BancorpSouth Announces Increase in Quarterly Dividend

TUPELO, Miss., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At their regular quarterly meeting on April 23, 2008, the Board of Directors of BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE:BXS) declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per common share, an increase of 4.8% in the previous $0.21 per share quarterly amount paid on the Company's common stock. The dividend is payable July 1, 2008 to shareholders of record at the close of business of June 13, 2008.

Aubrey Patterson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BancorpSouth, commented, "We are extremely pleased to announce this increase in our quarterly dividend which is reflective of our increased earnings and confidence in BancorpSouth's performance in our eight-state market."

For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, BancorpSouth reported net income of $35.1 million, or $0.43 per diluted share. First quarter 2008 results were positively influenced by increased net interest margin, and increased non-interest income.

BancorpSouth, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi with approximately $13.2 billion in assets. BancorpSouth operates banking, insurance, and financial service offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: ellen.wall@bxs.com

Source: BancorpSouth, Inc.

CONTACT: L. Nash Allen, Jr., Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer,
+1-662-680-2330, or Gary C. Bonds, Senior Vice President and Controller,
+1-662-680-2332, both of BancorpSouth, Inc.

Web site: http://www.bancorpsouth.com/

2008-04-23 18:18:07 0343788 PRNEWSWIRE