BancorpSouth Opens Banking Office in Sugar Land, Texas

TUPELO, Miss., Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- BancorpSouth Bank, subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: BXS), has opened a loan production office in Sugar Land, Texas, an award-winning community and regional employment center southwest of Houston. 

BancorpSouth's new office, located at 8410 Highway 90A, Suite 100 in Sugar Land, is staffed by a group of local, veteran lenders and support staff providing a wide range of commercial and consumer banking services, including commercial real estate, construction, and residential lending. The BancorpSouth Sugar Land team includes Steven E. Smith, Fort Bend Market President;  E.D. Sadka, Senior Vice President and Commercial Lender;  Richard A. Mahabir, Senior Vice President and Commercial Lender; Ronnie R. Kirkwood, Vice President and Commercial lender; Jennifer Galvez, Assistant Vice President and Loan Administrative Assistant; and Lori Soliz, Loan Administrative Assistant.

Steven E. "Steve" Smith is a seasoned banker with 38 years of diverse banking experience. Prior to joining BancorpSouth, Smith most recently served as a commercial lending group executive vice president /area manager in Sugar Land. Smith has held a variety of bank executive management positions. He is a graduate of McMurray College and of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking. He is a long-time resident of Sugar Land, Texas.         

E.D. "Dick" Sadka has 30-plus years of diverse banking experience. Prior to joining BancorpSouth, Sadka most recently served as a senior vice president and commercial lending officer in the Sugar Land area. Sadka is a Certified Treasury Professional, and has held a variety of bank management positions. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and the BAI Graduate School of Banking. He is a long-time resident of Houston, Texas.

Richard A. "Rich" Mahabir has over 15 years of banking experience. Prior to joining BancorpSouth, Mahabir most recently served as a senior vice president and commercial lending officer in the Sugar Land area. He is a graduate of the University of Houston with a BBA in Finance and received his formal credit training from the Wells Fargo College of Commercial Credit. He is a resident of Katy, Texas.

Ronnie R. Kirkwood has 37 years of diverse banking experience. Prior to joining BancorpSouth, Kirkwood most recently served as a vice president and commercial lending officer in the West Houston area. Kirkwood has held a variety of bank management positions. He is a graduate of Trinity University, holds a MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a graduate of Southwestern Graduate School of Banking. He is a resident of Houston, Texas.

Jennifer Galvezhas 11 years of experience in commercial, consumer, and mortgage lending.  Prior to joining BancorpSouth, Galvez most recently served as a senior lending assistant in Sugar Land.  She has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Ashworth College, Norcross, Georgia and has completed numerous banking industry courses and programs.

Lorraine Solizhas 9 years of experience as a loan administrative assistant, customer service representative and teller.

Cited by Forbes for its quality of life and its pro-business environment, Sugar Land has gained a well-deserved reputation as a great place to live and work. "The area has a strong business climate with proximity to BancorpSouth's insurance and loan production offices serving the Houston metropolitan area. The Sugar Land market, together with a veteran BancorpSouth team, provides our Bank outstanding growth potential," said BancorpSouth Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Rollins.

Chris Bagley, BancorpSouth President and Chief Operating Officer, added, "Sugar Land is home to numerous high profile regional and international corporations and has been recognized for its economic achievements and quality of life. We are delighted to have such an outstanding group of commercial bankers, who know this market so well, join our team."

BancorpSouth Bank currently operates 19 full-service banking locations in East Texas with almost $1 billion in net loans and more than $800 million in total deposits. 

BancorpSouth serves the Houston metropolitan market area with commercial, P&C and life insurance products and services through its Houston office of BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc. At year-end 2013, BancorpSouth expanded its insurance presence in the Houston market through the acquisition of the assets of the Houston-based GEM Insurance Agencies, LP.  BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc. is one of the largest bank-owned agencies in the country.

BancorpSouth, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, with approximately $13.0 billion in assets. BancorpSouth Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BancorpSouth, Inc., operates approximately 300 commercial banking, mortgage, and insurance locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas, including an insurance location in Illinois.

SOURCE BancorpSouth, Inc.