EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWS RELEASE

January 28, 2002                               For Further Information Contact:
                                               L. Nash Allen, Jr. (662) 680-2330



                    BANCORPSOUTH, INC. ISSUES $125 MILLION OF
                           TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES

TUPELO, Miss., Jan. 28 -- BancorpSouth, Inc. (NYSE: "BXS") announced today the
issuance of 5,000,000 shares of 8.15% Trust Preferred Securities (TruPS(R)), $25
face value per share, due January 28, 2032, callable at the option of
BancorpSouth on or after January 28, 2007. The offerings will be lead managed by
Salomon Smith Barney Inc.

The Trust Preferred Securities represent undivided beneficial interests in
BancorpSouth Capital Trust I, which was established by BancorpSouth for the
purpose of issuing Trust Preferred Securities. The Trust Preferred Securities
are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by BancorpSouth and will be listed on
the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BXS PrA." BancorpSouth intends to
use the net proceeds from the transaction for general corporate purposes, which
may include repurchase of shares of its outstanding common stock, investments at
the holding company level, extensions of credit to its subsidiaries and possible
acquisitions.

BancorpSouth, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Tupelo,
Mississippi with approximately $9.4 billion in assets. BancorpSouth operates
approximately 250 commercial banking, insurance, trust, broker/dealer and
consumer finance locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee and Texas.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an
offer to buy nor shall there by any sale of these securities in any state in
which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration
or qualification under the securities laws of any such states.

Certain statements contained in this news release may not be based on historical
facts and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be
identified by their reference to a future period or periods or by the use of
forward-looking terminology






such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "may," "might," "will,"
"would" or "intend." These forward-looking statements include, without
limitation, those relating to the use of proceeds from the issuance of the Trust
Preferred Securities and the listing of the Trust Preferred Securities on the
New York Stock Exchange.

         We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking
statements contained in this news release in that actual results could differ
materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements, due to a
variety of factors. Those factors include, but are not limited to, changes in
economic conditions and government fiscal and monetary policies, fluctuations in
prevailing interest rates, laws and regulations affecting financial
institutions, the ability of BancorpSouth to compete with other financial
services companies, changes in BancorpSouth's operating or expansion strategy,
geographic concentration of BancorpSouth's assets, availability of and costs
associated with obtaining adequate and timely sources of liquidity, other
factors generally understood to affect the financial results of financial
services companies, and other factors described from time to time in
BancorpSouth's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake
no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.