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PRESS RELEASE




For more information Contact:  Julia W. Taylor - 919-687-7820

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                            JULIA TAYLOR TO RETIRE AS
                 PRESIDENT AND CEO OF MECHANICS AND FARMERS BANK

Durham, N.C.--June 28, 2000

Julia W. Taylor, Chairman, President and CEO of Mechanics and Farmers Bank has
announced her retirement as President and CEO on or about September 30, 2000.
Lee Johnson, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Financial
Group Executive is expected to be appointed President and Chief Operating
Officer.

Taylor became President and CEO of the Bank in 1983. At that time, she was one
of two female commercial bank presidents in North Carolina and the only African
American in the United States in recent years. She was also elected Chairman of
the Board of Directors in 1987 and Chairman, President and CEO of the recently
formed M&F Bancorp, Inc., a one-bank holding company. She has guided the Bank
from $53,000,000 to over $157,000,000 during her tenure. Under her leadership
the Bank has taken a very aggressive stance in building a technology focus,
which she says has poised M&F to compete effectively with the larger banks.

Under Taylor's leadership the Bank has received many awards for its service to
the communities where the Bank operates. M&F continues to receive recognition
for its safety and soundness on a regular basis.

Recently, M&F Bank completed its move of its corporate offices from West Parrish
Street in Durham, which was once considered the "Black Wall Street", to Chapel
Hill Boulevard. Taylor says that she is pleased with the accomplishments that
the Bank has made and hopes that the foundations that have been laid will
provide the Bank with all that it needs to serve a much larger population in
Durham, Raleigh, Charlotte and Winston-Salem.

Taylor began her career with Mechanics and Farmers Bank in Raleigh in 1955 as a
teller and left in 1960 to work for Bank of America and Broadway Federal Savings
and Loan Association in Los Angeles. She returned to Mechanics and Farmers Bank
in Raleigh in 1965 where she worked her way up through the ranks from Assistant
Cashier to Senior Vice President-City Executive prior to becoming President.
Taylor says she is looking forward to having the time to smell the roses and
spend time with family.


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M&F Bancorp, Inc., with assets of approximately $157 million, is the parent of
Mechanics and Farmers Bank of Durham, North Carolina. M&F Bancorp, Inc.'s stock
trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol "MFBP."

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Statements in this news release looking forward in time involve risks and
uncertainties, including regulatory approvals, completion of the due diligence
process, success of acquiring new locations and integrating newly acquired
branches, additional expansion opportunities, the effect of changing economic
conditions, product demand, changes in the regulatory environment, and other
risk factors detailed in M&F Bancorp's Securities and Exchange Commission
filings.