BancorpSouth Announces Cowsert’s Retirement

As of September 30, ""BancorpSouth, Inc."":https://www.bancorpsouthonline.com/home/home will be in search of a new vice chairman and chief credit officer due to the recently accounted retirement of W. Gregg Cowsert. He will leave BancorpSouth after more than 20 years with the company, which he joined in 1990 as a senior vice president and regional loan administrator in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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The entity was still known as the Bank of Mississippi when Cowsert became part of the organization, and he moved up the ranks quickly, transferring to the bank's Tupelo, Mississippi headquarters in 1992 to take on a role in loan administration. By 1996, Cowsert was named executive vice president, and later in the year, he ascended to his current position as vice chairman and chief credit officer.

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Of his planned retirement, BancorpSouth's chariman and CEO, Aubrey Patterson, said, ""During Gregg Cowsert's tenure as BancorpSouth's chief credit officer, Gregg led in establishing and administering the quality standards and metrics that have been a hallmark of the company's conservative credit culture.

He guided BancorpSouth's loan administration functions during times of major growth and expansion for our company, as well as during difficult and challenging economic environments. As a valued member of our senior staff management team, Gregg has been involved in countless major financial decisions affecting BancorpSouth. His contributions to our company are numerous, and he will be missed.""

Cowsert has remained active in industry organizations including the American Institute of Banking, the LSU School of Banking, and various Chambers of Commerce. Prior to joining BancorpSouth, Cowsert, a ""Mississippi State University"":http://msstate.edu/ graduate, held positions with First Mississippi National Bank.

BancorpSouth serves as a financial holding company with estimated assets of $13.4 billion; the company is based in Tueplo, Mississippi, and operates 312 locations throughout the southeast and southwest.