FFFL Fidelity Bankshares

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFFL), the holding company for Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust, reported today that 41 of its 48 offices in South Florida are open and operating as of mid-day Monday. Executive Vice President and Banking Operations Manager Robert Fugate, who is responsible for the bank's branch operations, said, "We made significant progress opening branches over the weekend as the power became available in regions affected by Hurricane Wilma. We hope to be fully operational at all locations within the week." Fidelity has at least one branch open in each of its regions. None of its buildings were significantly damaged in the hurricane. 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: Vince A. Elhilow, Chairman and CEO, or Richard D. Aldred, Chief Financial Officer, +1-561-803-9900, both of Fidelity Bankshares, Inc.; or Frank Hawkins or Julie Marshall, Hawk Associates, Inc., +1-305-451-1888, or , for Fidelity Bankshares, Inc. Web site: http://www.fidfed.com/ http://www.hawkassociates.com/fffl/profile.htm http://www.hawkassociates.com/

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