CFHI Coast Finl Hldgs (MM)

BRADENTON, Fla., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Coast Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFHI), parent company of Coast Bank of Florida, today announced that it has opened a new branch in Pinellas County. The Northwood branch, located at 3024 Enterprise Road East in Clearwater, is the company's sixth branch in Pinellas County, bringing Coast Bank's branch network to 14 locations. "Our branch expansion strategy is continuing as we open the Northwood branch in a popular area of Pinellas County," said Brian Peters, president and CEO. "Clearwater is Pinellas County's second largest city and hosts a variety of accommodations and activities including Fort De Soto Park, which was ranked America's #1 Beach in 2005 by Dr. Beach. We are enthusiastic about our ability to serve new and existing customers in the community." The Northwood facility has a superb location on Enterprise Road with quick access to local businesses and Countryside Mall. "We are also pleased to announce that Ann Marie DiToro has joined Coast Bank and has been named branch manager of the Northwood branch," added Peters. "With over 25 years of local banking experience, Ms. DiToro has the talent, skill and motivation to help fuel our growth in the coming years." About the Company As of December 31, 2005, Coast Financial Holdings, Inc. had $550 million in total assets and through its banking subsidiary, Coast Bank of Florida ( http://www.coastfl.com/ ), operates 14 full-service banking locations in Manatee and Pinellas counties, Florida. Coast Bank of Florida is a commercial bank that provides full-service banking operations to its customers from its headquarters location and from branch offices in Bradenton, Palmetto, Longboat Key, Seminole, Dunedin, Clearwater, Kenneth City and St. Petersburg. This press release and other statements to be made by the Company contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, including but not limited to statements relating to projections and estimates of earnings, revenues, cost-savings, expenses, or other financial items; statements of management's plans, strategies, and objectives for future operations, and management's expectations as to future performance and operations and the time by which objectives will be achieved; statements concerning proposed new products and services; and statements regarding future economic, industry, or market conditions or performance. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," and conditional verbs such as "may," "could," and "would," and other similar expressions or verbs. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, beliefs, estimates, and projections regarding the Company, its industry and future events, and are based upon certain assumptions made by management. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and necessarily are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors (many of which are outside the control of the Company) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, among others: changes in general economic or business conditions, either nationally or in the State of Florida, changes in the interest rate environment, the Company's ability to successfully open and operate new branches and collect on delinquent loans, changes in the regulatory environment, and other risks described in the Company's Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 and as described from time to time by the Company in other reports filed by it with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only to the date on which the statement is made, and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. If the Company does update any forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to that statement or any other forward-looking statements. Contacts: Brian P. Peters, President and CEO 877-COASTFL Brian F. Grimes, EVP and CFO 877-COASTFL DATASOURCE: Coast Financial Holdings, Inc. CONTACT: Brian P. Peters, President and CEO, , or Brian F. Grimes, EVP and CFO, , both of Coast Financial Holdings, Inc., +1-877-COASTFL Web site: http://www.coastfl.com/

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