Press Releases

Chesapeake Financial Shares Reports Record Earnings

For additional information please contact
Jeffrey M. Szyperski
804-435-1181; 1-800-434-1181

On behalf of Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc., Douglas D. Monroe, Jr., Chairman of the Board, today reported earnings for calendar year 2007 of $4,345,000, representing a 10% increase over 2006 earnings. The reported earnings per share were $1.49 fully diluted as compared to $1.34 for 2006--an 11% increase. “With our 10% increase in net income for the year and our recent 20% stock dividend, we are clearly an outlier in the current economic environment for financial institutions,” noted Monroe. “We are especially proud of this increase in light of the extremely challenging economic environment that we are currently facing. Not only have we experienced loan and deposit growth in all three peninsulas, we have also shown solid contributions from our Cash Flow division and Chesapeake Payment Systems as well as Chesapeake Investment Group.”

Chesapeake Investment Group, the wealth management subsidiary of Chesapeake Financial Shares, experienced an 18% growth in assets under management during 2007. Jeffrey M. Szyperski, President of Chesapeake Financial Shares, stated, “The growth within Chesapeake Investment Group is primarily due to the highly personalized investment advice that’s given on a face-to-face basis with our clients. Not only do we invest their assets, we help them with a myriad of financial issues including trusts and estate planning. The combination of these has provided a lot of synergy for our growth in all of our markets.”

Chesapeake Payment Systems, the merchant card division of Chesapeake Bank, also showed strong profits in 2007. Headed up by Bryan D. Edmonds, Vice President & Director of Business Services, CPS currently provides merchant services to over 685 commercial customers and in 2007 broke the milestone of processing over $100 million in merchant card transactions. Edmonds commented, “The key to the growth of Chesapeake Payment Systems, not dissimilar to Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Investment Group, has been the high level of service that we’re able to provide on a local level. Many of our competitors are national organizations who roll through town and are never seen again. Small business owners, with the many hats that they have to wear, need a strong local partner to support them in this area of their business.”

Chesapeake Financial Shares had a 15% growth in assets for year-end 2007 as compared to 2006, ending the year at $483 million. On a consolidated basis, 2007 net income represents a 13.68% return on average equity to Chesapeake shareholders.

Corporately, CFS continues to emphasize retention and recruitment of employees. Its thrust to be an employer of choice in each of its markets is embodied in the acronym “GPTW” (“great place to work”) and is being incorporated into the culture of the organization. “Only by having highly capable and satisfied employees are we able to deliver on our promise of making it easy for our customers to reach their financial goals,” stated Szyperski. “This is more like a destination that will never be reached, but needs to be front and center in everything we do to make sure we improve each and every year.”

More information about Chesapeake Financial Shares’ stock (CPKF) can be found at Chesapeake Bank’s website, www.chesbank.com, or through local brokers. Though no longer a filer with the Securities & Exchange Commission, Chesapeake Bank remains a publicly traded company and is traded on the over-the-counter market.

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