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ABCB News Standard & Poor's Initiates Factual Stock Report Coverage on Ameris Bancorp

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standard & Poor’s announced today that it has commenced Factual Stock Report coverage on Ameris Bancorp.

Ameris Bancorp (NNM:ABCB) is a financial holding company whose business is conducted primarily through wholly owned subsidiaries that provide a full range of banking services to retail and commercial customers located primarily in southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama and northern Florida.

Loans at December 31, 2005, totaled $1,186 million, up from $877 million a year earlier, and were divided: commercial and financial 13%, agricultural 2%, real estate-construction 19%, real estate-mortgage, farmland 6%, real estate-mortgage, commercial 27%, real estate-mortgage residential 27%, and consumer installment and other 6%.

In December 2005, the bank acquired First National Insurance Agency, Inc. First National Insurance Agency operates out of Ameris's branch office located in St. Marys, GA. The insurance agency offers both personal and commercial insurance products through major insurance carriers.

The company provides a full range of deposit accounts and services to both retail and commercial customers. These deposit accounts have a variety of interest rates and terms and consist of interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, including commercial and retail checking accounts, regular interest-bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, individual retirement accounts and certificates of deposit. ABCB's banks obtain most of their deposits from individuals and businesses in their respective market areas.

This report will also be accessible on an ongoing basis to the investment community ---- scores of buy-side institutions and sell-side firms that utilize S&P research and information platforms daily. Millions of self-directed investors also have access to the report via their e-brokerage accounts.

About Standard & Poor's Factual Stock Reports

This Standard & Poor’s service provides factual research coverage enabling information about Ameris Bancorp and other securities to reach a wide investor audience of Buy and Sell-side investors, helping them understand a company’s fundamentals and business prospects. Currently profiling over 1,000 issuers, S&P Factual Stock Reports increase market awareness for issuers in the investment community with insightful commentary and key statistics/information. Updated weekly with the latest pricing, trading volume, and other data, the reports include recent developments, a financial review, key operating information, Industry and peer comparisons, institutional holdings analysis, Street Consensus and opinions, performance charts, business summary, fundamental data, and news. Because coverage of these reports is sponsored by the issuer, S&P does not offer investment opinions concerning the advisability of investing in these stocks.

Standard & Poor’s Factual Stock Reports are produced separately from any other analytic activity of Standard & Poor’s. Standard & Poor’s Factual Report research has no access to non-public information received by other units of Standard & Poor’s. Standard & Poor’s does not trade on its own account.

Note: All U.S. and Canadian Companies listed on a National Exchange (not covered by S&P’s STARS research) are eligible to obtain this coverage.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 7,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 21 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com.