Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2009
Citizens Bancshares Corporation Announces 2009 Dividend Payment
ATLANTA, March 31, 2009 /PRNewswire—FirstCall/ — Citizens Bancshares Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: CZBS) (the “Company”), the parent company of Citizens Trust Bank (CTB), announced today it has declared an annual dividend on common stock of $0.19 per share, payable on April 30, 2009 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 10, 2009.
As a leader in the financial services industry, Citizens Trust Bank prides itself on offering a full range of quality products and services. Since its inception, the Bank has remained dedicated to the growth and development of communities through superior products and extraordinary service through its financial centers in metropolitan Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, and in Birmingham and Eutaw, Alabama. Citizens Bancshares Corporation common stock is offered over-the-counter to the general public under the trading symbol CZBS. For more information please visit Citizens Trust Bank on the web at www.CTBconnect.com. Citizens Trust Bank — A relationship you can bank on.
Certain statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K which are not historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that might cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, deterioration in the general economic and market conditions, either national or in the local communities in which the Bank operates, changes in interest rates, changes in competition in the financial services industry, changes in banking regulations, decreases in the demand for loans in the market areas served by the Bank, and other risk factors relating to the banking industry in general, as detailed from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described under “Item 1A — Risk Factors” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made to reflect unanticipated events.
Contact:
Citizens Bancshares Corporation
Cynthia N. Day, Chief Operating Officer
(404) 575-8306
SOURCE: Citizens Bancshares Corporation
