TAMPA - Whitney Bank, a New Orleans-based bank with a relatively small presence locally, is looking to beef up operations with a regional headquarters in Tampa.

Whitney Holding Corp. has had operations scattered across the Bay area since buying Madison BancShares of Palm Harbor five years ago. It has 16 locations in the Bay area, but just one in Hillsborough County, inside an office building on Boy Scout Boulevard in Tampa.

Now, the bank is leasing 8,000 square feet inside Corporate Center I, an office building on West Shore Boulevard near International Plaza mall. In January, the bank will create a regional headquarters there for the Bay area, with Tampa Bay Region President Eric Obeck overseeing the area presidents for Pinellas and Sarasota/Manatee counties.

About 25 people initially will work out of the West Shore building, where the bank will get prominent exterior signage and operate a retail branch, Obeck said.
Whitney Bank has just less than $1 billion in assets locally.