DUNN, N.C., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- New Century Bank has created a separate mortgage division under a new name -- NC Bank Mortgage, announced John Q. Shaw, president and CEO of New Century Bank. "We recently were made aware that there is a mortgage company with a name similar to ours," said Shaw. "In order to avoid any confusion, and because the mortgage area of our bank is important to us and to our customers, we created a division of the bank to handle our mortgage lending function and gave it its own name. "Sandra Heath, who serves as mortgage services manager and has been with us for 5 years, heads up NC Bank Mortgage. She and her staff, who serve our offices in Dunn, Clinton, and Goldsboro, as well as customers of New Century Bank South in Fayetteville, know these communities and provide excellent service to their customers." According to Heath, "The name has changed, but that's the only thing of importance that has changed -- our products and services, commitment to our clients, and our dedication to offering neighbor helping neighbor service remain the same. I am excited that now we will be able to market mortgages more openly through the new name." New Century Bancorp is the holding company for New Century Bank and New Century Bank South. As of December 31, 2005, New Century Bancorp reported total assets of $436.4 million. http://www.newcenturybanknc.com/ The information as of and for the quarter year ended December 31, 2005 for both New Century Bancorp and Progressive State Bank as presented is unaudited. This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements regarding certain of our goals and expectations with respect to earnings, earnings per share, revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well as other measures of economic performance, including statements relating to estimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan", "projects", "outlook" or similar expressions. The actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to, our ability to manage growth, our limited operating history, substantial changes in financial markets, regulatory changes, changes in interest rates, loss of deposits and loan demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes in real estate values and the real estate market. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's SEC filings, including its periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request from the Company. DATASOURCE: New Century Bank CONTACT: Sandra T. Heath, Mortgage Services Manager, , or John Q. Shaw, President and CEO, , both of New Century Bank, +1-910-782-8090 Web site: http://www.newcenturybanknc.com/

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