First Charter Bank Promotes Saving During Annual Roll Your Change Week

First Charter (NASDAQ:FCTR) is helping to increase awareness about saving money through a community partnership with Charlotte Saves. The second annual "Roll Your Change Week” program encourages Charlotteans to round up their loose coins and put their change to work for them as part of an overall personal savings plan. This is the second year that First Charter has taken a leadership role in the Charlotte area financial education campaign. First Charter Charlotte area financial centers participating in the weeklong campaign will open special savings accounts for individuals taking part in Roll Your Change Week. The special savings accounts have a lower required minimum deposit to help individuals establish a savings plan. Individuals opening savings accounts during the Roll Your Change campaign will also be eligible to win up to a $1,000 savings bond from Charlotte Saves. Bob James, First Charter president and CEO commented, "First Charter’s partnership with Charlotte Saves helps provide the financial coaching and resources needed to help individuals set savings goals and develop a plan to reach these goals. We’re pleased to be a part of this important financial education initiative in the Charlotte community.” About First Charter First Charter Corporation (NASDAQ: FCTR), headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a regional financial services company with assets of $4.9 billion and is the holding company for First Charter Bank. First Charter operates 60 full-service financial centers, four insurance offices, and 137 ATMs in North Carolina and Georgia, and also operates loan origination offices in Asheville, North Carolina and Reston, Virginia. First Charter provides businesses and individuals with a broad range of financial services, including banking, financial planning, wealth management, investments, insurance, and mortgages. About Charlotte Saves Charlotte Saves is a nonprofit, community-based coalition consisting of greater Charlotte financial services companies, colleges, community groups, corporations, faith-based organizations, government agencies, nonprofits and trade unions. Charlotte Saves was developed to help Charlotteans build wealth by saving money. Individuals that enroll are required to set a financial goal for themselves and design a simple plan to reach this goal. Charlotte Saves offers motivational workshops, seminars, one-on-one financial coaching and special accounts designed to help individuals save. Since February 2002, Charlottes Saves has enrolled nearly 4,000 members that have saved more than $3 million.