DutchFork Bancshares, Inc. Third Quarter Earnings.

Business Editors

NEWBERRY, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2001

DutchFork Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: DFBS) announced net earnings of $442,595 for the third quarter ending June 30, 2001 compared to net earnings of $344,835 for the third quarter of 2000.

Earnings per share were $.28 for the third quarter ending June 30, 2001. Earnings per share for the comparable period in 2000 is not applicable because the Bank was a mutual institution at that time.

Net interest income after provisions for loan losses for the third quarter of 2001 was $1,557,732 compared to $1,510,401 for the same period of 2000. Total interest income was $3,820,861 for the three months ended June 30, 2001, a $53,078 decrease from the same period in 2000. Interest expense for the third quarter of 2001 was $2,263,129, a decrease of $70,409 from the same period of 2000.

Non-interest income for the third quarter of 2001 was $487,785 representing an increase of $232,465 from the $255,320 posted in the same quarter of 2000.

Non-interest expense for the quarter ending June 30, 2001 was $1,388,867 compared to $1,190,993 for the same period of 2000. The primary reasons for the increase in this category were increases in costs of the incentive compensation plan and new hires along with expenses relating to employee training and completion of the data processing conversion and other costs related to interest rate caps and interest rate floor contracts.

At June 30, 2001, total assets were $241,245,474 compared to $235,082,517 for the same period in 2000.

Accumulated comprehensive income resulting from the mark-to-market of investments available for sale was $899,754 (after taxes) during the three months ended June 30, 2001, due to declining interest rates and the increase in the market value of these investments.

DutchFork Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for Newberry Federal Savings Bank, which operates three banking locations in Newberry County, South Carolina.

Income Statement Data
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)

                                 Three Months          Nine Months
                                    Ended                Ended
                                   June 30,             June 30,
                                2001      2000      2001        2000
                               -------- -------   ---------- ---------
Interest income                $ 3,821  $ 3,874   $ 11,876   $ 11,420
Interest expense                 2,263    2,334      6,871      6,751
Net interest income              1,558    1,540      5,005      4,669
Provision for loan losses                    30         41        295
Net interest income after
 provision for loan losses       1,558    1,510      4,964      4,374
Non-interest income                488      255      3,984        781
Non-interest expense             1,389    1,191      4,227      3,554
Income before taxes                657      574      4,721      1,601
Income tax expense                 214      230      1,840        640
Net income                         443      344      2,881        961

Income per share (basic)        $  .28      N/A     $ 1.85        N/A
Income per share (diluted)      $  .28      N/A     $ 1.85        N/A
Return on average assets           .75%    0.61%      1.30%      0.58%
Return on average equity          1.29%    2.09%     11.25%      7.74%
Net interest margin               2.71%    2.86%      3.06%      2.97%


Balance Sheet Data
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except
 per share data)

                                         June 30,       September 30,
                                           2001             2000
                                       -------------- ----------------
Total assets                             $ 241,245         $ 224,068
Investment securities                      157,154           135,753
Loans                                       70,414            78,303
Allowance for loan losses                      455               465
Total deposits                             141,202           147,731
Other borrowings                            60,000            37,755
Shareholders' equity                        36,568            31,295
Equity to assets                             15.16%            14.00%
Loan to deposit ratio                        49.87%            53.00%
Non-performing loans to assets                0.05%             0.17%


Average Balances
(Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)
                                 Three Months          Nine Months
                                    Ended                 Ended
                                   June 30,              June 30,
                               2001        2000      2001        2000
                           ---------   ---------  ---------  ---------
Average total assets       $ 235,891   $ 224,647  $ 224,951  $ 220,282
Average loans                 69,678      76,776     72,148     75,863
Average earning assets       229,922     215,095    217,782    209,271
Average deposits             136,523     157,579    139,794    152,266
Average other short-term
 borrowings                   60,000      35,000      2,522     10,456