective borrowers as well as credit reports collected from various credit agencies. Financial stability and credit history of the borrower are the primary factors the Bank considers in granting such loans. The availability of collateral is also a factor considered in making such loans. The geographic area of the borrower is another consideration, with preference given to borrowers in the Bank’s primary market areas.

A small consumer finance portfolio is maintained by Harrison Finance Company. The portfolio has a higher credit risk profile than the Bank’s consumer portfolio, but carries a higher yield.

Securities Portfolio

Our investment portfolio primarily consists of U.S. agency debt securities, U.S. agency mortgage-related securities and obligations of states and municipalities classified as available for sale and held to maturity. The Company considers the available for sale portfolio as one of its many sources of liquidity available to fund our operations. Investments are made in accordance with an investment policy approved by the Board of Directors. The investment portfolio is tested under multiple stressed interest rate scenarios, the results of which are used to manage our interest rate risk position. The rate scenarios include regulatory and management agreed upon instantaneous and ramped rate movements that may be up to plus 500 basis points. The combined portfolio has a target effective duration of two to five. The effective duration provides a measure of the Company’s portfolio price sensitivity to a 100 bases point change in interest rates.

We also utilize a significant portion of the securities portfolio to secure certain deposits and other liabilities requiring collateralization. However to maintain an adequate level of liquidity, we limit the percentage of securities that can be pledged in order to keep a portion of securities available for sale. The securities portfolio can also be pledged to increase our line of credit availability at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, although we have not had to do so.

The investments subcommittee of the asset\liability committee (ALCO) is responsible for evaluating issues related to the management of the investment portfolio. The investments subcommittee is also responsible for the development of investment strategies for the consideration and approval of the ALCO. Final authority and responsibility for all aspects of the conduct of investment activities rests with the board risk committee, all in accordance with the overall guidance and limitations of the investment policy.

Deposits

The Bank has several programs designed to attract depository accounts from consumers and small and middle market businesses at interest rates generally consistent with market conditions. Deposits are the most significant funding source for the Company’s interest-earning assets. Deposits are attracted principally from clients within

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our retail branch network through the offering of a broad array of deposit products to individuals and businesses, including noninterest-bearing demand deposit accounts, interest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and time deposit accounts. Terms vary among deposit products with respect to commitment periods, minimum balances, and applicable fees. Interest paid on deposits represents the largest component of our interest expense. Interest rates offered on interest-bearing deposits are determined based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, (1) interest rates offered in local markets by competitors, (2) current and expected economic conditions, (3) anticipated future interest rates, (4) the expected amount and timing of funding needs, and (5) the availability and cost of alternative funding sources. Deposit flows are controlled by the Bank primarily through pricing, and to a lesser extent, through promotional activities. Management believes that the rates that it offers, which are posted weekly on deposit accounts, are generally competitive with other financial institutions in the Bank’s respective market areas. Client deposits are attractive sources of funding because of their stability and low relative cost. Deposits are regarded as an important part of the overall client relationship and provide opportunities to cross-sell other bank services.

The Bank also holds public funds as deposits. The Bank’s strategy for acquiring public funds, as with any type of deposit, is determined by ALCO’s Funding and Liquidity Sub-Committee while pricing decisions are determined by ALCO’s Deposit Pricing Sub-committee. Typically many public fund deposits are allocated based upon the rate of interest offered and the ability of the bank to provide collateralization. The Bank can influence the level of its public fund deposits through pricing decisions. Public deposits typically require the pledging of collateral, most commonly marketable securities. This is taken into account when determining the level of interest to be paid on public deposits. The pledging of collateral, monitoring and management reporting represents additional operational requirements for the Bank. Public fund deposits are more volatile because they tend to be price sensitive and have high balances. Public funds have not historically presented any special risks to the Bank. Public funds are only one of many possible sources of liquidity that the Bank has available to draw upon as part of its liquidity funding strategy as set by ALCO.

The Bank accepted brokered deposits in 2014 as part of their contingency funding plan (“CFP”). The Company issued three-month brokered CDs through third-party intermediaries as test issuances under the CFP. However, brokered deposits have not been used as a long-term funding source. Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”), we may continue to accept brokered deposits as long as we are “well-capitalized” or “adequately-capitalized”.

Trust Services

The Bank, through its trust department, offers a full range of trust services on a fee basis. In its trust capacities, the Bank provides investment management services on an agency basis and acts as trustee for pension plans, profit sharing plans, corporate and municipal bond issues, living trusts, life insurance trusts and various other types of trusts created by or for individuals, businesses, and charitable and religious organizations. As of December 31, 2014, the trust departments of the Bank had approximately $15.3 billion of assets under administration compared to $14.1 billion as of December 31, 2013. As of December 31, 2014, administered assets include investment management and investment advisory agency accounts totaling $4.5 billion, corporate trust accounts totaling $4.5 billion, and the remaining balances were personal, employee benefit, estate and other trust accounts.

COMPETITION

The financial services industry is highly competitive in our market area. The principal competitive factors in the markets for deposits and loans are interest rates and fee structures associated with the various products offered. We also compete through the efficiency, quality, and range of services and products we provide, as well as the convenience provided by an extensive network of customer access channels including local branch offices, ATMs, online banking, and telebanking centers. In attracting deposits and in our lending activities, we generally compete with other commercial banks, savings associations, credit unions, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, securities brokerage firms, mutual funds and insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

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AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We make available free of charge, on or through our website www.hancockbank.com, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other filings pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and amendments to such filings, as soon as reasonably practicable after each is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains a website that contains the Company’s reports, proxy and information statements, and the Company’s other SEC filings. The address of the SEC’s website is www.sec.gov . Information appearing on the Company’s website is not part of any report that it files with the SEC.

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

Bank Holding Company Regulation

The Company is subject to extensive regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”) pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “Bank Holding Company Act”). The Company is also required to file certain reports with, and otherwise comply with the rules and regulations of the SEC under federal securities laws.

Federal Regulation

The Company is registered with the Federal Reserve as a bank holding company and has elected to be treated as a financial holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act. As such, the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to the supervision, examination and reporting requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act and the regulations of the Federal Reserve.

The Bank Holding Company Act generally prohibits a corporation that owns a federally insured financial institution (“bank”) from engaging in activities other than banking, managing or controlling banks or other subsidiaries engaging in permissible activities. Also prohibited is acquiring or obtaining control of more than 5% of the voting interests of any company that engages in activities other than those activities determined by the Federal Reserve to be so closely related to banking, managing or controlling banks as to be proper incident thereto. In determining whether a particular activity is permissible, the Federal Reserve considers whether the performance of the activity can reasonably be expected to produce benefits to the public that outweigh possible adverse effects. Examples of activities that the Federal Reserve has determined to be permissible are making, acquiring or servicing loans; leasing personal property; providing certain investment or financial advice; performing certain data processing services; acting as agent or broker in selling credit life insurance; and performing certain insurance underwriting activities. The Bank Holding Company Act does not place territorial limits on permissible bank-related activities of bank holding companies. Even with respect to permissible activities, however, the Federal Reserve has the power to order a holding company or its subsidiaries to terminate any activity or its control of any subsidiary when the Federal Reserve has reasonable cause to believe that continuation of such activity or control of such subsidiary would pose a serious risk to the financial safety, soundness or stability of any bank subsidiary of that holding company.

The Bank Holding Company Act requires every bank holding company to obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before it: (1) acquires ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank if, after such acquisition, such bank holding company will own or control more than 5% of the voting shares of such bank, (2) or any of its non-bank subsidiaries acquire all of the assets of a bank, (3) merges with any other bank holding company, or (4) engages in permissible non-banking activities. In reviewing a proposed covered acquisition, the Federal Reserve considers a bank holding company’s financial, managerial and competitive posture. The future prospects of the companies and banks concerned and the convenience and needs of the community to be served are also considered. The Federal Reserve also reviews the indebtedness to be incurred by a bank holding company in connection with the proposed acquisition to ensure that the bank holding company can service such

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indebtedness without adversely affecting its ability, and the ability of its subsidiaries, to meet their respective regulatory capital requirements. The Bank Holding Company Act further requires that consummation of approved bank holding company or bank acquisitions or mergers must be delayed for a period of not less than 15 or more than 30 days following the date of Federal Reserve approval. During such 15 to 30-day period, the Department of Justice has the right to review the competitive aspects of the proposed transaction. The Department of Justice may file a lawsuit with the relevant United States Court of Appeals seeking an injunction against the proposed acquisition.

As described above, the prior approval of the Federal Reserve must be obtained before the Company may acquire substantially all of the assets of any bank, or ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank, if, after such acquisition, it would own or control, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of the voting shares of such bank. The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (the “Riegle-Neal Act”) permits adequately capitalized and managed bank holding companies to acquire control of banks in any state, subject to federal regulatory approval, without regard to whether such a transaction is prohibited by the laws of any state. The Riegle-Neal Act further provides that a bank holding company may not, following an interstate acquisition, control more than 10% of nationwide insured deposits or 30% of deposits within any state in which the acquiring bank operates. States have the right to adopt legislation to lower the 30% limit, although no states within the Company’s current market area have done so. Additional provisions require that interstate activities conform to the Community Reinvestment Act, which is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low-and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) authorizes national and state banks to establish de novo branches in other states to the same extent a bank chartered in those states would be so permitted.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (the “Financial Services Modernization Act”) established a comprehensive framework that permits affiliations among qualified bank holding companies, commercial banks, insurance companies, securities firms, and other financial service providers by revising and expanding the Bank Holding Company Act framework to permit a holding company to engage in a full range of financial activities through a financial holding company.

Capital Requirements

General Risk-Based and Leverage-Based Capital Requirements

The Federal Reserve has adopted capital adequacy guidelines for use in its examination and regulation of bank holding companies and financial holding companies. The regulatory capital of a bank holding company or financial holding company under applicable federal capital adequacy guidelines is particularly important in the Federal Reserve’s evaluation of the overall safety and soundness of the bank holding company or financial holding company and are important factors considered by the Federal Reserve in evaluating any applications made by such holding company to the Federal Reserve. If regulatory capital falls below minimum guideline levels, a financial holding company may lose its status as a financial holding company and a bank holding company or bank may be denied approval to acquire or establish additional banks or non-bank businesses or to open additional facilities.

Additionally, each bank subsidiary of a financial holding company as well as the holding company itself must be well capitalized and well managed as determined by the subsidiary bank’s principal federal regulator, which in the case of the Bank, is the FDIC. To be considered well managed, the bank and holding company must have received at least a satisfactory composite rating and a satisfactory management rating at its most recent examination. The Federal Reserve rates bank holding companies through a confidential component and composite 1-5 rating system, with a composite rating of 1 being the highest rating and 5 being the lowest. This system is designed to help identify institutions requiring special attention. Financial institutions are assigned

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ratings based on evaluation and rating of their financial condition and operations. Components reviewed include capital adequacy, asset quality, management capability, the quality and level of earnings, the adequacy of liquidity and sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations. As of December 31, 2014, the Company and the Bank were both well capitalized and well managed.

A financial holding company that becomes aware that it or a subsidiary bank has ceased to be well capitalized or well managed must notify the Federal Reserve and enter into an agreement to cure the identified deficiency. If the deficiency is not cured timely, the Federal Reserve Board may order the financial holding company to divest its banking operations. Alternatively, to avoid divestiture, a financial holding company may cease to engage in the financial holding company activities that are unrelated to banking or otherwise impermissible for a bank holding company.

There are two measures of regulatory capital applicable to holding companies in 2014: (1) leverage capital ratio and (2) risk-based capital ratios.

The essential difference between the leverage capital ratio and the risk-based capital ratios is that the latter identify and weight both balance sheet and off-balance sheet risks. Tier 1 capital generally includes common equity, retained earnings, qualifying minority interests (issued by consolidated depository institutions or foreign bank subsidiaries), accounts of consolidated subsidiaries and an amount of qualifying perpetual preferred stock, limited to 50% of Tier 1 capital. In calculating Tier 1 capital, goodwill and other disallowed intangibles and disallowed deferred tax assets and certain other assets are excluded. Tier 2 capital is a secondary component of risk-based capital, consisting primarily of perpetual preferred stock that may not be included as Tier 1 capital, mandatory convertible securities, certain types of subordinated debt and an amount of the allowance for loan losses (limited to 1.25% of risk weighted assets).

The risk-based capital guidelines are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profiles among banks and bank holding companies, to take into account off-balance sheet exposure and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Under the risk-based capital guidelines, assets are assigned to one of four risk categories: 0%, 20%, 50% and 100%. For example, U.S. Treasury securities are assigned to the 0% risk category while most categories of loans are assigned to the 100% risk category. Off-balance sheet exposures such as standby letters of credit are risk-weighted and all or a portion thereof are included in risk-weighted assets based on an assessment of the relative risks that they present. The risk-weighted asset base is equal to the sum of the aggregate dollar values of assets and off-balance sheet items in each risk category, multiplied by the weight assigned to that category.

Basel III Capital Requirements Effective January 1, 2015

On July 2, 2013, the Company’s and the Bank’s primary federal regulators—the Federal Reserve and the FDIC—adopted final rules implementing the Basel III framework, which substantially revises the leverage and risk-based capital requirements currently applicable to bank holding companies and depository institutions. These final rules are based on international capital accords of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”).

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The new rules address both the components of capital and other issues affecting the numerator in banking institutions’ regulatory capital ratios, as well as the risk weights and other issues affecting the denominator, replacing the existing Basel I-derived risk weighting approach with a more risk-sensitive approach based, in part, on the standardized approach in the Basel Committee’s 2004 “Basel II” capital accords. Regarding the denominator, under the final rules, the Company, among other items, will be required to increase the risk weights applied to certain high volatility commercial real estate loans and to certain loans past due. Additionally, the Company will be required to risk weight at 20% the conversion factors for commitments with an original maturity of one year or less that are not unconditionally cancellable at any time. Regarding the numerator under the final rules, NOLs and tax credits carried forward will be deducted from Tier 1 capital. Additionally, there are deductions and adjustments to capital for goodwill and other intangibles as well as deductions and adjustments to capital by the amount that the carrying value of certain assets exceeds 10% of capital. Examples of these assets are deferred tax assets, mortgage servicing rights, significant investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries, investments in certain capital instruments of financial entities and unrealized gains on cash flow hedges included in accumulated other comprehensive income arising from hedges not carried at fair market value on the balance sheet. Under the final rules, some banks, including the Bank, are given a one-time “opt out” in which they may elect to filter certain volatile accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) components from inclusion in regulatory capital. The AOCI opt-out election must be made on the institution’s first Call Report, FR Y-9C or FR Y-9SP, as applicable, filed after January 1, 2015. The Company intends to timely elect to opt out.

The final rules established a new category of capital measure, Common Equity Tier 1 capital, which includes a limited number of capital instruments from the existing definition of Tier 1 Capital, as well as raised minimum thresholds for Tier 1 Leverage capital (100 basis points), and Tier 1 Risk-based capital (200 basis points). Additionally, the final rules introduced a capital conservation buffer of Common Equity Tier 1, Tier 1 Risk-based and Total Risk-based capital ratios above the minimum risk-based capital requirements. The buffer must be maintained to avoid limitations on capital distributions and limitations on discretionary bonus payments to executive officers. Each of the minimum capital ratios takes effect in 2015, with the capital conservation buffer set to be phased in beginning in 2016 and implemented in full by 2019. Based on estimated capital ratios using Basel III definitions, the Company and the Bank currently exceed all capital requirements of the new rule, including the fully phased-in conservation buffer.

Basel III Capital Adequacy Ratios

Effective January 1, 2015

Federal Reserve Oversight

The Company is required to give the Federal Reserve prior written notice of any purchase or redemption of its outstanding equity securities if the gross consideration for the purchase or redemption, when combined with the net consideration paid for all such purchases or redemptions during the preceding 12 months, is equal to 10% or more of the Company’s consolidated net worth. The Federal Reserve may disapprove such a transaction if it determines that the proposed redemption or stock purchase would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice, would violate any law, regulation, Federal Reserve order or directive or any condition imposed by, or written agreement with, the Federal Reserve.

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The Federal Reserve has issued “Policy Statement on Cash Dividends Not Fully Covered by Earnings (the “Policy Statement”) which sets forth various guidelines that the Federal Reserve believes a bank holding company should follow in establishing its dividend policy. In general, the Federal Reserve stated that bank holding companies should pay dividends only out of current earnings. The Federal Reserve also stated that dividends should not be paid unless the prospective rate of earnings retention by the holding company appears consistent with its capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition.

The Company is required to file annual and quarterly reports with the Federal Reserve, and such additional information as the Federal Reserve may require pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act. The Federal Reserve may examine a bank holding company or any of its subsidiaries.

Additional Federal Regulatory Issues

In June 2010, the federal banking agencies issued joint guidance on executive compensation designed to help ensure that a banking organization’s incentive compensation policies do not encourage imprudent risk taking and are consistent with the safety and soundness of the organization. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act requires those agencies, along with the Commission, to adopt rules to require reporting of incentive compensation and to prohibit certain compensation arrangements. The federal banking agencies and the Commission proposed such rules in April 2011. In addition, in June 2012, the Commission issued final rules to implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s requirement that the Commission direct the national securities exchanges to adopt certain listing standards related to the compensation committee of a company’s board of directors as well as its compensation advisers.

The Company is a legal entity separate and distinct from the Bank. There are various restrictions that limit the ability of the Bank to finance, pay dividends or otherwise supply funds to the Company or other affiliates. In addition, subsidiary banks of holding companies are subject to certain restrictions under Section 23A and B of the Federal Reserve Act on any extension of credit to the bank holding company or any of its subsidiaries, on investments in the stock or other securities thereof and on the taking of such stock or securities as collateral for loans to any borrower. Further, a bank holding company and its subsidiaries are prohibited from engaging in certain tie-in arrangements in connection with extensions of credit, leases or sales of property, or furnishing of services.

Stress Testing

The Dodd-Frank Act requires stress testing of bank holding companies and banks, such as the Company and the Bank, that have more than $10 billion but less than $50 billion of consolidated assets (“medium-sized companies”). Additional stress testing is required for banking organizations having $50 billion or more of assets. Medium-sized companies, including the Company and the Bank, are required to conduct annual company-run stress tests under rules the federal bank regulatory agencies issued in October 2012.

Stress tests analyze the potential impact of scenarios on the consolidated earnings, balance sheet and capital of a bank holding company or depository institutions over a designated planning horizon of nine quarters, taking into account the organization’s current condition, risks, exposures, strategies, and activities, and such factors as the regulators may request of a specific organization. These are tested against baseline, adverse, and severely adverse economic scenarios specified by the Federal Reserve for the Company and by the FDIC for the Bank.

Each banking organization’s board of directors and senior management are required to approve and review the policies and procedures of their stress-testing processes as frequently as economic conditions or the condition of the organization may warrant, and at least annually. They are also required to consider the results of the stress test in the normal course of business, including the banking organization’s capital planning (including dividends and share buybacks), assessment of capital adequacy and maintaining capital consistent with its risks, and risk management practices. The results of the stress tests are provided to the applicable federal banking agencies. Public disclosure of stress test results is required beginning in 2015. The Company is in the process of preparing its latest stress tests for the Company and the Bank.

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Bank Regulation

On March 31, 2014, Whitney Bank (headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana) was merged into Hancock Bank (headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi) under the charter and articles of incorporation of Hancock Bank. The consolidated entity was renamed Whitney Bank. Whitney Bank does business under the brand names “Hancock Bank” in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and “Whitney Bank” in Louisiana and Texas.

The operation of the Bank is subject to state and federal statutes applicable to state banks and the regulations of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). The operation of the Bank may also be subject to applicable Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) regulation to the extent state banks are granted parity with national banks. Such statutes and regulations relate to, among other things, required reserves, investments, loans, mergers and consolidations, issuances of securities, payments of dividends, establishment of branches, consumer protection and other aspects of the Bank’s operations.

The Bank is subject to regulation and periodic examinations by the CFPB, FDIC and the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance (the “MDBCF”). These regulatory authorities routinely examine the Bank’s reserves, loan and investment quality, consumer compliance, management policies, procedures and practices and other aspects of operations. These examinations are designed to protect the Bank’s depositors, rather than our shareholders. In addition to these regular examinations, the Company and the Bank must furnish periodic reports to their respective regulatory authorities containing a full and accurate statement of their affairs.

The Dodd-Frank Act has removed many limitations on the Federal Reserve’s authority to examine banks that are subsidiaries of bank holding companies. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve is generally permitted to examine bank holding companies and their subsidiaries, provided that the Federal Reserve must rely on reports submitted directly by the institution and examination reports of the appropriate regulators (such as the FDIC and the MDBCF) to the fullest extent possible; must provide reasonable notice to, and consult with, the appropriate regulators before commencing an examination of a bank holding company subsidiary; and, to the fullest extent possible, must avoid duplication of examination activities, reporting requirements, and requests for information.

The Dodd-Frank Act also established the CFPB. The CFPB is funded by the Federal Reserve and, in consultation with the Federal banking agencies, makes rules relating to consumer protection. The CFPB has the authority, should it wish to do so, to rewrite virtually all of the consumer protection regulations governing banks, including those implementing the Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”), the Truth in Savings Act, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (except Sections 615(e) and 628), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (sections 502 through 509 relating to privacy), among others. The Bank is subject to direct supervision and examination by the CFPB in respect of the foregoing consumer protection acts and regulations.

The Bank is a member of the FDIC, and its deposits are insured as provided by law by the Deposit Insurance Fund (the “DIF”). The deposits of the Bank are insured up to applicable limits and the Bank is subject to deposit insurance assessments to maintain the DIF. The FDIC utilizes a risk-based assessment system that imposes insurance premiums based upon a risk matrix that takes into account a bank’s capital level and supervisory rating.

Effective January 1, 2007, the FDIC began imposing deposit assessment rates based on the risk category of the bank, with Risk Category I being the lowest risk category and Risk Category IV being the highest risk category. The Dodd-Frank Act changed the method of calculation for FDIC insurance assessments. Prior to implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, the assessment base was based upon domestic deposits minus a few allowable exclusions, such as pass-through reserve balances. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, assessments are calculated based upon the depository institution’s average consolidated total assets, less its average amount of tangible equity. In addition to providing for the required change in assessment base, the FDIC’s final deposit insurance regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank Act provisions eliminated the assessment adjustments based

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on unsecured debt, secured liabilities, and brokered deposits; added a new adjustment for holding unsecured debt issued by another insured depository institution; and lowered the initial base assessment rate schedule in order to collect approximately the same amount of revenue under the new base as under the old base, among other changes.

The base assessment rates range from 5 to 35 basis points, with the initial assessment rates subject to adjustments which could increase or decrease the total base assessment rates. The adjustments include (1) a decrease for long-term unsecured debt, including most senior and subordinated debt and, for small institutions, a portion of Tier 1 capital; and (2) for Non-Risk Category I institutions, an increase for brokered deposits above a threshold amount. The basic limit on federal deposit insurance coverage is $250,000 per depositor.

Since the first quarter of 2000, all institutions with deposits insured by the FDIC have been required to pay assessments to fund interest payments on bonds issued by the Financing Corporation (the “FICO”), a mixed-ownership government corporation established to recapitalize a predecessor to the DIF. The FICO assessment rate is adjusted quarterly to reflect changes in the assessment bases of the fund based on quarterly Call Report and Thrift Financial Report submissions. The current annualized assessment rate is 0.600 basis points, or approximately 0.150 basis points per quarter. These assessments will continue until the FICO bonds mature in 2017 through 2019.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (the “FDICIA”) subjects banks and bank holding companies to increased regulation and supervision, including a regulatory emphasis that links supervision to bank capital levels. Also, federal banking regulators are required to take prompt regulatory action with respect to depository institutions that fall below specified capital levels and to draft non-capital regulatory measures to assure bank safety.

FDICIA contains a “prompt corrective action” section intended to address problem institutions at the least possible long-term cost to the DIF. Pursuant to this section, the federal banking agencies are required to prescribe a leverage limit and a risk-based capital requirement indicating levels at which institutions will be deemed to be “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” or “critically undercapitalized.” In the case of a depository institution that is “critically undercapitalized” (a term defined to include institutions which still have positive net worth), the federal banking regulators are generally required to appoint a conservator or receiver.

FDICIA further requires regulators to perform annual on-site bank examinations, places limits on real estate lending and tightens audit requirements. The legislation attempted to eliminate the “too big to fail” doctrine, which protects uninsured deposits of large banks and restricts the ability of undercapitalized banks to obtain extended loans from the Federal Reserve Board discount window. FDICIA also imposes disclosure requirements relating to fees charged and interest paid on checking and deposit accounts.

In addition to regulating capital, the FDIC has broad authority to prevent the development or continuance of unsafe or unsound banking practices. Pursuant to this authority, the FDIC has adopted regulations that restrict preferential loans and loan amounts to “affiliates” and “insiders” of banks, require banks to keep information on loans to major shareholders and executive officers and bar certain director and officer interlocks between financial institutions. The FDIC is also authorized to approve mergers, consolidations and assumption of deposit liability transactions between insured banks and between insured banks and uninsured banks or institutions to prevent capital or surplus diminution in such transactions where the resulting, continuing or assumed bank is an insured nonmember state bank.

Although the Bank is not a member of the Federal Reserve, it is subject to Federal Reserve regulations that require the Bank to maintain reserves against transaction accounts (primarily checking accounts). The Federal Reserve regulations currently require that reserves be maintained against net transaction accounts. On January 23, 2014, the Federal Reserve regulations were revised to require that reserves be maintained against net transaction accounts in the amount of 3% of the aggregate of such accounts up to $103.6 million, and, if the

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aggregate of such accounts exceeds $103.6 million, 10% of the total in excess of $103.6 million. This regulation is subject to an exemption from reserve requirement on $14.5 million of an institution’s transaction accounts.

The Financial Services Modernization Act also permits national banks, and through state parity statutes, state banks, to engage in expanded activities through the formation of financial subsidiaries. A state bank may have a subsidiary engaged in any activity authorized for state banks directly or any financial activity, except for insurance underwriting, insurance investments, real estate investment or development, or merchant banking, each of which may only be conducted through a subsidiary of a financial holding company. Financial activities include all activities permitted under new sections of the Bank Holding Company Act or permitted by regulation.

A state bank seeking to have a financial subsidiary, and each of its depository institution affiliates, must be “well-capitalized” and “well-managed.” The total assets of all financial subsidiaries may not exceed the lesser of 45% of a bank’s total assets, or $50 billion. A state bank must exclude from its assets and equity all equity investments, including retained earnings, in a financial subsidiary. The assets of the financial subsidiary may not be consolidated with the bank’s assets. The bank must also have policies and procedures to assess financial subsidiary risk and protect the bank from such risks and potential liabilities.

The Financial Services Modernization Act also added a new section of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act governing subsidiaries of state banks that engage in “activities as principal that would only be permissible” for a national bank to conduct in a financial subsidiary. It expressly preserves the ability of a state bank to retain all existing subsidiaries. Because Mississippi permits commercial banks chartered by the state to engage in any activity permissible for national banks, the Bank will be permitted to form subsidiaries to engage in the activities authorized by the Financial Services Modernization Act if it so chooses. In order to form a financial subsidiary, a state bank must be well-capitalized, and the state bank would be subject to the same capital deduction, risk management and affiliate transaction rules as applicable to national banks.

In 2001, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”) was signed into law. The USA Patriot Act broadened the application of anti-money laundering regulations to apply to additional types of financial institutions, such as broker-dealers, and strengthened the ability of the U.S. government to detect and prosecute international money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The principal provisions of Title III of the USA Patriot Act require that regulated financial institutions, including banks: (i) establish an anti-money laundering program that includes training and audit components; (ii) comply with regulations regarding the verification of the identity of any person seeking to open an account; (iii) take additional required precautions with non-U.S. owned accounts; and (iv) perform certain verification and certification of money laundering risk for their foreign correspondent banking relationships. The USA Patriot Act also expanded the conditions under which funds in a U.S. interbank account may be subject to forfeiture and increased the penalties for violation of anti-money laundering regulations. Failure of a financial institution to comply with the USA Patriot Act’s requirements could have serious legal and reputational consequences for the institution. The Bank has adopted policies, procedures and controls to address compliance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act under the existing regulations and will continue to revise and update its policies, procedures and controls to reflect changes required by the USA Patriot Act and implementing regulations.

Other Regulatory Matters

Risk-retention rules. Under the final risk-retention rules, banks that sponsor the securitization of asset-backed securities and residential-mortgage backed securities are required to retain 5% of any loan they sell or securitize, except for mortgages that meet low-risk standards to be developed by regulators.

Limitation on federal preemption. Limitations have been imposed on the ability of national bank regulators to preempt state law. Formerly, the national bank and federal thrift regulators possessed preemption powers with regard to transactions, operating subsidiaries and general civil enforcement authority. These preemption

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requirements have been limited by the Dodd-Frank Act, which will likely impact state banks by limiting the future scope of approval of activities that would otherwise be subject to the approval of the OCC.

Changes to regulation of bank holding companies. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, bank holding companies must be well-capitalized and well-managed to engage in interstate transactions. In the past, only the subsidiary banks were required to meet those standards. The Federal Reserve Board’s “source of strength doctrine” has now been codified, mandating that bank holding companies such as the Company serve as a source of strength for their subsidiary banks, such that the bank holding company must be able to provide financial assistance in the event the subsidiary bank experiences financial distress.

Mortgage Rules. During 2013, the CFPB finalized a series of rules related to the extension of residential mortgage loans made by banks. Among these rules are requirements that a bank make a good faith determination that a borrower has the ability to repay a mortgage loan prior to extending such credit, a requirement that certain mortgage loans contain escrow payments, new appraisal requirements, and specific rules regarding how loan originators may be compensated and the servicing of residential mortgage loans. The implementation of these new rules began in January 2014.

Volcker Rule. In December 2013, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the OCC, the Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued the “Prohibitions And Restrictions On Proprietary Trading And Certain Interests In, And Relationships With, Hedge Funds And Private Equity Funds,” commonly referred to as the Volcker Rule, which regulates and restricts investments which may be made by banks. The Volcker Rule was adopted to implement a portion of the Dodd-Frank Act and new Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act, which prohibits any banking entity from engaging in proprietary trading or from acquiring or retaining an ownership interest in, or sponsoring or having certain relationships with, a hedge fund or private equity fund (“covered funds”), subject to certain exemptions.

Debit Interchange Fees

Interchange fees, or “swipe” fees, are fees that merchants pay to credit card companies and card-issuing banks such as the Bank for processing electronic payment transactions on their behalf. The maximum permissible interchange fee that an issuer may receive for an electronic debit transaction is the sum of 21 cents per transaction and 5 basis points multiplied by the value of the transaction, subject to an upward adjustment of 1 cent if an issuer certifies that it has implemented policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve the fraud-prevention standards set forth by the Federal Reserve.

In addition, the legislation prohibits card issuers and networks from entering into exclusive arrangements requiring that debit card transactions be processed on a single network or only two affiliated networks, and allows merchants to determine transaction routing. The Federal Reserve rule limiting debit interchange fees has significantly reduced our debit card interchange revenues.

Summary

The foregoing is a brief summary of certain statutes, rules and regulations affecting the Company and the Bank. It is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of all statutes and regulations having an impact on the operations of such entities.

Increased regulation generally has resulted in increased legal and compliance expense.

Finally, additional bills may be introduced in the future in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures to alter the structure, regulation and competitive relationships of financial institutions. It cannot be predicted whether and in what form any of these proposals will be adopted or the extent to which the business of the Company and the Bank may be affected thereby.

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Effect of Governmental Monetary and Fiscal Policies

The difference between the interest rate paid on deposits and other borrowings and the interest rate received on loans and securities comprises most of a bank’s earnings. In order to mitigate the interest rate risk inherent in the industry, the banking business is becoming increasingly dependent on the generation of fee and service charge revenue.

The earnings and growth of a bank will be affected by both general economic conditions and the monetary and fiscal policy of the U.S. government and its agencies, particularly the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve sets national monetary policy such as seeking to curb inflation and combat recession. This is accomplished by its open-market operations in U.S. government securities, adjustments in the amount of reserves that financial institutions are required to maintain and adjustments to the discount rates on borrowings and target rates for federal funds transactions. The actions of the Federal Reserve in these areas influence the growth of bank loans, investments and deposits and also affect interest rates on loans and deposits. The nature and timing of any future changes in monetary policies and their potential impact on the Company cannot be predicted.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

The names, ages, positions and business experience of our executive officers:

We face a number of significant risks and uncertainties in connection with our operations. Our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected by the factors described below.

While we describe each risk separately, some of these risks are interrelated and certain risks could trigger the applicability of other risks described below. Also, the risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones that we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently do not consider significant, could also potentially impair, and have a material adverse effect on, our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Risks Related to Economic and Market Conditions

We may be vulnerable to certain sectors of the economy and to economic conditions both generally and locally across the specific markets in which we operate.

A substantial portion of our loan portfolio is secured by real estate. While the commercial real estate markets are stable throughout much of the Gulf South, the real estate markets for residential properties have been mixed. In weak economies, or in areas where real estate market conditions are distressed, we may experience a higher than normal level of nonperforming real estate loans, the collateral value of the portfolio and the revenue stream from those loans could come under stress, and additional provisions for the allowance for loan and lease losses could be necessitated. Our ability to dispose of foreclosed real estate at prices at or above the respective carrying values could also be impaired, causing additional losses.

Recent trends in the energy sector also present concerns. The oil and gas industry is a significant component of the economy in several of our core markets. The oil and gas industry is particularly sensitive to certain industry-specific economic factors, the most important of which are worldwide demand for, and supply of, oil and gas. When demand is soft relative to supply, commodity prices decline and overall levels of activity in the sector, including the level of capital expenditures, weaken. Moreover, given the importance of the energy industry to the economies of Louisiana and Texas, when the energy sector is under stress, the performance of other business and commercial segments of those local economies may be affected.

Our financial performance may also be adversely affected by other macroeconomic factors that affect the U.S. economy. Recovery from the recent recession has been slow. There are continuing concerns about the overall health of the European economy (including Russia), as well as other global financial markets, all of which could hinder the performance of the U.S. economy and affect the stability of global financial markets. Additionally, because our operations are concentrated in the Gulf South region of the U.S., unfavorable economic conditions in that market could significantly affect the demand for our loans and other products, the ability of borrowers to repay loans and the value of collateral securing loans.

Certain changes in interest rates, mortgage origination, inflation, deflation, or the financial markets could affect our results of operations, demand for our products and our ability to deliver products efficiently.

Our assets and liabilities are primarily monetary in nature and we are subject to significant risks tied to changes in interest rates that are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control. Our ability to operate profitably is largely dependent upon net interest income. Net interest income is the primary component of our earnings and is affected by both local external factors such as economic conditions in the Gulf South and local competition for loans and deposits, as well as broader influences such as federal monetary policy and market interest rates. Unexpected movement in interest rates markedly changing the slope of the current yield curve could cause our net interest margins to decrease, subsequently reducing net interest income. In addition, such changes could adversely affect the valuation of our assets and liabilities.

Loan originations, and potentially loan revenues, could be adversely impacted by sharply rising interest rates. If market rates of interest were to increase, it would increase debt service requirements for some of our borrowers; adversely affect those borrowers’ ability to pay as contractually obligated; potentially reduce loan demand or result in additional delinquencies or charge-offs; and increase the cost of our deposits, which are a primary source of funding.

We are also subject to the following risks:

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The fair market value of our securities portfolio and the investment income from these securities also fluctuate depending on general economic and market conditions. In addition, actual net investment income and/or cash flows from investments that carry prepayment risk, such as mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, may differ from those anticipated at the time of investment as a result of interest rate fluctuations.

The financial soundness and stability of other financial institutions could adversely affect us.

Our ability to engage in routine funding transactions could be adversely affected by the actions and financial soundness and stability of other financial institutions as a result of credit, trading, clearing or other relationships between such institutions. We routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks and other institutional clients. As a result, defaults by, and even rumors regarding, other financial institutions, or the financial services industry generally, could impair our ability to effect such transactions and could lead to losses or defaults by us. In addition, a number of our transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of a counterparty or client. Additionally, our credit risk may be increased if the collateral we hold in connection with such transactions cannot be realized or can only be liquidated at prices that are not sufficient to cover the full amount of our financial exposure. Any such losses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in the policies of monetary authorities and other government action could adversely affect our profitability.

Our financial performance is affected by credit policies of monetary authorities, particularly the Federal Reserve. The instruments of monetary policy employed by the Federal Reserve include open market transactions in U.S. government securities, changes in the discount rate or the federal funds rate on bank borrowings and changes in reserve requirements against bank deposits. In view of changing conditions in the national economy and in the money markets, we cannot predict the potential impact of future changes in interest rates, deposit levels, and loan demand on our business and earnings. Furthermore, the actions of the U.S. government and other governments may result in currency fluctuations, exchange controls, market disruption, material decreases in the values of certain of our financial assets and other adverse effects.

Governmental responses to market disruptions may be inadequate and may have unintended consequences.

Although Congress and financial regulators continue to implement measures designed to assure greater stability in the financial markets, the overall impact of these efforts on the financial markets is unclear. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act has resulted in significant changes to the banking industry as a whole which, depending on how its provisions are implemented by the agencies, could adversely affect our business.

In addition, we compete with a number of financial services companies that are not subject to the same degree of regulatory oversight. The impact of the existing regulatory framework and any future changes to it could negatively affect our ability to compete with these institutions, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and prospects.

We may need to rely on the financial markets to provide needed capital.

Our common stock is listed and traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. If our capital resources prove in the future to be inadequate to meet our capital requirements, we may need to raise additional debt or equity

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capital. The loss of confidence in financial institutions over the past several years may increase our cost of capital and if conditions in the capital markets are not favorable, we may be constrained in raising capital. We maintain a consistent analyst following; therefore, downgrades in our prospects by one or more of our analysts may cause our stock price to fall and significantly limit our ability to access the markets for additional capital requirements. An inability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms when and if needed could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The interest rates or preferred dividend rates that we pay on our securities are also influenced by, among other things, the credit ratings that we, our affiliates and/or our securities receive from recognized rating agencies. Our credit ratings are based on a number of factors, including our financial strength and some factors not entirely within our control such as conditions affecting the financial services industry generally, and remain subject to change at any time. A downgrade to the credit rating of us or our affiliates could affect our ability to access the capital markets, increase our borrowing cost and negatively impact our profitability. A downgrade to us, our affiliates or our securities could create obligations or liabilities to us under the terms of our outstanding securities that could increase our costs or otherwise have a negative effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additionally, a downgrade to the credit rating of any particular security issued by us or our affiliates could negatively affect the ability of the holders of that security to sell the securities and the prices at which any such securities may be sold.

Because our decision to incur debt and issue securities in future offerings will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings and debt financings. Further, market conditions could require us to accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future.

Risks Related to the Financial Services Industry

We must maintain adequate sources of funding and liquidity.

Effective liquidity management is essential for the operation of our business. We require sufficient liquidity to support our operations and fund outstanding liabilities, as well as meet regulatory requirements. Our access to sources of liquidity in amounts adequate to fund our activities on terms that are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy generally. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include an economic downturn that affects the geographic markets in which our loans and operations are concentrated, or any material deterioration of the credit markets. Our access to deposits may also be affected by the liquidity needs of our depositors and the loss of deposits to alternative investments. Although we have historically been successful in replacing maturing deposits and advances as necessary, we might not be able to duplicate that success in the future, especially if a large number of our depositors were to withdraw their amounts on deposit. A failure to maintain an adequate level of liquidity could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may rely on the mortgage secondary market from time to time to provide liquidity.

From time to time, we have sold to certain agencies certain types of mortgage loans that meet their conforming loan requirements in order to reduce our interest rate risk and provide liquidity. There is a risk that these agencies will limit or discontinue their purchases of loans that are conforming due to capital constraints, a change in the criteria for conforming loans or other factors. Additionally, various proposals have been made to reform the U.S. residential mortgage finance market, including the role of the agencies. The exact effects of any such reforms are not yet known, but may limit our ability to sell conforming loans to the agencies. If we are unable to continue to sell conforming loans to the agencies, our ability to fund, and thus originate, additional mortgage loans may be adversely affected, which would in turn adversely affect our results of operations.

Greater loan losses than expected may adversely affect our earnings.

We are exposed to the risk that our borrowers will be unable to repay their loans in accordance with their terms and that any collateral securing the payment of their loans may not be sufficient to assure repayment. Credit risk

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is inherent in our business and any material level of credit failure could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. Our credit risk with respect to our real estate and construction loan portfolio relates principally to the creditworthiness of our corporate borrowers and the value of the real estate pledged as security for the repayment of loans. Our credit risk with respect to our commercial and consumer loan portfolio will depend on the general creditworthiness of businesses and individuals within our local markets.

We make various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio and provide an allowance for estimated loan losses based on a number of factors. This process requires difficult, subjective and complex judgments, including analysis of economic or market conditions that might impair the ability of borrowers to repay their loans. If our assumptions or judgments prove to be incorrect, the allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover actual loan losses. We may have to increase our allowance in the future in response to the request of one of our primary banking regulators, to adjust for changing conditions and assumptions, or as a result of any deterioration in the quality of our loan portfolio. Losses in excess of the existing allowance or any provisions for loan losses taken to increase the allowance will reduce our net income and could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Future provisions for loan losses may vary materially from the amounts of past provisions.

Failure to comply with the terms of loss sharing arrangements with the FDIC may result in significant losses.

Any failure to comply with the terms of any loss share agreements that we have with the FDIC, or to properly service the loans and foreclosed assets covered by loss share agreements, may cause individual loans, large pools of loans or other covered assets to lose eligibility for reimbursement from the FDIC. This could result in material losses that are currently not anticipated and could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

We depend on the accuracy and completeness of information about clients and counterparties.

In deciding whether to extend credit or enter into other transactions with clients and counterparties, we rely in substantial part on information furnished by or on behalf of clients and counterparties, including financial statements and other financial information. We also may rely on representations of clients and counterparties as to the accuracy and completeness of that information and, with respect to financial statements, on reports of independent auditors if made available. If this information is inaccurate, we may be subject to financial losses, regulatory action, reputational harm or other adverse effects with respect to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to a variety of risks in connection with any sale of loans we may conduct.

From time to time we may sell all or a portion of one of more loan portfolios, and in connection therewith we may make certain representations and warranties to the purchaser concerning the loans sold and the procedures under which those loans have been originated and serviced. If any of these representations and warranties are incorrect, we may be required to indemnify the purchaser for any related losses, or we may be required to repurchase part or all of the affected loans. We may also be required to repurchase loans as a result of borrower fraud or in the event of early payment default by the borrower on a loan we have sold. If we are required to make any indemnity payments or repurchases and do not have a remedy available to us against a solvent counterparty to the loan or loans, we may not be able to recover our losses resulting from these indemnity payments and repurchases. Consequently, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Operations

We must attract and retain skilled personnel.

Our success depends, in substantial part, on our ability to attract and retain skilled, experienced personnel. Competition for qualified candidates in the activities and markets that we serve is intense. If we are not able to

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hire or retain these key individuals, we may be unable to execute our business strategies and may suffer adverse consequences to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to attract and retain qualified employees, or do so at rates necessary to maintain our competitive position, or if compensation costs required to attract and retain employees increase materially, our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

A failure in our operational systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause financial losses.

Our ability to adequately conduct and grow our business is dependent on our ability to create and maintain an appropriate operational and organizational control infrastructure. Operational risk can arise in numerous ways including employee fraud, theft or malfeasance; customer fraud; and control lapses in bank operations and information technology. Because the nature of the financial services business involves a high volume of transactions, certain errors may be repeated or compounded before they are discovered. Our dependence on our employees and automated systems, including the automated systems used by acquired entities and third parties, to record and process transactions may further increase the risk that technical failures or tampering of those systems will result in losses that are difficult to detect. We are also subject to disruptions of our operating systems arising from events that are wholly or partially beyond our control. In addition, products, services and processes are continually changing and we may not fully appreciate or identify new operational risks that may arise from such changes. Failure to maintain an appropriate operational infrastructure can lead to loss of service to customers, additional expenditures related to the detection and correction of operational failures, reputational damage and loss of customer confidence, legal actions, and noncompliance with various laws and regulations.

We continuously monitor our operational and technological capabilities and make modifications and improvements when we believe it will be cost effective to do so. However, there are inherent limits to such capabilities. In some instances, we may build and maintain these capabilities ourselves. We also outsource some of these functions to third parties. These third parties may experience errors or disruptions that could adversely impact us and over which we may have limited control. Third parties may fail to properly perform services or comply with applicable laws and regulations, and replacing third party providers could entail significant delay and expense. We also face risk from the integration of new infrastructure platforms and/or new third party providers of such platforms into existing businesses.

An interruption or breach in our information systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties, could disrupt our business, result in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause financial losses.

Our business is dependent on our ability to process and monitor a large number of transactions on a daily basis and to securely process, store and transmit confidential and other information on our computer systems and networks. We rely heavily on our information and communications systems and those of third parties who provide critical components of our information and communications infrastructure. These systems are critical to the operation of our business and essential to our ability to perform day-to-day operations. Our financial, accounting, data processing or other information systems and facilities, or those of third parties on whom we rely, may fail to operate properly or become disabled as a result of events that are wholly or partially beyond our control, such as a spike in transaction volume, cyber-attack or other unforeseen catastrophic events, which may adversely affect our ability to process transactions or provide services.

Although we make continuous efforts to maintain the security and integrity of our information systems and have not experienced a significant, successful cyber-attack, threats to information systems continue to evolve and there can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures, or those of third parties on whom we rely, will continue to be effective. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attack or cyber

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intrusion, has increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Threats to our information systems may originate externally from third parties such as foreign governments, organized crime and other hackers, outsourced or infrastructure-support providers and application developers, or may originate internally. In addition, customers may use computers, smartphones and other mobile devices not protected by our control systems to access our products and services, including through bank kiosks or other remote locations. As a financial institution, we face a heightened risk of a security breach or disruption from attempts to gain unauthorized access to our and our customers’ data and financial information, whether through cyber-attack, cyber intrusion over the internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to e-mails, spoofing, phishing, or spyware.

As a result, our information, communications and related systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to breaches or other significant disruptions that could: (1) disrupt the proper functioning of our networks and systems, which could in turn disrupt our operations and those of certain of our customers; (2) result in the unauthorized access to, and destruction, loss, theft, misappropriation or release of confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable information of ours or our customers, including account numbers and other financial information; (3) result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, subjecting us to additional regulatory scrutiny and exposing us to civil litigation and possible financial liability; (4) require significant management attention and resources to remedy the damages that result; and (5) harm our reputation or impair our customer relationships. The occurrence of such failures, disruptions or security breaches could have a negative impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. To date we have not experienced an attack that has impacted our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. However, “denial of service” attacks have recently been launched against a number of other large financial services institutions. Such attacks adversely affected the performance of certain institutions’ websites, and, in some instances, prevented customers from accessing secure websites for consumer and commercial applications. Future attacks could prove to be even more disruptive and damaging, and as threats continue to evolve, we may not be able to anticipate or prevent all such attacks.

Natural and man-made disasters could affect our ability to operate.

Our market areas are susceptible to hurricanes. Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, and man-made disasters, such as oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, can disrupt our operations; result in significant damage to our properties or properties and businesses of our borrowers, including property pledged as collateral; interrupt our ability to conduct business; and negatively affect the local economies in which we operate.

We cannot predict whether or to what extent damage caused by future hurricanes and other disasters will affect our operations or the economies in our market areas, but such events could cause a decline in loan originations, a decline in the value or destruction of properties securing the loans and an increase in the risk of delinquencies, foreclosures or loan losses.

We are exposed to reputational risk.

Negative public opinion can result from our actual or alleged conduct in activities, such as lending practices, data security practices, corporate governance policies and decisions, and acquisitions, any of which may inflict damage to our reputation. Additionally, actions taken by government regulators and community organizations may also damage our reputation. Negative public opinion could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain customers and can expose us to litigation and regulatory action.

Returns on pension plan assets may not be adequate to cover future funding requirements.

Investments in the portfolio of our defined benefit pension plan may not provide adequate returns to fully fund benefits as they come due, thus causing higher annual plan expenses and requiring additional contributions by us.

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The value of our goodwill and other intangible assets may decline in the future.

A significant decline in our expected future cash flows, a significant adverse change in the business climate, slower growth rates or a significant and sustained decline in the price of our common stock may necessitate our taking charges in the future related to the impairment of our goodwill. Future regulatory actions could also have a material impact on assessments of goodwill for impairment.

Adverse events or circumstances could impact the recoverability of our intangible assets including loss of core deposits, significant losses of credit card accounts and/or balances, increased competition or adverse changes in the economy. To the extent these intangible assets are deemed unrecoverable, a non-cash impairment charge would be recorded, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Business Strategy

We are subject to industry competition which may have an impact upon our success.

Our profitability depends on our ability to compete successfully in a highly competitive market for banking and financial services, and we expect competition to intensify. Certain of our competitors are larger and have more resources than we do. We face competition in our regional market areas from other commercial banks, savings associations, credit unions, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, securities brokerage firms, mutual funds and insurance companies, and other financial institutions that offer similar services. Some of our nonbank competitors are not subject to the same extensive supervision and regulation to which we or the Bank are subject, and may accordingly have greater flexibility in competing for business. Over time, certain sectors of the financial services industry have become more concentrated, as institutions involved in a broad range of financial services have been acquired by other firms. These developments could result in our competitors gaining greater capital and other resources, or being able to offer a broader range of products and services with more geographic range.

Another competitive factor is that the financial services market, including banking services, is undergoing rapid changes with frequent introductions of new technology-driven products and services. Our future success may depend, in part, on our ability to use technology competitively to provide products and services that provide convenience to customers and create additional efficiencies in our operations. The widespread adoption of new technologies could require us to make substantial capital expenditures to modify or adapt our systems to remain competitive and offer new products and services. We may not be successful in introducing new products and services in response to industry trends or developments in technology, or those new products may not be accepted by customers.

If we are unable to successfully compete for new customers and to retain our current customers, our business, financial condition or results of operations may also be adversely affected, perhaps materially. In particular, if we experience an outflow of deposits as a result of our customers desiring to do business with our competitors, we may be forced to rely more heavily on borrowings and other sources of funding to operate our business and meet withdrawal demands, thereby adversely affecting our net interest margin.

Our future growth and financial performance may be negatively affected if we are unable to successfully execute our growth plans, which may include acquisitions and de novo branching.

We may not be able to continue our organic, or internal, growth, which depends upon economic conditions, our ability to identify appropriate markets for expansion, our ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel, our ability to fund growth at a reasonable cost, sufficient capital to support our growth initiatives, competitive factors, banking laws, and other factors.

We may seek to supplement our internal growth through acquisitions. We cannot predict the number, size or timing of acquisitions, or whether any such acquisition will occur at all. Our acquisition efforts have traditionally

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focused on targeted banking entities in markets in which we currently operate and markets in which we believe we can compete effectively. However, as consolidation of the financial services industry continues, the competition for suitable acquisition candidates may increase. We may compete with other financial services companies for acquisition opportunities, and many of these competitors have greater financial resources than we do and may be able to pay more for an acquisition than we are able or willing to pay.

We also may be required to use a substantial amount of our available cash and other liquid assets, or seek additional debt or equity financing, to fund future acquisitions. Such events could make us more susceptible to economic downturns and competitive pressures, and additional debt service requirements may impose a significant burden on our results of operations and financial condition. If we are unable to locate suitable acquisition candidates willing to sell on terms acceptable to us, or we are otherwise unable to obtain additional debt or equity financing necessary for us to continue making acquisitions, we would be required to find other methods to grow our business and we may not grow at the same rate we have in the past, or at all.

We must generally satisfy several conditions, including receiving federal regulatory approval, before we can acquire a bank or bank holding company. In determining whether to approve a proposed bank acquisition, federal bank regulators will consider, among other factors, the effect of the acquisition on competition, financial condition, and future prospects. The regulators also review current and projected capital ratios and levels; the competence, experience, and integrity of management and its record of compliance with laws and regulations; the convenience and needs of the communities to be served (including the acquiring institution’s record of compliance under the Community Reinvestment Act) and the effectiveness of the acquiring institution in combating money laundering activities. We cannot be certain when or if, or on what terms and conditions, any required regulatory approvals will be granted. We may also be required to sell banks or branches as a condition to receiving regulatory approval, which condition may not be acceptable to us or, if acceptable to us, may reduce the benefit of any acquisition. Additionally, federal and/or state regulators may charge us with regulatory and compliance failures of an acquired business that occurred prior to the date of acquisition, and such failures may result in the imposition of formal or informal enforcement actions.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully consolidate any business or assets we acquire with our existing business. The integration of acquired operations and assets may require substantial management effort, time and resources and may divert management’s focus from other strategic opportunities and operational matters. Acquisitions may not perform as expected when the transaction was consummated and may be dilutive to our overall operating results. Specifically, acquisitions could result in higher than expected deposit attrition, loss of key employees or other consequences that could adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with customers and employees. We may also sell or consider selling one or more of our businesses. Such a sale would generally be subject to certain federal and/or state regulatory approvals, and may not be able to generate gains on sale or related increases in shareholder’s equity commensurate with desirable levels.

In addition to the acquisition of existing financial institutions, as opportunities arise, we plan to continue de novo branching as a part of our internal growth strategy and possibly enter into new markets through de novo branching. De novo branching and any acquisition carry numerous risks, including the following:

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We have experienced to some extent many of these risks with our de novo branching to date.

Changes in retail distribution strategies and consumer behavior may adversely impact our investments in bank premises, equipment and other assets and may lead to increased expenditures to change our retail distribution channel.

We have significant investments in bank premises and equipment for our branch network. Advances in technology such as ecommerce, telephone, internet and mobile banking, and in-branch self-service technologies including automated teller machines and other equipment, as well as an increasing customer preference for these other methods of accessing our products and services, could decrease the value of our branch network or other retail distribution physical assets and may cause us to change our retail distribution strategy, close and/or sell certain branches or parcels of land held for development and restructure or reduce our remaining branches and work force. These actions could lead to losses on these assets or could adversely impact the carrying value of any long-lived assets and may lead to increased expenditures to renovate, reconfigure or close a number of our remaining branches or to otherwise reform our retail distribution channel.

Risks Related to the Legal and Regulatory Environment

We are subject to regulation by various federal and state entities.

We are subject to the regulations of the Commission, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the CFPB and the MDBCF. New regulations issued by these agencies may adversely affect our ability to carry on our business activities. We are subject to various federal and state laws, and certain changes in these laws and regulations may adversely affect our operations. Other than the federal securities laws, the laws and regulations governing our business are intended primarily for the protection of our depositors, our customers, the financial system and the FDIC insurance fund, not our shareholders or other creditors. Further, we must obtain approval from our regulators before engaging in certain activities, and our regulators have the ability to compel us to, or restrict us from, taking certain actions entirely, such as increasing dividends, entering into merger or acquisition transactions, acquiring or establishing new branches, and entering into certain new businesses. Noncompliance with certain of these regulations may impact our business plans, including our ability to branch, offer certain products, or execute existing or planned business strategies.

The U.S. government responded to the 2008 financial crisis at an unprecedented level by introducing various actions and passing legislation such as the Dodd-Frank Act that place increased focus and scrutiny on the financial services industry. The Dodd-Frank Act contains various provisions designed to enhance the regulation of depository institutions and prevent the recurrence of a financial crisis such as occurred in 2008-2009. New regulations from the CFPB, which was established by the Dodd-Frank Act, such as the Ability to Repay Rules, may materially raise the risk of consummating consumer credit transactions. The full impact on our business and operations will not be fully known for years until regulations implementing the statute are fully implemented and applied. The new rules issued in the wake of the Dodd-Frank Act may have a material impact on our operations, particularly through increased compliance costs resulting from possible future consumer and fair lending regulations.

Additionally, the rules implementing the “Basel III” regulatory capital reforms and changes required by the Dodd-Frank Act may have significant impacts on our regulatory capital levels. Basel III and its regulations will require bank holding companies and banks to undertake significant activities to demonstrate compliance with the new and higher capital standards. Compliance with these rules impose additional costs on banking entities and their holding companies. The need to maintain more and higher quality capital as well as greater liquidity going forward could limit our business activities and our ability to maintain dividends. In addition, the new liquidity standards could require us to increase our holdings of highly liquid short-term investments, thereby reducing our

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ability to invest in longer-term, potentially higher yielding assets. We may also be required to pay significantly higher deposit insurance premiums if the number of bank failures or the cost of resolving failed banks increase. For additional information regarding the Dodd-Frank Act, Basel III and other regulations to which our business is subject, see “Supervision and Regulation.”

Any of the laws or regulations to which we are subject, including tax laws, regulations or their interpretations, may be modified or changed from time to time, and we cannot be assured that such modifications or changes will not adversely affect us. Failure to appropriately comply with any such laws or regulations could result in sanctions by regulatory authorities, civil monetary penalties or damage to our reputation, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Changes in accounting policies or in accounting standards could materially affect how we report our financial condition and results of operations.

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with the accounting rules and regulations of the Commission and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) and with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions that affect our financial statements by affecting the value of our assets or liabilities and results of operations. Some of our accounting policies are critical because they require management to make difficult, subjective and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain and because materially different amounts may be reported if different estimates or assumptions are used. If such estimates or assumptions underlying our financial statements are incorrect, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

From time to time, the FASB and the Commission change the financial accounting and reporting standards or the interpretation of such standards that govern the preparation of our external financial statements. These changes are beyond our control, can be difficult to predict, may require extraordinary efforts or additional costs to implement and could materially impact how we report our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, it is possible, though unlikely, that we could be required to apply a new or revised standard retrospectively, resulting in the restatement of prior period financial statements in material amounts.

We and other financial institutions have been the subject of increased litigation, investigations and other proceedings which could result in legal liability and damage to our reputation.

We and certain of our directors, officers and subsidiaries may be named from time to time as defendants in various class actions and other litigation relating to our business and activities. Past, present and future litigation has included or could include claims for substantial compensatory and/or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. We are also involved from time to time in other reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by governmental, law enforcement and self-regulatory agencies regarding our business. These matters could result in adverse judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, injunctions, amendments and/or restatements of our Commission filings and/or financial statements, determinations of material weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures or other relief. Like other financial institutions and companies, we are also subject to risk from employee misconduct, including non-compliance with policies and improper use or disclosure of confidential information. Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against us, as well as matters in which we are involved that are ultimately determined in our favor, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, cause significant reputational harm to our business, divert management attention from the operation of our business and/or result in additional litigation.

In addition, in recent years, a number of judicial decisions have upheld the right of borrowers to sue lending institutions on the basis of various evolving legal theories, collectively termed “lender liability.” Generally, lender liability is founded on the premise that a lender has either violated a duty, whether implied or contractual, of good faith and fair dealing owed to the borrower or has assumed a degree of control over the borrower resulting in the creation of a fiduciary duty owed to the borrower or its other creditors or shareholders. In the future, we could become subject to claims based on this or other evolving legal theories.

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Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Securities issued may be senior to our common stock and may have a dilutive effect.

Our common stock ranks junior to all of our existing and future indebtedness with respect to distributions and liquidation. In addition, future issuances of equity securities, including pursuant to outstanding options, could dilute the interests of our existing shareholders, including you, and could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. The issuance of any additional shares of common or preferred stock could be substantially dilutive to shareholders of our common stock. Moreover, to the extent that we issue restricted stock units, phantom shares, stock appreciation rights, options or warrants to purchase our common stock in the future and those stock appreciation rights, options or warrants are exercised or as the restricted stock units vest, our shareholders may experience further dilution.

Holders of our shares of common stock do not have preemptive rights. Additionally, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public markets and the availability of those shares for sale could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our ability to deliver and pay dividends depends primarily upon the results of operations of our subsidiaries, and we may not pay dividends in the future.

We are a bank holding company that conducts substantially all of our operations through our subsidiary Bank. As a result, our ability to make dividend payments on our common stock will depend primarily upon the receipt of dividends and other distributions from the Bank.

The ability of the Bank to pay dividends or make other payments to us, as well as our ability to pay dividends on our common stock, is limited by the Bank’s obligation to maintain sufficient capital and by other general regulatory restrictions on its dividends, which have tightened since the financial crisis. The Federal Reserve has stated that bank holding companies should not pay dividends from sources other than current earnings. If these requirements are not satisfied, we will be unable to pay dividends on our common stock.

We may also decide to limit the payment of dividends even when we have the legal ability to pay them in order to retain earnings for use in our business, which could adversely affect the market value of our common stock. There can be no assurance of whether or when we may pay dividends in the future.

Anti-takeover provisions in our amended articles of incorporation and bylaws, Mississippi law, and our Shareholder Rights Plan could make a third party acquisition of us difficult and may adversely affect share value.

Our amended articles of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us (even if doing so might be beneficial to our shareholders) and for holders of our securities to receive any related takeover premium for their securities. In addition, under our Shareholder Rights Plan, “rights” are issued to all Company common shareholders that, if activated upon an attempted unfriendly acquisition, would allow our shareholders to buy our common stock at a reduced price, thereby minimizing the risk of any potential hostile takeover.

We are also subject to certain provisions of state and federal law and our articles of incorporation that may make it more difficult for someone to acquire control of us. Under federal law, subject to certain exemptions, a person, entity, or group must notify the federal banking agencies before acquiring 10% or more of the outstanding voting stock of a bank holding company, including our shares. Banking agencies review the acquisition to determine if it will result in a change of control. The banking agencies have 60 days to act on the notice, and take into account several factors, including the resources of the acquirer and the antitrust effects of the acquisition. Additionally, a bank holding company must obtain the prior approval of the Federal Reserve before, among other things,

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acquiring direct or indirect ownership or control of more than 5% of the voting shares of any bank. There are also Mississippi statutory provisions and provisions in our articles of incorporation that may be used to delay or block a takeover attempt. As a result, these statutory provisions and provisions in our articles of incorporation could result in our being less attractive to a potential acquirer and limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

None.

The Company’s main office, which is the headquarters of the holding company, is located at One Hancock Plaza, in Gulfport, Mississippi. The Bank makes portions of their main office facilities and certain other facilities available for lease to third parties, although such incidental leasing activity is not material to the Company’s overall operations.

The Company operates 235 full service banking and financial services offices and 283 automated teller machines across a Gulf south corridor comprising south Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern Louisiana; the northern, central, and Panhandle regions of Florida; and Houston, Texas. The Company owns approximately 49% of these facilities, and the remaining banking facilities are subject to leases, each of which we consider reasonable and appropriate for its location. We ensure that all properties, whether owned or leased, are maintained in suitable condition. We also evaluate our banking facilities on an ongoing basis to identify possible under-utilization and to determine the need for functional improvements, relocations, closures or possible sales. The Bank and subsidiaries of the Bank hold a variety of property interests acquired in settlement of loans.

We and our subsidiaries are party to various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that loss contingencies, if any, arising from pending litigation and regulatory matters will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position or liquidity.

Not applicable.

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Market Information

The Company’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “HBHC”. The following table sets forth the high and low sale prices of the Company’s common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. These prices do not reflect retail mark-ups, mark-downs or commissions.

There were 9,885 active holders of record of the Company’s common stock at January 31, 2015 and 80,436,669 shares outstanding. On January 31, 2015, the high and low sale prices of the Company’s common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market were $26.66 and $25.79, respectively.

The principal sources of funds to the Company to pay cash dividends are the dividends received from Whitney Bank, Gulfport, Mississippi. Consequently, dividends are dependent upon the Bank’s earnings, capital needs, regulatory policies as well as statutory and regulatory limitations. Federal and state banking laws and regulations restrict the amount of dividends and loans a bank may make to its parent company. Dividends paid to the Company by Whitney Bank are subject to approval by the Commissioner of Banking and Consumer Finance of the State of Mississippi. We do not expect regulatory restrictions to affect our ability to pay cash dividends. Although no assurance can be given that Hancock Holding Company will continue to declare and pay regular quarterly cash dividends on its common stock, the Bank has paid regular cash dividends since 1937 and Hancock Holding Company has paid regular cash dividends since its organization.

Stock Performance Graph

The following performance graph and related information are neither “soliciting material” nor “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filings under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such filing.

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The performance graph compares the cumulative five-year shareholder return on the Company’s common stock, assuming an investment of $100 on December 31, 2009 and the reinvestment of dividends thereafter, to that of the common stocks of United States companies reported in the Nasdaq Total Return Index and the common stocks of the KBW Regional Banks Total Return Index. The KBW Regional Banks Total Return Index (KRX) is a proprietary stock index of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., that tracks the returns of 50 regional banking companies throughout the United States.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

The Board of Directors authorized a new common stock buyback program on July 24, 2014 for up to 5%, or approximately 4 million shares, of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding. The shares may be repurchased in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time, depending upon market conditions and other factors, and in accordance with applicable regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The buyback authorization will expire December 31, 2015. During the year, the Company repurchased 1.5 million shares at an average price of $31.13 per share under the 2014 buyback program.

The Company’s board of directors approved a stock repurchase program on April 30, 2013 that authorized the repurchase of up to 5% of the Company’s outstanding common stock. On May 8, 2013 Hancock entered into an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) transaction with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (Morgan Stanley). In the ASR transaction, the Company paid $115 million to Morgan Stanley and received from them initially 2.8 million shares of Hancock common stock and received an additional 0.6 million upon final settlement on May 5, 2014. The 2013 program was superseded by the 2014 program.

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The following tables set forth certain selected historical consolidated financial data and should be read in conjunction with “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included elsewhere herein.

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