BancorpSouth Bank received approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance for the Tupelo, Miss.-based bank's acquisitions of Temple, Texas-based Central Community Corp. and Monroe, La.-based Ouachita Bancshares Corp.

The announcement came more than two months after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. upgraded the bank's Community Reinvestment Act rating to "satisfactory." The deals were first announced in January 2014 and were delayed because of regulatory concerns over included Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering issues and fair-lending practices. The company reached a settlement over discrimination claims with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in mid-2016.

Subject to the completion of customary closing items, the mergers are expected to close on Jan. 15, 2018.