Towell has more than 30 years of banking and financial experience. He has bachelor’s and MBA degrees from Appalachian State University.

Yadkin Valley Financial Corp., the Surry County-based bank holding company that owns Yadkin Valley Bank, also announced that its board of directors has two new members. Dan Hill III and Morris Shambley were chosen for the board as part of the merger between Cardinal State Bank and Yadkin Valley Financial Corp. Hill will serve on the board’s marketing committee and Shambley on the board’s real-estate committee.

Yadkin Valley hoped to buy Cardinal State (NASDAQ:CSNC) late in 2007, six months after the Surry County-based bank holding corporation offered $41.8 million in cash and stock. Accounting problems delayed the merger.

In an unrelated development, Yadkin Valley announced Tuesday that it will more than double its provision for loan losses to $2.5 million from $1.1 million. The company said that will cut the company’s 2007 earnings per share to $1.37 from $1.45.

The bank said its annual audit “determined that there exists a material weakness in Yadkin Valley’s internal control over financial reporting.”

The bank says it is remediating the problems and will release audited year-end financial results for 2007 by the end of March.

As of Dec. 31, Yadkin Valley had assets of $1.2 billion, up 8.1 percent for the year.

Yadkin Valley Financial operates 24 Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust Co. branches (those in Iredell and Mecklenburg counties are identified as Piedmont Bank) in North Carolina. The bank provides mortgage lending services through its subsidiary, Sidus Financial LLC in Greenville. Securities brokerage services are provided by Main Street Investment Services Inc., a subsidiary with four offices located in the branch network.

For the fourth quarter of 2007, the company reported earnings of $566,706 or $.16 per fully diluted share, down 9.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006.

The 2007 increase in annual earnings primarily resulted from overall growth and increases in non-interest income. The decrease in the fourth-quarter earnings was a result of a tightening net interest margin, brought about by a general decrease in interest rates and increases in the provision for loan losses due to loan growth.

Total assets were $211 million at year’s end, an increase of 12.7 percent from the $187 million reported on Dec. 31, 2006. Net loans increased 8.2 percent to $166,456,800, compared to $153,852,006 at the end of the 2006. Asset quality remained strong with delinquency levels and charge-offs in line with industry averages. Loan loss reserves were $2.78 million or 1.64 percent of total loans as of Dec. 31. Total deposits increased 13.3 percent to $171 million, compared to the end of 2006.

Surrey Bancorp (SRYB.OB) is the bank holding company for Surrey Bank & Trust (the “Bank”), both headquartered at 145 N. Renfro St., Mount Airy, North Carolina. The bank operates four full-service branch offices in Surry County at 145 N. Renfro, 1280 W. Pine St. and 2050 Rockford St. in Mount Airy and 653 S. Key St. in Pilot Mountain. It also has a full-service office at 303 S. Main Street in Stuart, Va.

A wholly-owned subsidiary, SB&T Insurance, sells insurance at 199 N. Renfro in Mount Airy. The bank also owns Surrey Investment Services, which provides full-service brokerage and investment advice through an association with UVEST Financial Services, and Freedom Finance, LLC, a sales finance company at 165 N. Renfro in Mount Airy.

Wachovia Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit fell to $51 million, or 3 cents per share, from $2.3 billion, or $1.20 per share, during the same three-month period a year earlier.

Both banks are headquartered in Charlotte. Bank of America has one Surry County office at 704 Independence Boulevard in Mount Airy. Wachovia has offices at 105 N. Crutchfield in Dobson, 554 N. Main in Mount Airy and 1500 N. Bridge in Elkin.

Bank of America, the nation’s second-largest bank, said its fourth-quarter revenue fell 31 percent to $12.67 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 18 cents per share on revenue of $13.24 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Bank of America shares rose to around $37.00 in morning trading after the Federal Reserve Bank’s announcement of a 0.75 percent decrease in its overnight lending rate.

Excluding merger-related expenses, Wachovia earned $160 million, or 8 cents per share, during the fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast earnings of 33 cents per share for the quarter.

Wachovia, the nation’s fourth-largest bank, took a $1.7 billion write-down during the quarter due to weakening credit markets. Because of rising delinquencies and defaults, Wachovia also set aside $1.5 billion to cover losses.

Wachovia shares rose to more than $31.00 after the Fed’s announcement.

For the full year, Bank of America reported earnings of $14.98 billion, or $3.30 per share, compared to $21.13 billion, or $4.59 cents per share, in 2006. The result was slightly better than analysts predicted.

For the full year, Wachovia earned $6.31 billion, or $3.31 per share, compared to $7.79 billion, or $4.72 per share, in 2006.

The site features information on the tools that give Bank of America customers “the freedom to bank without boundaries, the control to manage their own finances at the touch of a computer key or phone pad and the security to know that their finances are protected.”

In addition to being a tutorial for current and prospective customers, the site is also a portal to Bank of America’s award-winning suite of online and mobile banking products.

Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions. The company serves 57 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,700 retail banking offices, including one in Surry County at 704 Independence Boulevard, Mount Airy.

Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses.

The N.C. Department of Revenue describes what’s new in the “2007 Tax Law Changes” on its web site.

Listed below are links to each section of the document.

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Table of Contents
• Section 1 – Personal Taxes
• Section 2 – Corporate, Excise and Insurance Tax
• Section 3 – Sales and Use Tax
• Section 4 – Property Tax
• Section 5 – Motor Fuels Tax
• Section 6 – General Administration

Maria Sierra is a new teller in Mount Airy where Southern Community has two offices: 2010 Community Drive (off Rockford Street) and downtown at 255 E. Independence Boulevard.

Sam Luster joined the northern region commercial banking group in Yadkinville as a commercial banker; Christen Woodard is a teller in the Stratford Road office; and Steve Knott is a mortgage-loan originator in the southern region mortgage department.

Southern Community Bank and Trust also has Surry County offices in Elkin, Dobson and Pilot Mountain.

This is the first time the Surrey Bancorp board has declared a cash dividend. Edward C. “Ted” Ashby, president and CEO, said, “The decision to pay a special dividend was made in recognition of the company’s strong financial performance during 2007.”

Surrey Bancorp (SRYB.OB) in Mount Airy, N.C., is the bank holding company for Surrey Bank & Trust. The bank operates full-service branch offices at 145 N. Renfro St., 1280 W. Pine St. and 2050 Rockford Street in Mount Airy; 653 S. Key St. in Pilot Mountain, N.C.; and 303 S. Main St. in Stuart, Va.

The higher earnings resulted from increases in net interest income and non-interest income that narrowly outpaced an increase in the provision for loan losses and higher expenses. More net interest income came from growth. The increase in non-interest income is primarily the result of an increase in servicing fees for government guaranteed loans sold by the bank and of increased revenue from the insurance and brokerage divisions of Surrey Investment Services Inc., a Surrey Bank & Trust subsidiary.

The increase in the provision for loan losses is attributable to the effects of net charge-offs in the third quarter of 2007 compared to net recoveries in the third quarter of 2006. Non-interest expenses increased primarily due to increases in FDIC insurance assessments and compliance cost associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Total assets were $206.5 million as of Sept. 30, 2007, an increase of 14.5 percent from the $180 million a year earlier. Net loans increased 10.7 percent to $161 million compared to $145.7 million at the end of 2006′s third quarter. Asset quality remained strong with delinquency levels and loan losses in line with industry averages. Loan loss reserves were $2.62 million or 1.60 percent of total loans as of Sept. 30, 2007. Total deposits increased to $165.3 million at the end of the third quarter, a 14.4 percent increase from the end of the third quarter of 2006.

Surrey Bancorp (OTB: SRYB) has offices at Surrey Bank & Trust’s main office, 145 N. Renfro St., Mount Airy, N.C. The bank also operates full service branch offices at 1280 W. Pine St. and 2050 Rockford St. in Mount Airy; 653 S. Key St. in Pilot Mountain, N.C.; and 303 S. Main St. in Stuart, Va.

Surrey Bank & Trust is engaged in the sale of insurance through its wholly owned subsidiary, SB&T Insurance at 199 N. Renfro St.in Mount Airy. The bank also owns Surrey Investment Services Inc., which provides full-service brokerage and investment advice through an association with UVest Financial Services, and Freedom Finance LLC, a finance company at 165 N. Renfro St. in Mount Airy.

“Bank of America’s #1 SBA status is just one example of our leadership position within the small business arena, highlighting the bank’s commitment to help support the success of our small business customers,” said Mark Hogan, president, Small Business Banking, Bank of America. “With our scale and depth of resources, Bank of America offers small business owners unparalleled access to solutions to help run their businesses smoother, more profitably and with greater access to a wider business network.”

Representing 99.7 percent of all employer firms, small businesses play a critical role in fueling U.S. economic growth. According to the SBA, small businesses employ nearly half of all private sector employees, pay more than 45 percent of total private payroll and create more than 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Bank of America has relationships with nearly one in every four small businesses in its footprint — a number totaling more than 4.5 million, over 1.8 million of whom are active online customers, making Bank of America the largest small business bank in the country.

Last year, Bank of America introduced the Business 24/7(TM) portfolio of products that makes it easier for small businesses to manage their day-to-day business needs. Through the Business 24/7 portfolio, small business owners can obtain the credit they need to manage their cash flow, process their payroll, pay their employees using direct deposit, pay and file taxes electronically, manage invoices, pay vendors online, and improve their money management processes.

Early this month, Bank of America unveiled the Small Business Online Community, a free and open forum available to all small business owners where users can network, share, learn and exchange business ideas with their peers and industry experts.

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is one of the world’s largest financial institutions. It has more than 5,700 retail banking offices, including one in Surry County at 704 Independence Boulevard in Mount Airy