VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., March 31, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- In recognition of Gateway Financial Holdings' (the "Company") (Nasdaq:GBTS) inclusion in the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer D. Ben Berry will ring the bell to close the trading day for NASDAQ on Friday, April 4, 2008. The Company began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, which has the highest initial listing standards of any exchange in the world based on financial and liquidity requirements, on January 2, 2008.
According to Berry, "The Global Select Market is the highest of three tiers on the NASDAQ. We were pleased to be included in this listing and look forward to celebrating in New York City by ringing the closing bell. Nearly all of our executive staff and corporate board members will be on hand for the occasion. It means a lot to all of us."
The ringing of NASDAQ's opening and closing bells are symbolic ceremonies that represent the opening and/or close of the trading day for NASDAQ's virtual market, which brings together investors and market participants from around the world to trade electronically. The ceremonies are displayed live from NASDAQ's MarketSite broadcast studio and seven-story Times Square tower, which is the world's largest stationary video screen.
The closing bell ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m. after brief remarks by Berry, and can be viewed live at www.nasdaq.com.
About Gateway Financial Holdings, Inc. (www.gwfh.com):
Gateway Financial Holdings, Inc. is the parent company of Gateway Bank & Trust Co., a regional community bank with thirty-five full-service financial centers -- twenty in Virginia: Virginia Beach (7), Richmond (6), Chesapeake (3), Emporia (2), Suffolk and Norfolk; and fifteen in North Carolina: Chapel Hill, Elizabeth City (3), Edenton, Kitty Hawk (2), Raleigh (3), Moyock, Nags Head, Plymouth, Roper, and Wilmington. The Bank provides insurance through its Gateway Insurance Services, Inc. subsidiary, brokerage services through its Gateway Investment Services, Inc. subsidiary, mortgage banking services through its Gateway Bank Mortgage, Inc. subsidiary, and title insurance services through its Gateway Title Agency, Inc. subsidiary. The common stock of the Corporation is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol GBTS. For further information, visit the Corporation's web site at www.gwfh.com.