GULFPORT, Miss., Aug. 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When executives of Hancock Holding Company (Nasdaq:HBHC) open The Nasdaq Stock Market in New York City on Tuesday, August 25, 2015, that bell ceremony hails a new morning on Wall Street and a 10-year milestone on main streets hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.
Live video from Times Square begins August 25 at 8:00 a.m. Central Daylight Time. Remarks start at 8:15 a.m. CDT, and the market opens at 8:30 a.m. CDT.
Hancock Holding Company, one of the nation’s strongest, safest financial institutions, operates along the five-state Gulf of Mexico crescent under well-known Hancock Bank and Whitney Bank brands. Nasdaq, the leading all-electronic stock market, and Hancock scheduled the ceremony to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Katrina’s landfall. Bank leaders said Tuesday’s bell ceremony at Nasdaq salutes a decade of extraordinary resilience, response, and recovery after one of America’s worst natural disasters.
“Hurricane Katrina redefined our central Gulf Coast landscape but not our strong spirit and America’s instinctive unity in crisis. Thousands came to help. Our associates brought our core values to life. People and the communities we serve believed in us,” said Hancock Holding Company President and CEO John M. Hairston. “On August 25, Hancock Holding Company rings the Nasdaq Opening Bell to honor and thank people across the Gulf Coast, the country, and the world who made a difference for our hometowns and our company. The force of their caring propelled us from one of the region’s bleakest times into one of its brightest eras of opportunity.”
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast with full-force fury. When relentless winds, record waves, and rising waters ended, more than one million homes had disappeared or were heavily damaged. Thousands of businesses were in shambles. More than 1,800 people died.
In 2005 Hancock Bank and New Orleans based Whitney National Bank—both century-old financial organizations—served areas at the epicenter of Katrina’s devastation. The banks and many clients and associates suffered major property damage and loss; but Hancock and Whitney stood strong. Local people and bank associates immediately got busy helping each other tackle the daunting tasks of reinventing “normal.”
“Mother Nature was tough. Our people were tougher,” said Hairston.
Since Katrina the Gulf Coast has risen again as a vibrant, diverse economic engine. Hancock Holding Company has grown from $4.8 billion in 2005 to $21.5 billion in assets as of June 30, 2015, and has doubled its market cap to $2.2 billion. In 2011 Hancock and Whitney came together under Hancock Holding Company.
Next year marks Hancock Holding Company’s 25th year of trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market. More information about Hancock Holding Company is available at www.hancockbank.com or www.whitneybank.com.