Monarch Financial to Convert Series B Noncum. Convertible Preferred Stock

Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc.

, the bank holding company for Monarch Bank, provided notice today that all outstanding shares of their Series B noncumulative convertible preferred stock, which trades under the symbol of MNRKP, will be converted to shares of the Company's common stock. The Company's common shares have traded for 20 out of the most recent 30 trading days at 130% of a pre-established conversion price which entitles the company to force convert each preferred share to 3.75 shares of common stock. Cash will be issued in lieu of fractional shares. The conversion of the shares is set to occur on March 8, 2013. As of February 20, 2013 there were 309,348 shares of the preferred stock outstanding, and assuming those shares remain outstanding as of March 8, 2013, they will convert to a maximum of 1,160,055 shares of common stock. "We issued our Series B noncumulative convertible preferred stock in 2009 for $25.00 per share. The return on this investment has been very strong for our shareholders and they have been well rewarded. In addition to the interest payments, our effective common stock share price has increased more than 30% since we issued the preferred shares. The return of our capital to common stock and the anticipated growth in our net income available to common shareholders will have a positive impact on our shareholders," stated Brad E. Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer.