MidSouth Bank President and CEO Rusty Cloutier and IberiaBank Lafayette President Jerry Vascocu tout Lafayette as the place to be for banking in the South. Three Lafayette-based banks have seen rapid expansion over the past few years, growth that's pegged Lafayette as the "banking community of the South."
IberiaBank's Jerry Vascocu
MidSouth's Rusty Cloutier
The Advocate reports that MidSouth Bank President and CEO Rusty Cloutier and IberiaBank Lafayette President Jerry Vascocu were the guest speakers Wednesday at an Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation luncheon, informing the audience that since December 2007, IberiaBank has grown by 164 percent, MidSouth by 63 percent and Home Bank by 134 percent. IberiaBank has expanded its footprint to six states since January 2007, while MidSouth has more recently made its move into Texas and Home Bank has made a splash in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area markets:
The most wide-ranging expansion has been on the part of Iberia Bank.
In January 2007, Iberia Bank had 45 branches and operated only in Louisiana, Vascocu said.
The bank now has 187 branches in six states after a string of acquisitions in recent years, according to figures from Vascocu.
"This is the banking community of the South," said Cloutier, who put Lafayette among the top-tier banking centers in the United States.
Read more from The Advocate here.