ECB Reports Limited Damage from Hurricane Irene

ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECBE) ("ECB” or the "Company”), the parent company of East Carolina Bank (the "Bank”), reported that their doors were open on Monday to service the needs of their customers at 22 of their 25 office locations, after Hurricane Irene made landfall in eastern NC early Saturday morning.

East Carolina Bank operates 25 offices in eastern NC from Currituck to Ocean Isle Beach and Greenville to Hatteras, which is the same area of NC that Hurricane Irene’s path tracked this past weekend. ECB’s team focused on preparing their office locations to shoulder the storm last Thursday and Friday while various communities issued mandatory evacuations. "The safety of our associates and their families was of primary importance to us as ECB prepared for Irene’s arrival. As early as Friday, we relocated key personnel to our Greenville market to ensure business continuity after the hurricane. Our customer call center was operational during the weekend to assist our customers, and our website was updated with pertinent information related to our office locations,” reported James Burson, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer.

Dwight Utz, President & CEO stated, "Our disaster preparedness and recovery plan was activated and management from across our organization met at intervals throughout the weekend to ensure that each component of our plan was positioned for execution. The post disaster and recovery process has been executed with precision and placed ECB in the position to open our doors on Monday in order to service the special needs of our small business clients and individual customers post Hurricane Irene. Certainly we are most grateful that all of our associates and their families remained safe during the hurricane.”

All offices of ECB are open normal business hours, with the exception of Avon and Fairfield which will be open as soon as possible.

About ECB Bancorp, Inc.

ECB Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Engelhard, North Carolina, whose wholly-owned subsidiary, The East Carolina Bank, is a state-chartered, independent community bank insured by the FDIC. The Bank provides a full range of financial services through its 25 offices covering eastern North Carolina from Currituck to Ocean Isle Beach and Greenville to Hatteras. The Bank also provides mortgage, Wealth Management, and insurance services through the Bank’s licensed agents. The Company’s common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ECBE.” More information can be obtained by visiting ECB’s web site at www.MyECB.com.