Hancock Whitney Bank is buying Orlando-based One Florida Bank, marking its entry into a new central Florida market.
In a May 15 announcement, Hancock Whitney Corporation, the Gulfport, Mississippi-based bank’s parent company, announced it was purchasing OFB Bancshares, parent company of One Florida Bank, in an all-cash transaction.
Though OFB, with a little more than $2.1 billion in assets, is much smaller than Hancock Whitney, a regional lender with assets of more than $35 billion, the deal will give the Gulfport bank a presence in a large, rapidly growing area.
“This transaction represents a significant step in our long-term growth strategy, expanding our footprint into one of the most dynamic and high-growth markets in the country,” said John M. Hairston, president and CEO of Hancock Whitney in a prepared statement.
Hairston said Orlando offers attractive demographics and strong economic fundamentals as the bank adds to its presence in central Florida, which includes locations in greater Tampa, Lakeland and The Villages. One Florida Bank operates five financial centers in greater Orlando and one in Chipley, a small town along Interstate 10 north of Panama City.
Rick Pullum, president and CEO of One Florida Bank, said the deal with Hancock Whitney will provide “access to broader resources, expanded capabilities, and a larger platform for growth.”
Hancock Whitney was founded in 1899 as Hancock County Bank in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. It acquired its New Orleans-based rival Whitney Bank in 2011 and now is the largest bank headquartered in the region.
The bank reports more than $35 billion in assets, $29 billion in deposits and about 3,600 employees. Roughly a third are located in greater New Orleans, and about half of that team works in the Hancock Whitney Center on Poydras Street.
As of June 30, 2025, the most recent date for which figures are available, Hancock Whitney ranked as the second-largest bank in Louisiana, with a nearly 13% share of the market, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It has less than 6% of the market in Mississippi and is that state’s sixth-largest bank.
Last month, the bank announced plans to open a new branch in a suburb of Jackson, Mississippi, one of only a dozen or so of its nearly 200 locations north of Interstate 20. The rest hug the Gulf Coast in five states from Texas to Florida.
In an interview last year, Hancock Whitney’s Greater New Orleans regional director, Liz Hefler, said the bank plans to grow by acquisition and continues to evaluate potential transactions. Last year, the bank acquired the Tampa, Florida-based wealth management firm Sabal Trust Co.
This latest acquisition comes as the regional banking industry prepares for competition from MC Bank, a small lender founded in Morgan City, Louisiana that’s poised for growth after an acquisition from veteran Louisiana banker Daryl Byrd and a team of investors.
Byrd, who built IberiaBank into a regional powerhouse, has plans to grow MC Bank by acquisition as well.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026 if approved by regulators and shareholders.