FFFL Fidelity Bankshares

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFFL), the holding company for Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust, said today that 21 of its 48 offices in South Florida were open and operating as of mid-day Thursday. Executive Vice President and Banking Operations Manager Robert Fugate, who is responsible for the bank's branch operations, said, "We're making significant progress toward resuming normal operations in the wake of Hurricane Wilma. We now have at least one branch open in each of our regions so customers who need service don't have to drive too far. We continue to be dependent on the availability of power and we're working as quickly as possible to restore all 48 offices." An investment profile on Fidelity Bankshares may be found on http://www.hawkassociates.com/fffl/profile.htm. At Sept. 30, 2005, Fidelity Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiary Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust, had assets of $3.94 billion and deposits of $3.32 billion and operates in Florida through 48 offices in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. For more information, contact Chairman and CEO Vince A. Elhilow or Chief Financial Officer Richard D. Aldred at (561) 803-9900, or Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates, Inc., at (305) 451-1888, e-mail: . Information about Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. can be found on http://www.fidelityfederal.com/. Copies of Fidelity Bankshares press releases, SEC filings, current price quotes, stock charts and other valuable information for investors may be found on http://www.hawkassociates.com/. Forward-Looking Statements: When used in this report, the words or phrases "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project" or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, changes in economic conditions in the company's market area, changes in policies by regulatory agencies, fluctuations in interest rates, demand for loans in the company's market area and competition that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical earnings and those presently anticipated or projected. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The company wishes to advise readers that the factors listed above could affect the company's financial performance and could cause the company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. DATASOURCE: Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. CONTACT: Chairman and CEO Vince A. Elhilow or Chief Financial Officer Richard D. Aldred, both of Fidelity Bankshares, +1-561-803-9900; or Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, both of Hawk Associates, Inc., +1-305-451-1888, , for Fidelity Bankshares Web site: http://www.fidfed.com/ http://www.fidelityfederal.com/

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