Mississippi bank BancorpSouth to invest $15M and hire 100

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - One of Mississippi’s largest banks will expand its hometown operations center, investing $15 million and hiring 100 people.

BancorpSouth announced the expansion in Tupelo on Thursday.

Mississippi Development Authority spokeswoman Tammy Craft says the state is giving $750,000 to widen a road running past the operations center in western Tupelo. Tupelo and Lee County are giving property tax breaks worth an estimated $1.4 million over 10 years.

BancorpSouth will pay workers $43,500 on average. The bank will be eligible for a state rebate on worker income taxes that could be worth $1.75 million over 10 years.

Hiring will start in coming months.

The campus houses BancorpSouth’s main data processing operations. Employees perform accounting, payment and computing functions.

BancorpSouth employs 1,000 people in Tupelo, with 717 working at the operations center.