Highlands Bankshares, Inc. Hires Former Head of Central Carolina Bank Mortgage

ABINGDON, Va., Feb. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlands Bankshares, Inc. (OTC Pink: HBKA) today announced the hiring of Kevin Pack as President and Chief Executive Officer of a new mortgage division within Highlands' banking subsidiary, Highlands Union Bank, to be called Highlands Home Mortgage.  Kevin, a mortgage industry veteran with 20 years of experience, previously served as the top Executive of National Commerce Financial's bank subsidiary, Central Carolina Bank, in their mortgage operation where he worked from 1995 to 2005.  In this role, he oversaw and led the mortgage division's growth to over $1.5 billion in annual production.

Following National Commerce's sale to SunTrust, Kevin created both an in-market and out-of-market mortgage division, serving as President and Chief Executive of Virginia Beach based Gateway Financial Holdings' mortgage division, which grew from $0 to approximately $500 million in annual production.  Subsequently, he has served as the North Carolina statewide mortgage executive for Portsmouth, Virginia-based TowneBank where he initiated their out-of-market North Carolina mortgage presence. Thereafter, he served as the North and South Carolina statewide mortgage executive for Atlanta based Fidelity Southern Corporation where he built a very successful out-of-market mortgage presence.

"As part of our performance improvement initiative, we are evaluating scalable businesses which produce a high return on assets and are complementary to our relationship-based financial services strategy.  Residential mortgages are a key component to serving the needs of nearly every individual and through disciplined underwriting and secondary market capabilities is a business that produces a strong return on assets," said Timothy K. Schools President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Key to the success of any business is the leader and Kevin is recognized as one of the leading mortgage CEOs across the Carolinas. Having been his teammate at National Commerce, I am thrilled and feel fortunate to have him join Highlands.  He will be an outstanding addition to our team."

A Greensboro, North Carolina native, Kevin attended Lee University, located in Cleveland, Tennessee.  He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolina's and previously served as past board member of SPCA of Wake County and various non-profit organizations.

Kevin will be based in Raleigh and has responsibility for managing the mortgage operations and sales teams through Highlands Union Bank's newly formed division Highlands Home Mortgage.  Highlands Home Mortgage will immediately be seeking mortgage originators to partner with each of the bank's subsidiary branches as well as originators across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia who have deep realtor relationships and can build a business without the presence of a traditional bank branch.  Kevin reports to Ray Skinner, Executive Vice President Consumer Banking and Wealth Management.

About Highlands Bankshares, Inc.

Highlands Bankshares, Inc. is a bank holding company and parent company of Highlands Union Bank.  The Company and the Bank are headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, and offer relationship-based financial services to small businesses, professionals, and consumers through digital channels as well as 14 branches located in Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia.

Cautions Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements relating to financial and operational performance and certain plans, expectations, goals and projections.  Although the Company believes that its expectations with respect to the forward-looking statements are based upon reliable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, these statements are inherently subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurances that actual results, performance or achievements will not differ materially from those set forth or implied in the forward-looking statements.  For an explanation of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, see the risk factors and other cautionary language included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available at the time of the release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

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SOURCE Highlands Bankshares, Inc.

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