Shareholder Spotlight : Unmasking Hancock Whitney – A Bank’s Legacy of Lies, Fraud, and Fuck-Ups

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Let’s cut the bullshit right from the start. Hancock Whitney Corp, that smug Gulf Coast banking behemoth, parades itself as a pillar of Southern reliability, all polished marble lobbies and folksy ads promising to safeguard your hard-earned cash. But peel back the veneer, and what do you find? A festering pile of scandals, lawsuits, and ethical lapses that would make a loan shark blush. This isn’t some isolated cock-up; it’s a pattern, a goddamned tradition of screwing over customers, employees, and anyone else in their path. From fiduciary fuck-ups to getting tangled in Ponzi schemes, Hancock Whitney has built an empire on the backs of the betrayed. And now, with their fingers in the pie of yet another dodgy outfit like Cummins Inc., you have to wonder: is this just bad luck, or are they actively seeking out the slime?

I’ve dug through the muck – court records, regulatory slaps, customer rants – and it’s all there, plain as the sweat on a crooked teller’s brow. This bank doesn’t just stumble into controversy; it dives headfirst, arms wide open. If you’re a shareholder, a customer, or just someone who hates seeing the little guy get shafted, buckle up. We’re about to expose the raw, gritty truth about an organisation that talks big on values but delivers nothing but grief.

Shareholders in Sleaze: The Cummins Connection

First off, let’s confirm the obvious: yes, Hancock Whitney Corp is indeed a shareholder in Cummins Inc., the engine giant that’s no stranger to bending rules. According to their latest filings, they’ve boosted their stake by a cheeky 2.1 percent in the first quarter, holding onto over 40,000 shares worth a cool 12.5 million quid. But why the hell does this matter? Because Cummins is fresh off a massive emissions scandal, paying out a record-breaking 1.675 billion dollars for installing defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines – software tricks that let trucks belch out illegal levels of pollution while fooling regulators. It’s Volkswagen dieselgate all over again, only this time with American muscle.

You have to question: is this just another link in the Cummins ecosystem’s chain of ‘alternative ideas’ on ethical behaviour? Cummins got caught red-handed circumventing clean air laws, prioritising profits over the planet and public health. And here comes Hancock Whitney, happily investing in them. Is it coincidence, or does this bank have a knack for aligning with outfits that treat regulations like suggestions? In a world where banks are supposed to vet their investments, this smells like wilful blindness – or worse, complicity in the grand tradition of corporate greed. If Hancock Whitney’s own history is anything to go by, it’s probably the latter.

Regulatory Rip-Offs: Fiduciary Duties? What Fiduciary Duties?

Dive into the archives, and you’ll find Hancock Whitney’s subsidiary, Hancock Whitney Investment Services, getting a proper bollocking from the SEC back in 2020. These wankers were caught breaching their fiduciary duties left, right, and centre between 2014 and 2017. Instead of picking the cheapest mutual fund shares for their clients, they went for the pricier ones that kicked back undisclosed fees – over a million in 12b-1 charges, plus revenue sharing and cash sweeps. It was a classic case of stuffing their pockets while clients got stiffed.

The SEC didn’t mince words: violations of the Investment Advisers Act, failure to seek best execution, and piss-poor compliance policies. Hancock Whitney coughed up 2.3 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, plus a cease-and-desist order. But here’s the kicker – no admission of wrongdoing, just a quiet settlement to make it go away. How many clients got fucked over in the process? Who knows; the bank sure as hell isn’t saying. This wasn’t a one-off; it’s symptomatic of a culture where ‘client first’ means ‘client pays for our bonuses’.

And let’s not forget the 2011 slap from the Employee Benefits Security Administration. Their subsidiary First NBC Bank got fined over 10,000 dollars for mucking about with employee benefit plans. Employment-related offence, they called it – code for screwing your own staff’s futures.

Tangled in Fraud: The Ponzi Scheme Debacle

If regulatory fines weren’t enough, Hancock Whitney got themselves knee-deep in an 810 million dollar Ponzi scheme run by DC Solar in 2019. This California outfit promised mobile solar generators but delivered sweet fuck all, using new investor cash to pay off the old ones in classic pyramid fashion. Hancock Whitney’s exposure through their loan portfolio? Enough to slash first-quarter earnings by 10.1 million, jack up loss provisions, and tank their share price by nearly two percent.

They claim they only learnt of the fraud in February 2019, after federal raids and bankruptcy filings. But come on – how does a major bank lend to a company with nonexistent assets without sniffing the rot? This wasn’t some mum-and-pop scam; it was a billion-dollar con involving fake revenues and phantom generators. Hancock Whitney’s involvement screams incompetence at best, negligence at worst. Customers and shareholders footed the bill, while execs probably shrugged and moved on to the next dodgy deal.

Inside Jobs: Embezzlement and Employee Betrayals

The rot goes right to the branches. Take Karen Farrell Tigler, a Hancock Whitney teller who embezzled 350,000 dollars from an 85-year-old client’s account between 2013 and 2016. She forged over 100 counter checks for bogus expenses like ‘roofing’ or ‘home renovations’, all while earning a piddling 20,000 a year. When confronted, she blamed the housekeeper – classy. Tigler also dodged taxes on the loot and her gambling winnings, pleading guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion. She got 27 months in the clink, but where was the bank’s oversight? How did this go unnoticed for three years? It’s a damning indictment of their internal controls – or lack thereof.

And it’s not just rogue tellers. In 2023, a collective-action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act accused Hancock Whitney of stiffing non-exempt employees on overtime for opening and closing procedures. Workers slaving away off the clock, while the bank pockets the savings. Classic corporate theft, dressed up as ‘efficiency’.

Customer Screws: Overdrafts, Discrimination, and Daily Grinds

Customers? Hancock Whitney treats them like ATMs with legs. Back in 2012, Whitney Bank (pre-merger) settled a class-action for 6.8 million over overdraft fees. The scam? Reordering transactions to maximise charges, gouging folks for every penny. They eliminated some fees in 2022 amid industry pressure, but too little, too late – the damage was done.

Then there’s the ugly side: racial discrimination. In 2019, African-American customer Nekeia Pullins sued after a one-day hold on her 8,456 dollar settlement check left her humiliated and treated like a criminal. Claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The court dismissed it in 2021 for lack of evidence, but the fact it happened speaks volumes. Was it policy, or prejudice? Either way, it’s a stain.

Don’t forget the 2020 unpaid wages suit by Michael Spriggs over sick leave – dismissed, but another headache. Or the 2023-2024 Jackson case, where ECOA and LUTPA claims got tossed. Routine? Maybe, but it piles up. Customer reviews are a shitshow: unexpected fees, undelivered bonuses, crap service. Yelp scores? A dismal 2.3 out of 5. WalletHub? Flooded with rants.

Merger Mayhem: Prioritising Pockets Over People

Even their big moves stink. In 2011, shareholders sued to block the Hancock-Whitney merger, alleging incomplete disclosures, fiduciary breaches, and execs like Chairman John Hope III feathering their nests with golden parachutes. A separate state suit claimed an unfair process and price. The Justice Department forced divestitures for antitrust issues. The merger went through, but not without dragging everyone through the mud.

Political Pandering: Yielding to the Woke Mob?

Finally, the conservative watchdog 1792 Exchange calls them out for caving to political activism – race-based policies, partisan initiatives that ditch merit for optics. Alienating stakeholders in the name of ‘progress’? It’s just another way Hancock Whitney bends to the wind, ethics be damned.

This isn’t a bank; it’s a cautionary tale. Hancock Whitney Corp has racked up scandals like badges of dishonour, from fraud entanglements to customer betrayals, all while investing in polluters like Cummins. They’ve paid fines, settled suits, but changed? Bollocks. It’s business as usual in the cesspool of corporate America. If you’re banking with them, ask yourself: is your money safe, or just funding the next fuck-up? Time to wake up and walk away.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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