TUPELO — With Cadence Bank transitioning away from municipal and commercial bond issuances, the City of Tupelo, alongside many of the bank’s customers, will have their paying agent changed to a new corporation.

The Tupelo City Council voted unanimously among present members to approve Arkansas-based Bank of OZK as the successor paying agent for $3 million in general obligation bonds from 2013, $9 million in general obligation refunding bonds. The change will not affect the payment schedule or rates, just the corporation handling the bond issue.

“(The transition) will be seamless as far as we are concerned,” Tupelo Chief Financial Officer Kim Hanna said, noting she was not sure of the timeline of the transition itself but that the next invoice the city will receive will be from Bank of OZK in January.

Ward 1 Councilman Chad Mims and Ward 7 Councilwoman Rosie Jones were absent. Ward 6 Councilwoman Janet Gaston recused herself from discussion and the vote because of her connection to Cadence Bank. Her husband currently works for the company and she previously worked for Bancorp South, which merged with Cadence in October 2021.

Hanna noted that the 2013 bond’s last will be 2028 and the last payment for the 2016 refunding bond will be next year. The two bonds have a total of 1,015,000 remaining to pay off, she added.

“We don’t really have a whole lot outstanding,” she said, noting that the city may pay those bills early but likely won’t.