WHEN MOST PEOPLE still went to the bank by horse and buggy, Whitney Bank was helping create opportunities for people and communities across south Louisiana. Today, 133 years later, Whitney sustains that community bank way of doing business, with the added value of nationally recognized strength and regional bank resources.

“Baton Rouge is very important to Whitney Bank,” says Whitney’s Baton Rouge Market President Henry Schexnayder. “To Whitney Bank, Baton Rouge is a big deal.”

Baton Rouge is also a fast-growing deal for Whitney. It’s the bank’s next-to-largest market, second only to New Orleans, along a corridor spanning Houston to Tampa. According to FDIC, Whitney captured more than half of $422 million in new deposits in Baton Rouge and more than any other institution from June 2014 to June 2015.

Deep regional roots and generations of business and community partnerships have helped Whitney meet its mission to help people achieve their financial goals and dreams. The bank has rated among America’s strongest, safest banks for 26 years in a row. Schexnayder says that heritage, longevity and solid core values are what Whitney clients look for in a bank.

“Our clients know they can form relationships with bankers and know their bank is going to be there for the long term,” adds Schexnayder, who manages retail, business and commercial banking in Baton Rouge.

In the late 1800s, when Whitney was helping south Louisianans prosper, Hancock Bank was helping south Mississippians manage their own economic boom. For 100 years, the two banks grew. In 2011 Hancock and Whitney came together, the next strategic step in a century-old relationship based on shared history, geography and principles.

Whitney cultivates a comprehensive, consultative approach to banking—what Schexnayder calls a client-centric fusion of the right expertise, information and choices. Bankers are equipped to spot if a consumer with a checking account and mortgage might need financial and estate planning and investment services or if a business or health care client might benefit from private banking.

Whitney also believes in understanding who people are, how they like to bank and what economic, lifestyle and industry changes affect them, whether consumers or businesses.

“We are constantly building relationships,” he says. “We also make sure our bankers have cross-industry expertise, including industry, health care, media and municipalities. Clients need to know their bankers understand changing conditions and how those changes affect clients’ needs.”

Greater Baton Rouge is part of Whitney’s western region, a vibrant economic expanse from the Capital City to metro Houston. Well-known banking executive Robert Schneckenburger recently joined Whitney as regional president for Greater Baton Rouge.

“As the industrial corridor surrounding Baton Rouge continues to expand, Baton Rouge is poised to generate solid economic growth for the next several years. The Baton Rouge area companies helping this expansion occur can count on Whitney Bank to provide the capital necessary to fund their increased business,” says Schneckenburger.

Easy access to banking is a big priority for Whitney, too. Providing clients a network of more than 200 branches and business financial centers in six states, Whitney offers online and mobile banking, Apple Pay™, remote deposit, consumer and business credit cards, treasury services and other options for 24-7 banking. An updated website features better functions and blogs about company news and industry hot topics.