EXHIBIT 99


                       [QUITMAN BANCORP, INC. LETTERHEAD]


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
- ---------------------                     -----------------------
                                          CONTACT:
                                          --------
October 30, 1998                          Melvin E. Plair
                                          President and Chief Executive
                                          Officer
                                          (912) 263-7538

                QUITMAN BANCORP, INC. ANNOUNCES STOCK REPURCHASE

         Quitman,  Georgia -- Quitman Bancorp,  Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board - QTMB)
the parent holding company of Quitman Federal Savings Bank, today announced that
it has  received  the  necessary  regulatory  and Board  approval  to initiate a
repurchase  plan  covering up to 15% or 99,000  shares of the  Company's  common
stock to be  purchased  in the open market.  The company  currently  has 661,250
shares of common stock  outstanding.  Mr.  Melvin E. Plair,  President and Chief
Executive  Officer of the  Company,  indicated  that the  repurchase  plan could
mitigate some of the potentially  dilutive effects of the stock option plan that
the Company is planning and would also be available for general  corporate  use.
The  repurchases  will be made  from time to time in  open-market  transactions,
subject to the availability of stock.

         The Company  became the holding  company for the Bank on April 2, 1998,
following  its  initial  public  offering at the time of the  conversion  of the
Company from a mutual holding company to stock holding company.

         Quitman Federal Savings Bank is a federally chartered savings bank that
conducts  its business in Brooks  County,  Georgia from our location in Quitman.
The Bank's  deposits  are insured up to the maximum  legal amount by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC").