FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information: Ronald L. Thigpen John Marsh Executive Vice President and COO President Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. Marsh Communications LLC 706-481-1014 770-458-7553 Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. Reports Record Second Quarter 2006 Earnings AUGUSTA, Ga., July 21, 2006 - Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. (OTCBB:SBFC), the holding company for Georgia Bank & Trust Company of Augusta and Southern Bank & Trust of Aiken, S.C., today reported record quarterly net income of $2.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2006, an increase of 21.6 percent from $2.4 million in the second quarter of 2005. Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2006 were $0.55, a 22.2 percent increase from $0.45 for the same period last year. Total assets at June 30, 2006, were $937.9 million, and total deposits were $729.6 million. This represents an increase of 19.3 percent in assets and 18.4 percent in deposits over June 30, 2005, when total assets and deposits were $786.3 million and $616.1 million, respectively. Net interest income for the second quarter of 2006 totaled $8.4 million, a 17.9 percent increase from $7.2 million for the same period of 2005. Second quarter 2006 noninterest income rose to $3.8 million from $3.2 million a year ago, an increase of 19.4 percent, reflecting a broad-based increase in service charges and fee income, with particular strength in retail investment income and trust service fees. "Robust loan growth across the company helped spur our strong overall performance in the second quarter," said President and Chief Executive Officer R. Daniel Blanton. "Both our new Georgia Bank & Trust office in Athens, Ga., and our new Southern Bank & Trust affiliate in Aiken, S.C., have contributed solidly to our growth. In addition, our healthy increase in noninterest income is a testament to our ability to increase fee income to balance continuing margin pressure in this difficult rate environment." Asset growth continued at a strong pace during the second quarter. At June 30, 2006, loans outstanding were $658.7 million, reflecting an increase of $106.4 million, or 19.3 percent, compared to the same period last year. Annualized return on average assets (ROA) was 1.27 percent for the second quarter of 2006, and annualized return on average shareholder's equity (ROE) was 17.48 percent. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2006, totaled $5.4 million, a 20.0 percent increase over the $4.5 million reported in the same period of 2005. Diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2006, were $1.01, versus $0.84 per share for the same period a year ago, a 20.2 percent increase. Net interest income for the first six months of 2006 was $16.4 million, up 18.9 percent from the $13.8 million in the first six months of 2005. Noninterest income was $7.1 million for the first six months of 2006, an increase of 19.9 percent from $5.9 million in the same period of 2005. 1 "We're very pleased with the quality of growth we have achieved in the second quarter and first half of 2006," said Blanton. "Increasing net income, EPS, loans and deposits at a double-digit rate through the first half of the year attest to the core strength of our company. With the recent charter approval of our new South Carolina affiliate, Southern Bank & Trust, we look to continue delivering quality growth and value to our shareholders as we progress toward our immediate goal of reaching and exceeding $1 billion in assets." About Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. is the $938 million-asset bank holding company of Georgia Bank & Trust Company of Augusta (GB&T) and Southern Bank & Trust (SB&T). GB&T is the largest locally owned and operated community bank in the Augusta metro market, with eight full-service Augusta-area offices and an office in Athens, Ga. SB&T is a full-service, federally chartered thrift serving the Aiken County, S.C., market. The company also has mortgage operations in Augusta and Savannah. The banks focus primarily on real estate, commercial and consumer loans to individuals, small to medium-sized businesses and professionals, and also provide wealth management and trust services. The company's common stock is publicly traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol SBFC. For more information, please visit the company's Web site, www.georgiabankandtrust.com. Safe Harbor Statement - Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this release by Southeastern Bank Financial Corporation (The Company) other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made based upon management's belief as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company's actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: unanticipated changes in the Bank's local economy and in the national economy; governmental monetary and fiscal policies; deposit levels, loan demand, loan collateral values and securities portfolio values; difficulties in interest rate risk management; difficulties in expanding our operations into new geographic areas and dealing with an additional regulatory agency; the effects of competition in the banking business; changes in governmental regulation relating to the banking industry, including regulations relating to branching and acquisitions; failure of assumptions underlying the establishment of reserves for loan losses, including the value of collateral underlying delinquent loans; and other factors. The Company cautions that such factors are not exclusive. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by, or on behalf of, the Company. 2 SOUTHEASTERN BANK FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARY Consolidated Balance Sheets ASSETS June 30, 2006 December 31, (Unaudited) 2005 ------------- -------------- Cash and due from banks $ 19,572,531 $ 18,792,799 Federal funds sold 8,124,000 2,758,000 Interest-bearing deposits in other banks 512,406 1,012,257 ------------- -------------- Cash and cash equivalents 28,208,937 22,563,056 Investment securities Available-for-sale 202,271,023 197,551,996 Held-to-maturity, at cost (fair values of $3,352,195 and $3,897,341, respectively) 3,275,847 3,776,040 Loans held for sale 20,101,184 22,146,834 Loans 638,618,458 579,087,791 Less allowance for loan losses (9,304,146) (9,124,801) ------------- -------------- Loans, net 629,314,312 569,962,990 Premises and equipment, net 22,038,107 21,376,183 Accrued interest receivable 4,775,293 4,624,023 Bank-owned life insurance 15,666,519 11,863,276 Restricted equity securities 4,936,281 4,287,481 Other assets 7,345,431 6,125,360 ------------- -------------- $937,932,934 $ 864,277,239 ============= ============== LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Deposits Noninterest-bearing $104,373,028 $ 97,083,931 Interest-bearing: NOW accounts 114,281,798 100,692,388 Savings 254,044,309 265,131,754 Money management accounts 44,951,173 37,719,408 Time deposits over $100,000 153,375,134 122,009,813 Other time deposits 58,612,194 41,017,555 ------------- -------------- 729,637,636 663,654,849 Federal funds purchased and securities sold under repurchase agreements 54,404,190 67,013,416 Advances from Federal Home Loan Bank 60,000,000 52,000,000 Other borrowed funds 400,000 1,000,000 Accrued interest payable and other liabilities 7,225,394 7,025,767 Subordinated debentures 20,000,000 10,000,000 ------------- -------------- Total liabilities 871,667,220 800,694,032 ------------- -------------- Stockholders' equity: Common stock, $3.00 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,279,549 and 5,279,241 shares issued In 2006 and 2005, respectively; 5,279,440 and 5,263,144 shares outstanding in 2006 and 2005, respectively 15,838,647 15,837,723 Additional paid-in capital 34,311,955 34,138,876 Retained earnings 20,113,703 16,099,414 Treasury stock, at cost 109 and 16,097 shares in 2006 and 2005, respectively (4,033) (233,898) Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (3,994,558) (2,258,908) ------------- -------------- Total stockholders' equity 66,265,714 63,583,207 ------------- -------------- $937,932,934 $ 864,277,239 ============= ============== See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. 3 SOUTHEASTERN BANK FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARY Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, ------------------------- ------------------------- 2006 2005 2006 2005 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Interest Income: Loans, including fees $13,018,274 $ 9,271,626 $24,830,362 $17,515,164 Investment securities 2,702,309 1,936,599 5,158,381 3,701,141 Federal funds sold 44,036 95,762 194,629 151,369 Interest-bearing deposits in other banks 5,675 6,766 13,650 9,199 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Total interest income 15,770,294 11,310,753 30,197,022 21,376,873 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Interest expense: Deposits 5,547,283 3,244,981 10,465,934 5,890,571 Federal funds purchased and securities sold under repurchase agreements 724,846 350,430 1,408,754 622,400 Other borrowings 1,058,303 554,263 1,905,291 1,062,090 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Total interest expense 7,330,432 4,149,674 13,779,979 7,575,061 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Net interest income 8,439,862 7,161,079 16,417,043 13,801,812 Provision for loan losses 456,336 515,269 960,128 986,963 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Net interest income after provision for loan losses 7,983,526 6,645,810 15,456,915 12,814,849 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Noninterest income: Service charges and fees on deposits 1,539,978 1,354,425 2,892,122 2,565,475 Gain on sales of loans 1,270,992 1,298,399 2,525,337 2,340,582 Investment securities gains (losses), net 283,600 (40,051) 283,600 (39,260) Retail investment income 216,562 121,603 383,973 203,566 Trust service fees 198,367 150,024 390,832 306,936 Increase in cash surrender value of bank-owned life insurance 149,973 102,157 289,243 184,946 Miscellaneous income 146,770 202,201 296,395 327,303 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Total noninterest income 3,806,242 3,188,758 7,061,502 5,889,548 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Noninterest expense: Salaries 3,427,626 3,014,016 6,808,185 5,763,555 Employee benefits 1,077,414 775,925 2,136,835 1,585,369 Occupancy expenses 685,165 682,433 1,433,901 1,355,526 Other operating expenses 2,041,484 1,734,410 4,018,655 3,239,572 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Total noninterest expense 7,231,689 6,206,784 14,397,576 11,944,022 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Income before income taxes 4,558,079 3,627,784 8,120,841 6,760,375 Income tax expense 1,631,675 1,222,052 2,734,462 2,270,654 ----------- ------------ ----------- ------------ Net income $ 2,926,404 $ 2,405,732 $ 5,386,379 $ 4,489,721 (continued) 4 SOUTHEASTERN BANK FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARY Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, ---------------------- ---------------------- 2006 2005 2006 2005 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Basic net income per share $ 0.55 $ 0.46 $ 1.02 $ 0.85 ========== ========== ========== ========== Diluted net income per share $ 0.55 $ 0.45 $ 1.01 $ 0.84 ========== ========== ========== ========== Weighted average common shares outstanding 5,279,333 5,256,807 5,276,526 5,255,175 ========== ========== ========== ========== Weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares outstanding 5,331,090 5,343,086 5,329,474 5,337,433 ========== ========== ========== ========== See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. 5