BAY ST. LOUIS In July, Hancock Bank announced that it was cutting back hours of operation at the historic Bay Main Branch on Beach Boulevard at Main Street.
Here’s what Hancock Bank’s John Keilholz, senior vice president & regional retail manager for Mississippi, says about the bank branch and its future.

Q What’s the latest on the historic Bay St. Louis branch? Is it now open only part-time? If so, what are the hours/services available? What happened to the people/offices in the bank?
A Starting Tuesday, Sept. 3, (Monday is the federal Labor Day holiday.), the new business hours for the Old Town Hancock Bank location will be 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Monday through Friday—rather than 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. We’ll continue to offer teller service with two tellers at this location as well as ATM and night depository options. The other associates who were at the historic Bay St. Louis branch have moved to other areas and positions within the company.
 
Q What’s the reasoning for the change? 
A In many ways, the new business hours at the downtown branch reflect broader changes in the financial services industry and trends in how many of our bank customers prefer to do business. They like the choices and conveniences that electronic “delivery channels” provide. For routine transactions, more and more people rely on e-banking options such as online and mobile banking, mobile remote deposit, ATMs and debit cards rather than checks and cash. Many companies also use web-based business banking and cash management; and many businesses pay their employees through direct deposit, which has also affected in-branch traffic.
 
Q Some people are wondering if this could be the beginning of the end for that historic location. Is it?
A We’ll celebrate our 114th birthday on Oct. 9 and have no intention of leaving Bay St. Louis.

Bay St. Louis is Hancock Bank’s birthplace. Although the company has grown well beyond our original, circa 1899 wood-frame building on South Beach Boulevard, we’re very proud of our deep local roots. The founding values set forth by the people who established Hancock Bank — 19 Bay St. Louis citizens — still guide how we do business and make decisions.

Hancock Bank opened its doors to help create opportunities for local people and businesses. The company invested considerable resources to restore the historic Bay St. Louis building after Hurricane Katrina; and we were honored to join other businesses in revitalizing Old Town. We’ll continue to use the downtown Bay St. Louis building for office space for some of the associates who support our front-line functions as well as Hancock Insurance Agency. Full-service banking is available from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday — and from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturdays — just about a mile down the road at the Hancock Bank branch on Highway 90.