A Trustmark contact tells GlobeSt.com that Republic'sre-branding to Trustmark will begin immediately. "The signs arebeginning to change as we speak and the re-branding process will becompleted within the next several weeks," he says. "Customers havehad several pieces of communication from our CEO and CFO announcingthe changes as well." Under the terms of the April 13 mergeragreement, Trustmark will issue approximately 3.3 million shares ofcommon stock and pay $100 million in cash for Republic Bancshares'outstanding common and preferred shares.

In addition to taking over the 11 Republic Banking centers inHouston, Trustmark plans to open six additional centers in the areaduring the next three to 18 months. The Trustmark spokesman saysthe first new Trustmark bank is scheduled for a "soft" opening inthe coming days, with the grand opening slated for Sept. 8.

In a prepared statement about the merger, Trustmark's chairmanand CEO Richard Hickson says the entry into Houston marketcontinues to be a "strategic focus" for the Jackson, MS-basedcompany. "We also refined our plans to build an enhanced retail,mortgage banking and wealth management platform in Houston tocomplement Republic's strong middle-market commercial lendingbase," Hickson says.