Mountain 1st Bank Announces Formation of a Private Banking Division

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 1st Financial Services Corporation (the "Company"), Hendersonville, North Carolina (OTC Bulletin Board: FFIS), the parent company of Mountain 1st Bank and Trust Company (the "Bank"), announced today the formation of Mountain 1st Bank and Trust Private Banking Division. Michael Mayer, CEO, stated, "We are pleased to capitalize on one of our primary strengths, a solid retail distribution system and an outstanding customer service culture, by expanding into a line of business that will appeal to large deposit customers in Western North Carolina.  I was attracted to our company due to the proven depositing gathering capacity and felt we needed to expand on this core competency."  

Barbara Bridges, a tenured banker in Western North Carolina with approximately 20 years of banking experience, will manage this new division and states, "I am excited to be part of Mountain 1st and believe the community banking platform is ideally suited to meet the high standards our target client desires.  Mountain 1st Bank is attractive to me due to their focus on the customer and excellence in service."

Vince Rees, President, added, "We are pleased to have Barbara as a valued member of our team.  We are fortunate to attract such a high caliber employee to our company and are convinced she will have a material impact.  She has a proven track record of growing a private banking line of business and has deep roots in the communities we serve.  The combination of our strong brand, customer oriented branch system, and Barbara's large following in the Western North Carolina, gives me great optimism as we launch this new line of business."

The Mountain 1st Bank and Trust Private Banking Division will handle the banking needs of high net worth clients who desire individual attention and specialized service.  Mountain 1st will provide exclusive deposit and loan products to serve this market niche.

About 1st Financial Services Corporation

Formed in May 2008, 1st Financial Services Corporation is the parent company of Mountain 1st Bank & Trust Company, and is currently traded on the Over The Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol FFIS. Established in May of 2004, with approximately $800 million in assets, Mountain 1st Bank and Trust's more than 173 employees serve ten counties in western North Carolina through 15 full service branches. For more information, visit www.mountain1st.com.

Disclosures About Forward Looking Statements  

This press release may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. For the purposes of these discussions, any statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Such statements are often characterized by the use of qualifying words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "plans," "projects," or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of the Company and its management about future events. The accuracy of such forward looking statements could be affected by factors including, but not limited to, the financial success or changing conditions or strategies of the Bank's customers or vendors, fluctuations in interest rates, actions of government regulators, the availability of capital and personnel or general economic conditions.  Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by forward looking statements are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.  The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update these statements following the date of this press release.

SOURCE 1st Financial Services Corporation