WILLETTS ELECTED TO NATIONAL POST

Wilmington, NC --Frederick Willetts, III, Chairman, President & CEO of Cooperative Bank, Wilmington, North Carolina has been elected Vice-Chairman of the American Bankers Association - the nation's largest banking trade group- for a one year term.  Willetts is a past Chairman of the North Carolina Bankers Association, and currently serves on the Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.  He previously served as Chairman of the Government Relations Council of the American Bankers Association.

 Chartered in 1898, Cooperative Bank provides a full range of financial services through twenty-two offices in Eastern North Carolina and three offices in South Carolina.  The Bank’s subsidiary, Lumina Mortgage, Inc., is a mortgage banking firm, originating and selling residential mortgage loans through five offices in North Carolina.

 For more information:  Frederick Willetts, III-- 910-343-0181