First Citizens Bank to Build New Forsyth Main Office in Winston-Salem

Bank's 13th Guilford Branch to Provide Full-Service Banking at Convenient Location

June 7, 2001

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - First Citizens Bank plans to build a major new facility that will serve as the bank's Forsyth area main office. The facility will be located in Winston-Salem at the intersection of Stratford and Bethesda roads.

Preliminary design work calls for a two-story, 13,000-square-foot building to be constructed in a Georgian-influenced classical style with a stucco exterior - similar to the style used consistently on First Citizens' new branches throughout its markets.

"This new main office represents our long-term commitment to Forsyth County and the Winston-Salem community," said Area Executive Mont Hamrick. "The site, along one of the city's most developed business corridors, is a convenient, accessible location, and it will allow us to better meet the financial needs of our customers."

The office will house a full-service branch, area executive management and key sales personnel - commercial and business bankers, mortgage lenders and investor services associates.

Subject to regulatory and local building approvals, construction of the new Stratford Road facility is expected to start in the third quarter of 2001, with completion anticipated the middle of 2002.

The former Salem Electric Co. building, currently situated on the 1.4-acre site, will be razed in June to make way for the new facility. The new branch will replace the existing main office, now located about a mile and a half away.

First Citizens has 11 branches in Forsyth County and offers a complete array of financial services including mortgages, investments, and consumer and business banking products.

"We've provided the stability, the personal service, the products and the technology that our customers have come to expect and deserve for more than 103 years, and we're here to stay," Hamrick said. "The construction of this major new facility will help us continue to deliver our customer-first brand of banking for many years to come."

Founded in 1898, First Citizens operates 360 branches in 204 cities and towns in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Headquartered in Raleigh, the bank has $11.15 billion in assets. First Citizens Bank is committed to providing superior financial services to individual customers and small to mid-sized businesses. For more information about First Citizens Bank and its services, visit firstcitizens.com or call toll-free 1-888-FC-DIRECT (1-888-323-4732).

For more information, contact:
Barbara Thompson
(919) 716-2716
First Citizens Bank