First Citizens Reports Earnings for First Quarter 2001

April 23, 2001

RALEIGH, N.C. — First Citizens BancShares Inc. (Nasdaq: FCNCA) reports earnings for the quarter ending March 31, 2001, of $22.9 million, a 17.1 percent increase from the $19.5 million for the corresponding period of 2000, according to Lewis R. Holding, chairman of the board.

Per share income for the first quarter 2001 totaled $2.17 compared to $1.84 for the same period a year ago. First Citizens' current quarter results generated an annualized return on average assets of 0.86 percent and an annualized return on average equity of 11.32 percent, compared to respective returns of 0.81 percent and 10.68 percent during the first quarter of 2000.

Holding noted net income during the first quarter of 2001 included $3.3 million in after-tax gains resulting primarily from an investment in a processing company. Discounting the nonrecurring gains from the first quarter of 2001, net income was $19.6 million or $1.86 per share. The adjusted annualized return on average assets was 0.74 percent, and the adjusted annualized return on average equity was 9.68 percent.

Ignoring the impact of the nonrecurring gain, noninterest income increased 14.5 percent during the first quarter of 2001 compared to the same period of 2000. Core noninterest income was $47.4 million and $41.4 million in the first quarter of 2001 and 2000, respectively. Noninterest income benefited from higher income from service charges on deposit accounts, credit card income and commission-based income from investment and insurance activities.

Net interest income increased 3.3 percent during the first quarter of 2001 compared to the same period in 2000 due to balance sheet growth. Average loans grew by $312 million or 4.6 percent from the first quarter of 2000 to the first quarter of 2001. However, interest rate movements negatively impacted net interest income. While the yield on interest-earning assets increased 35 basis points from the first quarter of 2000 to the same period of 2001, the aggregate rate on all interest-bearing liabilities rose 64 basis points. As a result, for the three-month period ending March 31, 2001, the net yield on interest-earning assets equaled 3.93 percent, down 26 basis points from the same period in 2000.

Noninterest expenses totaled $102.8 million in the first quarter of 2001, an increase of 6.8 percent over the $96.3 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. Higher personnel and occupancy costs resulting from branch expansion contributed to much of the growth in noninterest expenses in the first quarter of 2001.

The provision for loan losses charged to operations was $5.7 million during the first three months of 2001, compared to $3.5 million during the same period of 2000. The 64.1 percent increase was the result of higher net charge-offs. Net charge-offs were $4.5 million for the first three months of 2001, compared to $2.6 million for the first three months of 2000. The ratio of net charge-offs to average loans outstanding was 0.26 percent for the first quarter of 2001, compared to 0.15 percent for the same period of 2000. The large increase during 2001 was primarily due to higher charge-offs on commercial loans.

As of March 31, 2001, Raleigh, N.C.—based First Citizens had assets of $11.15 billion. Two of BancShares' major subsidiaries are First Citizens Bank with 358 branches in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virgina, and Atlantic States Bank with 43 branches in North Metro Atlanta and Southwest and North Florida. For more information, visit the First Citizens web site at firstcitizens.com

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CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(thousand, except share data; unaudited)	Three Months Ended March 31 2001	2000
Interest Income	$189,026	$163,986
Interest expense	96,443	74,381
Net interest Income	92,583	89,605
Provision for loan losses	5,676	3,459
Net interest income after provision for loan losses	86,907	86,146
Noninterest Income	52,811	41,351
Noninterest expense	102,800	96,287
Income before income taxes	36,918	31,210
Income taxes	14,059	11,696
Net Income	$22,859	$19,514
Taxable-equivalent net interest income	$93,091	$90,374
Net income per share	$2.17	$1.84
Cash dividends per share	0.25	0.25
Profitability Information (annualized)
Return on average assets	0.86%	0.81%
Return on average equity	11.32	10.68
Taxable-equivalent net yield on interest-earning assets	3.93	4.19

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(thousand, except share data; unaudited)	March 31 2001	December 31 2000	March 31 2000
Cash and due from banks	$690,079	$755,930	$446,995
Investment securities	1,868,886	1,816,720	1,547,214
Loans	7,124,535	7,109,692	6,828,095
Reserve for loan losses	(103,825)	(102,655)	(99,590)
Other assets	1,566,241	1,111,930	1,158,018
Total assets	$11,145,916	$10,691,617	$9,880,732
Deposits	$9,365,356	$8,971,868	$8,295,850
Other liabilities	950,425	909,021	843,746
Shareholder's equity	830,135	810,728	741,136
Total liabilities and shareholder's equity	$11,145,916	$10,691,617	$9,880,732
Book value per shared	$78.96	$77.04	$70.14
Tangible book value per share	67.52	65.76	59.79

SELECTED MAMA AVERAGE BALANCES
(thousand, except shares outstanding; unaudited)		Three Months Ended March 31 1999	1998
Total assets	$10,785,178	$9,658,251
Investment securities	1,854,401	1,497,278
Loans	7,101,238	6,789,203
Interest-earning assets	9,616,498	8,667,039
Deposits	9,037,155	8,128,968
Interest-bearing liabilities	8,470,303	7,512,781
Shareholder's equity	$822,939	$734,777
Shares Outstanding	10,521,253	10,592,378

ASSET QUALITY
(dollars in thousand, unaudited)	March 31 2001	December 31 2000	March 31 2000
Nonaccrual loans	$12,830	$15,933	$10,546
Other real estate	3,082	1,880	2,071
Total nonperforming assets	$15,912	$17,813	$12,617
Accuring loans 90 days or more past due	$6,413	$6,731	$5,294
Met charge-offs (year-to-date)	4,506	11,523	2,559
Nonperforming assets to gross loans plus other real estate	0.22%	0.25%	0.18%
Reserve for loan losses to gross loans	1.46	1.44	1.46
Net charge-offs to average total loans (annualized)	0.26	0.17	0.15

CAPITAL INFORMATION
(dollars in thousands, unaudited)	March 31 2001	December 31 2000	March 31 2000
Tier 1 capital	$850,330	$835,678	$776,973
Total capital	959,351	940,260	876,282
Risk-weighted assets	8,191,608	8,057,478	7,709,312
Tier 1 capital ratio	10.38%	10.37%	10.08%
Total capital ratio	11.71	11.67	11.37
Leverage capital ratio	7.97	8.11	8.14
First Citizens BancShares, Inc. and Subsidiaries

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