Citizens Trust Bank Acquires the Peoples Bank Full Service Branch in Lithonia, Georgia

/PRNewswire / -- Citizens Trust Bank, the banking subsidiary of Citizens Bancshares Corporation, is pleased to announce that it has completed the purchase of the Peoples Bank branch in Lithonia, Georgia. The acquisition of the Lithonia branch of Peoples Bank will provide Citizens Trust Bank with an estimated $50 million in additional deposits and a projected $400 million in total assets.

Under the leadership of President and CEO, James E. Young, Citizens Trust Bank is living up to its commitment to its shareholders and customers by continuing to grow while maintaining a strong and solid foundation. "We believe the purchase of this branch will add significantly to our already strong presence in DeKalb County. We welcome our new Lithonia associates to our family and are looking forward to working with them," stated Young. "Together, we are able to offer the customers personalized service with a familiar face and a more convenient banking experience."

The addition of the new location will increase Citizens Trust Bank's financial centers from 10 to 11, throughout Georgia and Alabama. Our new customers of Lithonia can look forward to the convenience of having more locations to do their banking. Citizens Trust Bank has completed several successful mergers and acquisitions; therefore we believe the transition for our customers from Peoples Bank to Citizens Trust Bank will be seamless.

Citizens Bancshares Corporation is a holding company that provides a full range of commercial and personal banking services to individual and corporate customers. Citizens Trust Bank, formed in 1921, is committed to enabling their customers and the community to realize dreams of economic empowerment. As a leader in the financial services industry, Citizens Trust Bank operates under a state charter and currently serves Georgia and Alabama with eleven financial centers. As of September 30, 2008, Citizens Bancshares Corporation had total consolidated assets of approximately $335 million, net loans of approximately $212 million, total deposits of approximately $287 million, and shareholders' equity of approximately $33 million. For more information on Citizens Trust Bank please visit www.CTBconnect.com.

Sandler O'Neill + Partners L.P. served as financial advisor to Citizens Trust Bank in the acquisition and Hunton & Williams LLP served as legal advisor to Citizens Trust Bank.

Statements concerning future performance, events, expectations for growth and market forecasts, and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. Specific factors include, but are not limited to, the ability to continue to grow Citizens Trust Bank and the services it provides, the ability to successfully integrate new business lines and expand into new markets, competition in the marketplace and general economic conditions. The information contained in this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in Citizens Bancshares Corporation's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as they may be amended from time to time. Results of operations for the most recent quarter are not necessarily indicative of operating results for any future periods. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to management, which is subject to change. Although any such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, the bank will not necessarily update the information, since management will only provide guidance at certain points during the year. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect our financial results are included in filings by Citizens Bancshares Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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