BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Nov. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Superior Bank, one of Alabama's leading home mortgage lenders and the major subsidiary of Superior Bancorp (NASDAQ:SUPR) announced today that it plans to double its mortgage banking operation by adding more than 60 people to its existing operation in Alabama. "We feel there is a tremendous opportunity in both Alabama and Florida not only to increase shareholder value but also to help people achieve their dream of home ownership through the expansion of our mortgage operation," said Rick Gardner, President of Superior Bank. "In the last several years we have invested in new systems, expanded our product offering and built a reputation of delivering a level of service that is worthy of our name, 'Superior'. With our expanding branch network and growing customer base, the opportunity to serve our markets and to become the market leader in home mortgages is tremendous." The expanded operation will serve customers primarily through the bank branches throughout Alabama. The bank will also add additional support positions in the Birmingham area to help applicants through the mortgage loan process and to ensure that superior customer service levels are maintained. Gardner continued, "With 72 bank branches, we want to ensure that we can fulfill our customers' mortgage banking needs in a timely manner. This expansion will allow us to significantly increase the number of customers we can serve in our communities and to demonstrate the value that customers receive when doing business with Superior. We see the mortgage business as core to our relationship with consumers, and we plan to continue taking advantage of opportunities to expand this business line in Alabama and Florida over the next several years." About Superior Bancorp Superior Bancorp is a $3.2 billion thrift holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The principal subsidiary of Superior Bancorp is Superior Bank, a Southeastern community bank that currently has 72 branches, with 44 locations throughout the state of Alabama and 28 locations in Florida. Superior Bank also operates 23 consumer finance offices in North Alabama as 1st Community Credit and Superior Financial Services. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Some of the disclosures in this release, including any statements preceded by, followed by or which include the words "may," "could," "should," "will," "would," "hope," "might," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "assume" or similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, implicitly and explicitly, include the assumptions underlying the statements and other information with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates, intentions, financial condition, results of operations, future performance and business, including our expectations and estimates with respect to our revenues, expenses, earnings, return on equity, return on assets, efficiency ratio, asset quality, the adequacy of our allowance for loan losses and other financial data and capital and performance ratios. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve risks and uncertainties which are subject to change based on various important factors (some of which are beyond our control). Such forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors set forth from time to time in our reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. The following factors, among others, could cause our financial performance to differ materially from our goals, plans, objectives, intentions, expectations and other forward-looking statements: (1) the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the regional and local economies in which we conduct operations; (2) the effects of, and changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (3) inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; (4) our ability to successfully integrate the assets, liabilities, customers, systems and management we acquire or merge into our operations; (5) our timely development of new products and services in a changing environment, including the features, pricing and quality compared to the products and services of our competitors; (6) the willingness of users to substitute competitors' products and services for our products and services; (7) the impact of changes in financial services policies, laws and regulations, including laws, regulations and policies concerning taxes, banking, securities and insurance, and the application thereof by regulatory bodies; (8) our ability to resolve any legal proceeding on acceptable terms and its effect on our financial condition or results of operations; (9) technological changes; (10) changes in consumer spending and savings habits; (11) the effect of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, in our geographic markets; (12) regulatory, legal or judicial proceedings; (13) the continuing instability in the domestic and international capital markets; (14) the effects of new and proposed laws relating to financial institutions and credit transactions; and (15) the effects of policy initiatives that have been and may continue to be introduced by the new Presidential administration and related regulatory actions. Superior Bancorp disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward-looking statements. More information on Superior Bancorp and its subsidiaries may be obtained over the Internet, http://www.superiorbank.com/, or by calling 1-877-326-BANK (2265). DATASOURCE: Superior Bancorp CONTACT: Tom Jung, +1-205-327-3547 Web Site: http://www.superiorbank.com/

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