Cloutier Participates in Historic FDIC 'Transparency' Forum on Wall Street Reform Act

LAFAYETTE, La., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE Amex: MSL) On August 12 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced an open door policy that will make it easier for the public to give input and track the rulemaking process as the agency implements the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. On Tuesday, August 31, the FDIC held the first in a planned series of roundtable discussions, seeking market views from a wide representation of banking and financial services executives, including MidSouth Bank President and CEO C. R. "Rusty" Cloutier.

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Also participating in the forum were senior officers from Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs & Company, JPMorganChase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Standard & Poors, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, WL Ross and Yale University School of Management. Cloutier, who appeared as a representative of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), expressed strong support for provisions in the Wall Street Reform Act that grant resolution authority to the FDIC.

"Community banks like mine are the backbone of our nation's economy now more than ever as they continue to support and drive the economic needs of their local communities in cities and towns throughout America," Cloutier said immediately after Tuesday's meeting. "To further promote financial stability and end too-big-to-fail, it's critical that the FDIC have resolution powers to liquidate systemically risky institutions in an orderly manner so that they never again have the ability to nearly topple our nation's economic system, as they did almost two years ago."

During the financial reform debate, ICBA advocated vigorously for broad FDIC resolution authority over systemically dangerous firms to make sure that large nonbank financial companies, such as securities brokers, dealers and hedge funds, are subject to the same rigorous standards as community banks. ICBA also supports requiring contingent resolution plans for the largest and most complex insured financial institutions to ensure that they can be wound down or resolved in a timely and organized fashion.

President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank bill into law on July 21.

"Now that Congress has acted and the President has signed the bill into law, it is in the regulators' ballpark to implement the new reforms as quickly and openly as possible," FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said in an August 12 FDIC press release. "I think transparency is a significant issue for each step along the way. We owe it to the public to have an open door policy so that people can see for themselves how financial services reform is going to be implemented."

The FDIC's transparency policy goes well beyond what is required by the Administrative Procedure Act that governs federal rulemaking. Under the new policy the public will have a larger role in the process than ever before, including being able to participate even before regulatory reform rules are drafted and proposed. What's more, public disclosure of meetings between senior FDIC officials and private sector individuals will enhance openness and accountability. This voluntary public disclosure policy will apply to meetings discussing how the FDIC should interpret or implement provisions of the Wall Street Reform Act that are subject to independent or joint rulemaking by the FDIC.

About MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.

MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. (MSL) is a bank holding company headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana with assets of $972 million as of June 30, 2010. 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 34 locations in Louisiana and Texas and more than 50 ATMs.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, among others, statements regarding future results, changes in the local and national economy including the Gulf oil spill and deepwater drilling moratorium, the work-out of nonaccrual loans and potential acquisitions. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

Factors that might cause such a difference include, among other matters, changes in interest rates and market prices that could affect the net interest margin, asset valuation, and expense levels; changes in local economic and business conditions, including, without limitation, changes related to the oil and gas industries, that could adversely affect customers and their ability to repay borrowings under agreed upon terms, adversely affect the value of the underlying collateral related to their borrowings, and reduce demand for loans; the timing and ability to reach any agreement to restructure nonaccrual loans; increased competition for deposits and loans which could affect compositions, rates and terms; the timing and impact of future acquisitions, the success or failure of integrating operations, and the ability to capitalize on growth opportunities upon entering new markets; loss of critical personnel and the challenge of hiring qualified personnel at reasonable compensation levels; legislative and regulatory changes, including changes in banking, securities and tax laws and regulations and their application by our regulators, changes in the scope and cost of FDIC insurance and other coverages, and changes in the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in MidSouth's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 filed with the SEC on March 16, 2010 and in its other filings with the SEC.

MidSouth does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE MidSouth Bancorp, Inc.