TAMPA -- Florida Bank Group, Inc. (“FBG”) a Tampa-based bank holding company, today announced it has executed a definitive merger agreement with Cygnet Financial Corporation of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Cygnet Financial Corporation (“Cygnet”) is a bank holding company, whose sole subsidiary is Cygnet Private Bank. Cygnet currently has total assets of approximately $114 million. The consideration in the transaction will consist of at least 90% in FBG stock and up to 10% in cash. The merger, approved by the boards of both companies, is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, and is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

“We are excited about our partnership with Cygnet and deepening client relationships and market reach in the greater Jacksonville area,” said Corey J. Coughlin, president and chief executive officer of FBG.

FBG subsidiary, Bank of North Florida (“BONF”) commenced operations in Jacksonville in December 2006. As a result of this merger, FBG will have an expanded service area in the greater Jacksonville area – with a banking office in downtown Jacksonville and an office in Ponte Vedra Beach. In total, FBG’s assets and deposits in the greater Jacksonville area will exceed $150 million and $100 million, respectively.

“We are pleased to expand our community banking relationships and look forward to offering our clients additional convenience and a broader array of products and services,” said J. Stewart Baker, president and CEO of BONF. “We will continue to expand to other markets throughout the Jacksonville area, and plan to add additional offices over the next twelve to eighteen months.”

“We are very proud of the portfolio we have built and are excited about the opportunity to better serve our existing clients’ interests through this merger,” commented T. Edwin Stinson, Jr., Cygnet president and CEO. “We expect a seamless transition resulting only in enhanced services.”

This transaction complements FBG’s model of a Florida-based bank holding company with multiple community bank subsidiaries operating independently in Florida’s most attractive growth markets. FBG intends to expand within its existing markets and into new Florida markets via mergers and/or de novo formation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the future expansion or earnings outlook of Florida Bank Group, Inc. that involve certain risks and uncertainties.

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