AUSTIN, TEXAS — Jay Parker, president of IronStone Bank, today announced that the bank is seeking regulatory approval to open two additional full-service branches in San Diego and Scottsdale, Ariz.

In San Diego, the office site is located at 8650 Genesee Ave. in the Costa Verde Shopping Center. IronStone Bank plans to renovate the existing building and open early in the second quarter of 2003.

This will be the second IronStone Bank office in San Diego. In August, the bank announced its plans to open a branch at 835 Pearl St. in the La Jolla community of San Diego. IronStone Bank also will renovate and open that office in the second quarter of next year.

In Scottsdale, IronStone Bank will build a branch at the intersection of Northsight Boulevard and Raintree Drive near the Scottsdale Municipal Airport. The office is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2003.

In June, IronStone Bank announced its expansion into Scottsdale with a branch at 7001 N. Scottsdale Road in the Scottsdale Seville Shopping Center. The bank plans to renovate and open the office in February of 2003.

Parker will name members of the local management team for both cities in the coming months.

IronStone Bank has already established one office in Austin and will open another branch and a six-lane motor bank there later this year.

IronStone Bank employs associates with local experience to provide exceptional service and strong products to individual customers, small to mid-sized businesses, professionals and medical practitioners. The bank is a division of Atlantic States Bank, a federal savings bank with 39 offices in Georgia and Florida. Atlantic States is a subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares (Nasdaq: FCNCA), a $12 billion financial holding company based in Raleigh, N.C.