Suffolk News-Herald

Gateway Bank & Trust Co. is the newest addition to Suffolk’s rapidly growing landscape of financial institutions. At the Godwin Boulevard location, residents will soon benefit from a full line of products and services.

D. Ben Berry, chairman, president and CEO of Gateway Bank and Trust, said the company is taking over the existing Essex Bank at 2825 Godwin Boulevard, and two others in Emporia and Elizabeth City, N.C.

&uot;Southeastern Virginia has always been a big part of our market plan and we intend to provide a growing footprint to best serve our customers in this area,&uot; said Berry. &uot;This whole region is a strong growth area and greater Suffolk is an important part of that market.&uot;

Gateway Bank & Trust has already begun construction on its Virginia headquarters. Located at 1580 Laskin Road in the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach, the two-story, 12,000 square-foot site is slated for completion in January 2005. The headquarters will serve as a complete financial center for business and consumer banking, as well as the hub of Gateway’s Virginia corporate operations.

Berry said Gateway currently has five locations in southeastern Virginia. By the spring of 2005, the company will have nine locations in southeastern Virginia and nine branches in northeastern North Carolina.

Based in Elizabeth City, Gateway is following its strategic plan of steady expansion in its primary markets. In addition to the Suffolk, Emporia and Elizabeth City locations, Gateway also plans to open three new locations; Nags Head in August; Moyock, N.C. in December, and the Sandbridge community of Virginia Beach by the spring of 2005.

Gateway currently has three locations in Virginia Beach and two in Chesapeake. According to Berry, the Hilltop headquarters offers a prime site for coordinating service and operations for South Hampton Roads and Virginia. The architectural firm for the Virginia headquarters is Lyall Design Architects in Norfolk, and the builder is Hoy Construction, Inc. in Norfolk.

Gateway Bank & Trust Co. (GBTS-NSADAQ Small Cap) was established December 1, 1998 in Elizabeth City with $11 million in assets, which have grown to approximately to $353.3 million as of March 31, 2004. Gateway Bank provides a full range of financial, insurance, and investment services. Financial services include private and corporate accounts, mortgage and retail loans, certificates of deposit, credit cards, personal lines of credit, corporate cash management, retirement accounts, and on-line banking. A full line of personal and commercial insurance services is offered through its subsidiary, Gateway Insurance Services.

Investment products are offered through its subsidiary, Gateway Investment Services. Gateway Bank currently has financial centers in Elizabeth City, Edenton, Plymouth, Roper, and Kitty Hawk, NC and Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, A. Gateway Insurance Services has locations in Elizabeth City, Hertford, Edenton, Plymouth, Moyock and Kitty Hawk, NC. For more information, contact David R. Twiddy at 252-334-1511.