FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 13, 2005Arthur State Bank Opens New Location in Columbia, SC

Columbia, SC –President and CEO of Arthur State Bank, J. Carlisle Oxner, III, is pleased to announce the opening of a new branch located at 2140 Beltline Blvd.  The branch is located across from Richland Mall and will open on Friday, April 15th.  This will be a full-service branch offering both drive-thru and ATM access.  Operating hours will be 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday - Thursday and 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM on Friday with the drive-thru opening at 8:00 AM Monday - Friday. Heather Sewell will be working as the Customer Service Representative / Branch Supervisor.  Both Johnny Carlton and Bob Welling are Senior Vice Presidents and will serve as the senior lenders in the Columbia market.  The branch phone number is 803-743-4220 and the fax number is 803-743-4230.   Arthur State Bank is a full service community bank providing various deposit accounts including: free personal checking, business checking, certificate's of deposit, IRA's, health savings accounts, IOLTA accounts and saving accounts. Other services include a Trust department and consumer, commercial and mortgage loans.  The bank also offers free online banking and free telephone banking services. The bank will give away a Dodge Ram Truck and a Ranger Bass Boat in June/July this year.  Entry forms are available at all branches and online at www.arthurstatebank.com.  Official Promotion Rules and details of the giveaways are available on our website.     Arthur State Bank is privately owned and based in Union, SC.  The bank was founded in 1933 by General Harry Arthur.  Arthur State Bank now operates 17 offices in SC including Chesnee, Clinton, Columbia, Greenville, Rock Hill, Spartanburg, Union, and Woodruff.Arthur State Bank is a member FDIC.