James Y. Preston

Parker Poe, Adams & Bernstein LLP is a regional law firm that has been providing legal services for over a century. The private company is based in Charlotte, NC and has approximately 275 attorneys serving clients from seven offices across the Southeastern United States. Parker Poe is well-known for representing many of the region's largest local governments and companies in corporate, finance, regulatory, real estate, and litigation matters.

The Group's principal activity is the provision of banking services to small and medium- sized businesses in North Carolina. Acting as a holding company to First Commerce Capital Trust I, the Group provides commercial and consumer loans, safe deposit boxes and other associated services. Primarily, it makes business loans secured by real estate, personal property and accounts receivable; unsecured business loans; consumer loans secured by automobiles; unsecured consumer loans; commercial real estate loans; and other loans. The deposits accepted by the Group include savings accounts, checking accounts and fixed and variable interest certificates. The Group conducts its business from its corporate headquarters located in Charlotte, North Carolina, with an additional branch in Charlotte and a branch in the Lake Norman area of Mecklenburg County in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Bank of Granite Corp. operates as a bank holding company. The company provides financial solutions to individual and institutional clients. These solutions include individual, group and short-term insurance, personal financial services such as estate planning, trusts, wills, personal loans, health management, savings and linked products, business fitness assessment and insurance investment management, asset management, property asset management, stock broking, employee benefits, risk management and capital market activities. The company's banking activities include the taking of demand and time deposits and the making of loans, secured and unsecured, to individuals, associations, partnerships and corporations. The firm's portfolio segments include commercial and industrial; real estate construction; real estate commercial mortgage and consumer. Bank of Granite was founded on June 1, 1987 and is headquartered in Granite Falls, NC.