Miller Named Director of Mergers & Acquisitions at MidSouth Bank

LAFAYETTE, La., April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lorraine Miller has joined MidSouth Bank as Senior Vice President and Director of Mergers and Acquisitions, a newly created position with primary responsibility for all financial aspects of the acquisition process.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100125/MIDSOUTHLOGO)

To help execute a new phase of its growth strategy, MidSouth Bank created the M&A team, also naming two longtime employees to assist the director. Joining Miller are Regional President and Senior Vice President Troy Cloutier and Vice President/ Director of Corporate Development Dwayne Farris, both of whom will devote a significant amount of their time to identifying potential acquisition targets. The M&A unit will then work closely with Chief Financial Officer Jim McLemore to complete the transactions.

"On the heels of our successful public offering of stock in December, in which almost $40 million in capital was raised, we are aggressively pursuing acquisition targets in Louisiana and Texas," MidSouth Bank President and CEO Rusty Cloutier said in announcing formation of the M&A team. "MidSouth is one of the best-capitalized banks in the South, and this initiative will fuel our continued expansion in Louisiana and Texas." At this time, MidSouth Bank is pursuing FDIC assisted acquisitions of failing institutions, as well as banks that are looking to divest noncore operations to improve their capital position.  

Miller assisted in the December capital raise and has more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry.  From 1986 to 2002 Miller was a senior sell-side equity research analyst following consumer product companies for Robinson-Humphrey and SunTrust Equitable Securities. Her research was recognized through inclusion to the Institutional Investor's All-American Research Team and The Wall Street Journal's All-Star Analysts Team. During this period, Miller participated in numerous capital market transactions, including both equity capital and debt financing, as well as assisting on merger and acquisition transactions. During 2002 to 2009, she was Senior Vice President and Director of Investor Relations for West Point Home and Security Bank Corporation, where she had direct responsibility for all external financial communications, was the primary spokeswoman and was a liaison with the board of directors regarding strategic issues including capital structure and acquisitions and divestitures.

Miller earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Emory University and an MBA from Georgia State University. She is a Charter Financial Analyst and member of the CFA Institute, the Atlanta Financial Analyst Society and the National Investor Relations Institute.

About MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.

MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE Amex: MSL) is a bank holding company headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana with assets of $972.1 million as of December 31, 2009.  Through our wholly owned subsidiary, MidSouth Bank, N.A., we offer a full range of banking services to commercial and retail customers in south Louisiana and southeast Texas.  MidSouth Bank has 35 locations in Louisiana and Texas and more than 50 ATMs.  

SOURCE MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.