George Schloegel, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Holding Company,
Rings The NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell

Tuesday, August 29, 2006
at NASDAQ's MarketSite
in New York City.

George Schloegel, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Holding Company (HBHC), will preside over the opening bell to celebrate the Company's 15-year listing anniversary and the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Hancock Holding Company, parent company of Hancock Bank (Mississippi), Hancock Bank of Louisiana, Hancock Bank of Florida, and Magna Insurance Company is a financial services holding company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, with assets totaling $6.26 billion. Founded in 1899, Hancock Bank stands among the strongest, safest financial institutions in America. The Company operates more than 140 banking and financial services offices and more than 130 automated teller machines throughout South Mississippi, Louisiana, southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle, as well as subsidiaries Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, and Harrison Finance Company. Hancock Bank is community oriented, offering comprehensive financial solutions -- including traditional banking, consumer and commercial loans, small business banking, mortgage services, insurance, trust and estate planning, investments, wealth management, corporate cash management, and institutional banking -- to individuals and small-to-middle-market businesses in the Company's Interstate 10 corridor market. The Company's operating strategy is to provide its customers with the financial sophistication and breadth of products of a regional full-service financial institution while successfully retaining the local appeal and level of service of a community bank.

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Click for larger pictures of the NASDAQ MarketSite. Additional Photographs for 8/29/2006 Download Hi-Res Quality Photo of this NASDAQ Market Open - Pictured: George Schloegel, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Holding Company, rings the Opening Bell These photos are Copyright 2006, The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and available for re-publication by the news media only. Any commercial use is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. © Copyright 2006, The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.