New Century Bancorp Taps J. Daniel Fisher As Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer

DUNN, N.C., March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- New Century Bancorp, Inc.(Nasdaq: NCBC - the "Company"), the holding company for New Century Bankand New Century Bank South, has named J. Daniel "Danny" Fisher as executivevice president and chief credit officer, announced William L. Hedgepeth II,president and CEO of New Century Bancorp and both banks. Fisher will be responsible for the entire credit function for bothbanks, including setting policy, and developing procedures and approvals. "Danny is a great addition to our team," Hedgepeth said. "With morethan 30 years of experience, he brings an understanding of this role andwhat we need to accomplish through it that will be an asset to our Company.We are looking forward to his leadership, knowledge, and strong work ethicin this important area." Prior to joining New Century, Fisher served as senior executive vicepresident and chief credit officer for Gateway Bank & Trust in ElizabethCity, NC for three years, and as a special loans group manager for RBCCentura. Earlier, he served as manager of loan operations and consumercompliance at the Bank of North Carolina. Fisher and his wife, Edna, are members of Faith Harbor United MethodistChurch in Surf City, NC. He has been a member of the Sneads Ferry RotaryClub and the Rotary Club of Sanford. A native of Jacksonville, NC, he is agraduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelorof science degree in business administration. He and his wife will live inDunn. New Century Bancorp reported total assets of $591.0 million as ofDecember 31, 2007. New Century Bank is headquartered in Dunn and hasoffices in Dunn, Clinton, Goldsboro, and Lillington; and New Century BankSouth is headquartered in Fayetteville with offices in Fayetteville,Lumberton, Pembroke, and Raeford. New Century Bank South will legally mergewith New Century Bank during first quarter 2008. Stock Symbol: NASDAQ: NCBC http://www.newcenturybanknc.com The information as of and for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, aspresented is unaudited. This news release contains forward-lookingstatements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation ReformAct of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements regardingcertain of our goals and expectations with respect to earnings, earningsper share, revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well asother measures of economic performance, including statements relating toestimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements preceded by,followed by or that include the words "may," "could," "should," "would,""believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan,""projects," "outlook" or similar expressions. The actual results mightdiffer materially from those projected in the forward-looking statementsfor various reasons, including, but not limited to, our ability to managegrowth, our limited operating history, substantial changes in financialmarkets, regulatory changes, changes in interest rates, loss of depositsand loan demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes inreal estate values and the real estate market. Additional informationconcerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differfrom those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company'sSEC filings, including its periodic reports under the Securities ExchangeAct of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request fromthe Company.