ECB Bancorp Inc., the parent company of East Carolina Bank, announces the transfer of its stock exchange listing to NYSE Amex from the NASDAQ Global Market.

The common stock of the company will commence trading on the NYSE Amex on Dec. 30 under its same ticker symbol of ECBE. The stock will continue to trade on NASDAQ Global Markets until the transfer to the NYSE Amex has been completed.

“We are very pleased to announce the transfer of our company’s stock exchange to NYSE Amex which offers ECB a unique market trading structure and the dedication of a designated market maker platform,” stated A. Dwight Utz, ECB’s president/CEO. “Our transfer to the NYSE Amex, we believe, benefits ECB and our shareholders by reducing volatility as a result of tighter spreads, increasing our liquidity, and provides greater visibility in the financial markets of our common stock.”

Thomas Crowder, EVP/CFO at ECB commented, “We believe now is the perfect time to transition to the NYSE Amex based on the anticipated closing of our announced private placement stock offering with institutional investors which will result in the issuance of $79.7 million in company common stock, subject to final regulatory approval. ECB is well poised strategically to grow and diversify our geographic footprint, including organic growth, de novo market expansion, and potential future acquisitions. What time could be better than now to begin to capture the benefits of trading our stock on the NYSE Amex platform?”