TOMS RIVER, N.J., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Shore Community Bank (OTC:SHRC) (BULLETIN BOARD: SHRC) today reported net income of $91,154 for the three months ended December 31, 2008, as compared to a net loss of $16,176 for the same period in 2007. Basic and diluted net income per share for the three months ended December 31, 2008, were 5 cents as compared to a net loss per share, basic and diluted, of 1 cent for the same period in 2007. For the year ended December 31, 2008, Shore Community Bank (the "Bank") reported net income of $16,170, as compared to $429,552 in 2007. Basic and diluted net income per share for the year 2008 was 1 cent, as compared to 25 cents, basic and diluted, reported for the year 2007. Per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect the 3 percent stock dividend issued on March 10, 2008. The Bank's assets, at December 31, 2008, totaled $208.1 million as compared to $201.4 million at December 31, 2007, representing a 3.3 percent increase in total assets. Total loans at December 31, 2008 stood at $156.5 million and were essentially unchanged as compared to $157.3 million at December 31, 2007. Total deposits declined 1.1 percent to $172.0 million at December 31, 2008 as compared to $173.9 million at December 31, 2007. Robert T. English, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "In light of the weak economy and financial market turmoil the Board of Directors, in conjunction with the management team, took the necessary steps to reduce operating expenses and streamline the organization. Our focus today is on addressing the financial needs of our customers and building stronger more profitable relationships." "In 2009, we will continue to monitor the credit quality of our loan portfolio and work diligently to reduce the amount of non-performing assets currently held by the Bank. The provision for loan losses in 2008 totaled $1,520,000 and charge-offs were $1,588,000 as compared to $660,000 and $129,000, respectively in 2007. We understand the challenge and have taken steps to address the issues. The Bank's capital ratios remain strong and are in excess of what is considered 'well capitalized' by bank regulatory standards. At December 31, 2008, the Bank's leverage capital ratio was 8.69 percent and total risk-based capital ratio was 12.11 percent." "I am pleased to report that our new branch, located on Route 72 in Manahawkin, which opened in mid October last year has been warmly received by the community and deposit balances presently exceed $26,000,000, far outpacing our short term projections," said English. Shore Community Bank is traded on the OTCBB (Over the Counter Bulletin Board) under the symbol SHRC. Shore Community Bank operates six banking offices, located in Toms River, Ortley Beach, Jackson, and Manahawkin, New Jersey. The Bank was founded in 1997 by a group of local business leaders to return community-based banking to the Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey area. Information in this release relating to Shore Community Bank's future prospects which are forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) operating, legal and regulatory risks, such as continued levels of loan quality and origination volume, continued relationships with major customers and technological changes; (2) economic, political and competitive forces affecting our banking business, such as changes in economic conditions, especially in our market area, interest rate fluctuations, competitive product and pricing pressures within our market, personal and corporate bankruptcies, monetary policy and inflation; (3) our ability to grow internally or through acquisitions; and (4) the risk that management's analyses of these risks and forces could be incorrect and/or that the strategies developed to address them could be unsuccessful. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "believe," "will," "intends," "will be" or "would." Shore Community Bank assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this announcement, except as required under applicable law. DATASOURCE: Shore Community Bank CONTACT: Robert English, President & CEO of Shore Community Bank, +1-732-240-5800 Web Site: http://www.shorecommunitybank.com/

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