New Commerce Bancorp (NCBS) 8-K Financial statements and exhibits

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT:	Frank W. Wingate
January 20, 2004		President and
		Chief Executive Officer
		(864) 297-6333

NEW COMMERCE BANCORP REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

GREENVILLE, SC – New Commerce BanCorp (OTC Bulletin Board: NCBS.OB), parent company of New Commerce Bank, reported fourth quarter 2003 net income of $38,912, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to net income of $5,255 or $0.01 per diluted share, for the same period in 2002.

For the year ended December 31, 2003, net income was $85,794, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to net income of $37,528, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2002.

Assets totaled $85.0 million at December 31, 2003 and represented a $21.4 million increase from December 31, 2002. The loan portfolio increased $19.6 million to $58.0 million from December 31, 2002 and represented 68% of total assets. Non-performing loans as of the end of the quarter totaled $72,000, or 0.12% of gross loans. Total deposits were $71.9 million at December 31, 2003, a $24.4 million increase from the fourth quarter of 2002.

New Commerce Bank has two offices serving individual and business clients in the Golden Strip area of Greenville County. The main office is located on East Butler Road at I-385 and the Five Forks office is located on Woodruff Road at Batesville Road in Simpsonville.

Certain statements in this news release contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to future growth and expectations, and are thus prospective. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, such as a downturn in the economy, greater than expected non interest expenses or excessive loan losses which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

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NEW COMMERCE BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS DATA:

	Three Months Ended				Year Ended
	December 31,				December 31,
	2003		2002		2003		2002
Net interest income	$	632	$	517	$	2,259	$	1,971
Provision for loan losses		98		42		272		110
Noninterest income		190		137		647		408
Noninterest expense		663		604		2,498		2,207
Income before income tax expense		61		8		136		62
Income tax expense		22		3		50		24
Net income		39		5		86		38
Basic earnings per share	$	0.04	$	0.01	$	0.09	$	0.04
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.04	$	0.01	$	0.08	$	0.04
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		1,000,000		1,000,000		1,000,000		1,000,000
Diluted		1,021,892		1,018,372		1,018,961		1,014,473

BALANCE SHEET DATA:

	December 31,
	2003		2002
Total assets	$	85,044	$	63,633
Total earning assets		78,230		56,282
Gross loans		58,044		38,430
Allowance for loan losses		726		492
Investment securities		14,573		14,510
Total deposits		71,876		47,522
Total interest-bearing deposits		59,758		42,354
Other borrowings		3,750		4,725
Total liabilities		76,375		54,794
Shareholders' equity		8,669		8,839
Book value per share	$	8.67	$	8.84

SELECTED RATIOS:

	December 31,
	2003			2002
Net interest margin		3.61	%		4.03	%
Allowance for loan losses as
a percentage of gross loans		1.25	%		1.28	%
Gross loans to deposits		80.76	%		80.86	%
Non-performing loans to gross loans		0.12	%		0.00	%
Net charge-offs (recoveries) to
average loans		0.08	%		0.07	%
Capital ratios (Bank only):
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets)		10.50	%		14.47	%
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets)		11.56	%		15.47	%
Leverage ratio (to average assets)		9.44	%		11.85	%