First Financial Holdings rings the bell
to celebrate 20 years on the Nasdaq exchange

CHARLESTON, SC --- First Financial Holdings, Inc. (FFCH), parent company of First Federal, celebrated 20 years on the Nasdaq exchange by presiding over the closing ceremony March 3 at 4 p.m. First Financial CEO A. Thomas Hood, along with James C. Murray and Paul G. Campbell, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, rang the bell to close the market in New Year City. Hood and Murray also addressed the group before ringing the bell.

First Financial has been a publicly owned company for just over 21 years. Hood’s comments included the following: “Through the teamwork of Nasdaq, our board of directors, management and staff, we take great pride in the wealth we have created for our shareholders; the service we give to our customers; the support we extend to our communities and our partnership with our employees, we celebrate 20 years of exceptional performance on the Nasdaq market.

“Here’s a look at our progress over the last 20 years:

• In February 1985, we had 257 people employed by First Federal. Of those, nearly one-third are still with us, many on our management team. Total employees now number more than 800.
• Our assets in 1985 totaled $596 million and now total more than $2.5 billion.
• Our market cap was $15 million and is now $355 million.
• Our footprint was the Charleston, South Carolina area in 1985, and now extends from Sunset Beach, North Carolina down to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and to Columbia and Florence, South Carolina.
• Not only have we seen great expansion in our banking offices, which have grown from 16 in 1985 to 48 today, but we also have established significant insurance, investment and trust business throughout our markets.
• In August 2004, US Banker ranked First Financial Holdings number 40 among the top 100 publicly traded mid-tier banks as ranked by 3-year average ROE. Our ROE for the last 20 years has average 14.6 percent.
• And lastly, our average annual shareholder return over the last 20 years has exceeded 17.2 percent.”
  

The ceremony aired live on www.nasdaq.com and via CNBC. For more information on First Financial Holdings, please visit our website at www.firstfinancialholdings.com.