From Citizens Bank & Trust to BankPlus
BankPlus began in 1909 as Citizens Bank & Trust Company in Belzoni, Mississippi. The bank’s history describes an initial expansion across central Mississippi and the Delta. In September 1994, the merger of Southeast Mississippi Bank extended its reach and brought the BankPlus name. BancPlus Corporation is the parent company. The naming history captures the institution’s basic approach: a network of community banking relationships combined into a broader regional platform. Today its advertised services include retail and commercial banking, mortgages and wealth management, serving households alongside businesses with more complex financing needs. [1]
The legal bank remains BankPlus in Belzoni, certificate 5903. The FDIC’s October 2, 2026 directory lists an active Mississippi-chartered member bank, with the Federal Reserve as primary federal regulator and January 1, 1909 as the establishment date. That bank-versus-parent distinction also matters for financial statements: BancPlus group figures can contain holding-company effects, while the regulatory figures below attach to the insured institution itself. [2]
The acquisition that widened the Gulf footprint
The First Trust transaction became effective March 1, 2022. BancPlus’ closing filing describes acquiring First Trust Corporation by a share exchange, merging that company into BancPlus and then merging its bank, First Bank and Trust, into BankPlus. The sequence matters because a parent-company acquisition and the legal combination of the banks are separate acts, even when closely connected. In this case the filing confirms both. It also identifies the surviving bank, preventing the acquired institution from being counted again as an independent current bank. [3]
The agreement signed in September 2021 identified First Trust Corporation of Louisiana as a party and First Bank & Trust as a Louisiana banking corporation. This earlier document establishes the parties and their jurisdictions; it describes a proposed transaction rather than a completed merger. [4]
The FDIC’s subsequent community-credit review identifies the acquired New Orleans bank, First Bank and Trust, and confirms that its acquisition became effective March 1, 2022. [5]
The 2025 financial highlights describe a franchise across Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The same report shows that growth need not mean adding branches everywhere: BankPlus opened a flagship Gulfport location, reached an agreement to sell its McComb operation and closed or consolidated seven other locations in 2025. The McComb reference was an agreement, not proof of a completed sale. The report also described leadership succession, including a planned July 2026 bank-CEO handover. These changes put physical distribution and management continuity alongside lending and deposits in the story of the expanding institution. [6]
A small-dollar product with a savings component
CreditPlus is a distinctive part of the consumer offering. BankPlus presents it as a short-term, small-dollar alternative for people rebuilding credit or moving away from payday lenders. Borrowers must complete financial education and open specified checking and savings accounts. For the standard $500 and $1,000 CreditPlus loan options, half the proceeds go to checking and half to savings, with the savings held until repayment. A separate $500 CreditBuilder option holds all loan proceeds in savings. That structure couples access to money with a savings discipline. It also means the headline loan amount is not all immediately spendable cash. Eligibility and product conditions still apply. [7]
Deposits grew faster than the balance sheet
Bank-only FDIC reports put June 30, 2026 assets at $8.376 billion, deposits at $7.348 billion and net loans and leases at $6.342 billion. A year earlier, the same measures were $7.843 billion, $6.775 billion and $6.069 billion. Assets grew 6.8%; deposits grew 8.5%. Net loans and leases equaled 86.3% of deposits, versus 89.6%. First-half net income was $52.4 million, compared with $48.2 million. These are the insured bank’s figures, not consolidated parent-company results. Deposits grew faster than net lending over this interval. [8]
The bank’s -and-lease ratio was 0.64%, versus 0.39% a year earlier. First-half after recoveries were $1.66 million, versus $1.68 million. These measure different stages of credit deterioration. [9]
The supervisory record has its own chronology
The FDIC’s June 3, 2024 Community Reinvestment Act review rated BankPlus Satisfactory overall, following an Outstanding rating at the previous 2021 evaluation. The newer review rated lending High Satisfactory, investment Outstanding and service Low Satisfactory. Its enlarged scope included the Louisiana and Florida operations associated with the acquisition, while Mississippi carried the most weight. A CRA review assesses service to community credit needs, including lower-income areas; it is not a financial-health rating. The details show both strong investment performance and a more moderate service assessment, rather than a simple all-purpose score. [5]
The Federal Reserve approved BankPlus’ application for membership on May 13, 2026. This later event explains why older FDIC examination documents and more recent institution records name different federal supervisors. An application’s approval is a distinct step from the actual change in supervision. Neither that change nor a CRA rating eliminates the ordinary obligations of a bank to manage credit, and compliance. They establish the relevant supervisory framework, rather than guaranteeing the outcome of every business decision. [10]
A regional model remains tied to regional borrowers
BancPlus’ 2024 Form 10-K identified geographic concentration in its four-state footprint and exposure to property values, borrowers’ financial health and construction projects among the group’s risks. It also described competition for customers and vulnerabilities involving technology and outside service providers. Those dated disclosures explain the mechanisms behind the franchise: deposits support loans whose repayment depends on local economic activity. A broader Gulf-region presence can spread individual relationships, but it can still leave shared exposures to economic weakness and property stress. The latest bank-only numbers offer an updated checkpoint without making those structural risks disappear. [11]
Sources
- BankPlus: institutional history; checked October 6, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑
- FDIC: institution directory, October 2, 2026; certificate 5903Official sourceBack to text: ↑
- BancPlus: Form 8-K, March 1, 2022; First Trust transactionFiling / reportBack to text: ↑
- BancPlus and First Trust: merger agreement, September 28, 2021Filing / reportBack to text: ↑
- FDIC: BankPlus CRA evaluation, June 3, 2024Source · PDFBack to text: ↑1↑2
- BancPlus: 2025 Financial Highlights, published 2026Source · PDFBack to text: ↑
- BankPlus: CreditPlus terms; checked October 6, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑
- FDIC: bank-only financial reports, June 2026 and June 2025; certificate 5903Official sourceBack to text: ↑
- FDIC: bank-only credit measures, June 2026 and June 2025; certificate 5903Official sourceBack to text: ↑
- Federal Reserve: membership approval, May 13, 2026Official releaseBack to text: ↑
- BancPlus: Form 10-K, December 31, 2024 periodFiling / reportBack to text: ↑