Green Bankshares Completes Sale of $72.3 Million of Preferred Equity Stock to U.S. Treasury Department under the Capital Purchase Program

GREENEVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Green Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRNB), the holding company for GreenBank, today announced that it has completed the sale of 72,278 shares of new Series A preferred equity stock for $72,278,000 to the U.S. Treasury Department under the Department's Capital Purchase Program. The action follows approval by shareholders of Green Bankshares on Friday, December 19, 2008, of an amendment to the Company's Articles of Incorporation authorizing the issuance of preferred stock. The new preferred shares, which represent a total of 3% of the Company's risk-weighted assets, carry a 5% coupon for five years, and 9% thereafter.

Stan Puckett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The voluntary Capital Purchase Program is an important element of the Treasury Department's efforts to maintain a strong banking system, which in turn will help lead a recovery in the nation's economy by increasing lending capacity to businesses and customers. Although GreenBank already has a strong capital base and is 'well-capitalized' within the meaning of federal regulatory requirements, we think it is prudent to strengthen our capital at this time in case the economy remains weak for an extended period of time, provide increased resources to support and grow customer relationships now and in the future, and expand our banking franchise." Puckett noted that the Bank's total risk-based capital ratio was 11.59% as of September 30, 2008, above the level of 10.00% needed to be considered "well capitalized." With the sale of these new preferred shares, this rises further to 14.59%.

Greeneville, Tennessee-based Green Bankshares, Inc., with total assets of approximately $3.012 billion, is the holding company for GreenBank. GreenBank, which traces its origin to 1890, has 63 branches across East and Middle Tennessee, and one branch each in Bristol, Virginia, and Hot Springs, North Carolina. It also provides wealth management services through its GreenWealth Division and residential mortgage lending through its Mortgage Division. In addition, GreenBank conducts separate businesses through three wholly owned subsidiaries: Superior Financial Services, Inc., a consumer finance company; GCB Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company specializing in automobile lending; and Fairway Title Co., a title insurance company.

Certain matters discussed in this news release are not historical facts but are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of and are furnished pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and actual results could differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties related to the Company's business are discussed in the Company's SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.