Superior Settles Litigation


    LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 24, 2003--Superior
Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: SUFI), holding company of Superior Bank,
today announced that it has reached an agreement in principle to
settle the consolidated federal class action securities suits, a
similar derivative suit pending in state court and other related
litigation involving the Company's former employees. This litigation
is summarized in the Company's 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K at Item
3, "Legal Proceedings - Bauman Litigation".
    The settlement agreements are subject to final court approval and
call for the Company and its insurance carrier to pay sums well within
the Company's policy limits and materially less than the Company's
estimates of the costs of litigation. The Company's contribution to
the settlement is approximately $475,000 pretax, or $0.04 diluted
earnings per share, which amount has been recorded as a non-recurring
expense in the first quarter of 2003. Superior plans to release its
first quarter 2003 earnings announcement and concurrently file its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q reflecting the settlement expense as
scheduled on May 5, 2003.
    "We are pleased to announce the conclusion of this litigation,"
said Stan Bailey, Chairman and C.E.O. of Superior. "While we were
confident of vindication had these matters gone to trial, given the
exorbitant costs of litigation today, we believe that the Company and
its shareholders have reaped a significant benefit by our settling all
of these cases at an amount well below projected litigation costs.
More importantly, the settlement frees management to focus exclusively
on the positive - enhancing shareholder value."
    Superior Financial Corp. is the holding company of Superior Bank,
which is a $1.7 billion federal savings bank operating 61 full service
branch and loan production offices in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The bank
has three active subsidiaries - Superior Financial Services, Inc.,
providing discount brokerage and full service investment advisory
services, Southwest Protective Life Insurance Company and Superior
Finance Company, a consumer finance operation. Superior Financial
Corp. stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol
SUFI.
    CAUTIONARY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE
PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:
    This report contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking statements
in this report are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as
obtaining court approval, that could cause actual outcomes to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements.


    CONTACT: Superior Financial Corp.
             Robert A. Kuehl, 501/324-7255
             Web Site: www.superiorfinancialcorp.com