Energy team signals company’s strong commitment to growing industry
HOUSTON, Texas (April 26, 2012)—Two of the region’s top energy bankers have joined the Hancock Holding Company (Nasdaq: HBHC) financial services organization, which includes century-old Gulf South institutions Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank.
Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Energy Division Donovan Broussard and Senior Vice President and Senior Energy Banker Liana Tchernysheva together bring more than 32 years of experience in the energy banking sector to the company. Leading the Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank Energy Division, both bankers are based at Whitney Bank in Houston and are residents of the city’s greater metropolitan area.
Hancock Holding Company and its banks operate throughout a combined business footprint comprising the five southeastern states that encircle the Gulf of Mexico.
“Oil and gas exploration and production is one of the most important economic sectors in the United States and around the globe and continues to be a significant segment of our business—particularly in the Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida markets we serve,” said Carl Chaney, president and CEO of Hancock Holding Company. “We have a banking presence in every major U.S. port city on the Gulf of Mexico. Adding these two outstanding professionals and strategically locating this team in Houston further strengthens the company’s capabilities in the energy banking arena. We see great opportunity as we grow this area of our business and offer excellent service to new and existing clients.”
Broussard began his career in New Orleans as a Whitney Bank management trainee and now has more than 17 years’ experience in the banking industry, with an emphasis in management and energy lending. He comes to Whitney Bank in Houston from NATIXIS, where, since 2001, he led long-term planning, strategy, and new product implementation and developed client relationships for the company’s oil and gas exploration and production group. During his tenure with the company, he was a top industry producer. Broussard also worked for The Bank of Nova Scotia and Dai-Ichi Kangyo in energy related banking fields. All of Broussard’s positions were based in the Houston market. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Tchernysheva, a 15-year veteran of banking, also joins Whitney and Hancock from NATIXIS, where, as a managing director of the oil and gas exploration and production group, she created and built the bank’s portfolio as a participant and lead originator. Additionally, she established client relationships and performed analysis, underwriting, and portfolio management. Tchernysheva previously worked in several positions at BBVA Compass (formerly Compass Bank) and holds a finance degree from the University of South Alabama.
“As Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank—two of the Gulf South’s largest, oldest, and strongest financial institutions—move forward together, we are expanding the depth and breadth of expertise that have always distinguished our banking teams in delivering comprehensive products and services to people and businesses in the communities we call home,” said Chaney. “This commitment to strength, stability, and service represents the traditions of banking excellence that have been part of Whitney and Hancock for more than 100 years.”
According to a 2010 American Petroleum Institute study, the oil and gas industry employed roughly 1.25 million people in key production states and projected growing economic impact on the Gulf of Mexico region in the coming years. With increased production, the oil and gas industry could create $33 billion in government revenue alone and 290,000 new jobs by 2030.
“The Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank Energy Division is committed to helping create commerce and opportunity across this dynamic region,” added Chaney.
