IberiaBank

The bank opened its doors on March 12, 1887 as a savings and loan association under the name Iberia Building Association.[9] The name originates from New Iberia, Louisiana, which dates back to 1779 when Spanish conquerors named their newly settled "Nueva Iberia" after the Iberian Peninsula. At the time the bank was founded, New Iberia was a farming community of about 3,000 people. Its principal industry was sugarcane farming, as the area's oil reserves, which would later spur population and economic growth, had yet to be discovered.[10]

For its first 100 years, the bank's main functions were taking deposits and making home mortgage loans in the New Iberia community.[11]

In 1956, Iberia Building Association changed its name to Iberia Savings & Loan (ISLA). Since savings and loan associations, or "thrifts," could not lend to businesses, ISLA was not affected by the oil crisis in the early 1980s like many Louisiana commercial banks were.[9]

After regulations preventing thrifts from expanding eased in 1985, the bank absorbed several struggling thrifts during the 1980s oil glut. Branches opened in Morgan City and Franklin, Louisiana, moving the thrift beyond Iberia Parish for the first time. ISLA became Iberia Savings Bank (ISB) in 1988, and expansion continued the following year into Lafayette, Louisiana with the acquisition of Acadia Savings & Loan.[11]

Additional regulatory changes in the early 1990s permitted Louisiana savings and loan associations to become state-chartered commercial banks.[9] Bank President Larrey Mouton prepared the company for this transition by forming the holding company ISB Financial Corporation and releasing an IPO on April 13, 1995.[12]

Former IBERIABANK logo, used officially until 2007

In 1999, former Bank One executive Daryl Byrd took over as CEO, ushering in a period of rapid growth for the bank. With its new name IBERIABANK Corporation, the company would grow to acquire 24 banks since 2001.[13]

When Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast in 2005, IberiaBank incurred hurricane-related expenses including loan losses associated with the storm, facility repairs and insurance deductible payments. Being a bank solely based in Louisiana, the organization decided to diversify its geographic footprint in the years following the storm to minimize risk.[14] The bank expanded beyond Louisiana for the first time in 2007 with the purchase of Arkansas –based Pulaski Bank and Trust.[15]

Spring of 2008 began a period of rapid growth fueled by accumulating the assets of failed banks in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. It began with the assumption of insured deposits from Arkansas-based ANB Financial, the third FDIC-insured bank to fail in 2008.[16] The following year, IberiaBank assumed the assets and branches of Birmingham-based CapitalSouth, Orion Bank of Florida, and Century Bank of Florida. Its fifth and final FDIC-assisted transaction occurred late 2009 with the purchase of East Florida's Sterling Bank.[17]

IBERIABANK footprint

The company has grown to acquire 24 other banks since 2001.[9]

2003 - LBA Savings Bank (Lafayette, Louisiana)[18]

2004 - Alliance Bank (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) [19]

2005 - American Horizons Bank (Monroe, Louisiana) [20]

2007 - Pulaski Bank and Trust Company (Little Rock, Arkansas); First Community Bank (Jonesboro, Arkansas) [21]

2008 - ANB Financial (Bentonville, Arkansas) [22]

2009 - CapitalSouth (Birmingham, Alabama);[23] Orion Bank (Naples, Florida);[24] Century Bank (Sarasota, Florida);[25] Sterling Bank (Lantana, Florida)[17]

2011 - Omni Bank (Metairie, Louisiana);[26] Cameron State Bank (Lake Charles, Louisiana)[27]

2012 - Florida Gulf Bank (Ft. Myers, Florida)[28]

2014 - Trust One Bank (Memphis, Tennessee) from Synovus;[29] Teche Holding Company (Lafayette, Louisiana);[30] First Private (Dallas, Texas)[31]

2015 - Florida Bank Group Inc. (Tampa, Florida);[32] Old Florida Bankshares Inc. (Orlando, Florida);[33] and Georgia Commerce Bankshares Inc. (Atlanta, Georgia)[34]

2017 - Sabadell United Bank. (Miami, Florida);[35]

2018 - Gibraltar Private Bank. (Miami, Florida)

In November 2019, IberiaBank and Memphis, Tennessee-based First Horizon Bank agreed to a merger. The combined bank will be based in Memphis, and use the First Horizon name.[36] The merger closed July 2, 2020.[37]