Hancock to complete Whitney deal over the weekend

Hancock Bank will legally complete its purchase of Whitney National Bank just before midnight Saturday. But the two banks won’t merge their computer systems until January. And it won’t be until the systems are merged that all of the Hancock branches in Louisiana and Texas will be rebranded under the Whitney name. “It will be business as usual when customers come in Monday,” says Carl Chaney, Hancock president and CEO. One immediate change for customers of both banks will be the ability to use any Hancock or Whitney ATM from Texas to Florida for free. “There will be no problem with fees,” Chaney says. Hancock and Whitney have about 40 branches in metro Baton Rouge. A handful of branches that are close to each other may close as the result of the merger. “We’re going through that process case by case,” Chaney says. “There are cases where there’s a Hancock across the street from a Whitney.” Bank officials will evaluate which move would make the most sense for customers, and on the busiest streets that assessment could even result in keeping both branches open. For a recent Business Report story about the $1.5 billion deal, click here. —Timothy Boone