PREMIER FINANCIAL BANCORP, INC. (PREMIER), (NASDAQ-GM: PFBI), a $1.5 billion community financial holding company with two bank subsidiaries, and First Bank of Charleston, Inc., a $189 million bank headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia jointly announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Premier will acquire First Bank, for a combination of cash and stock currently valued at approximately $33.0 million, or $32.00 per First Bank share. In conjunction with the acquisition by Premier, First Bank will be merged into Premier Bank, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier also headquartered in Huntington, West Virginia. The resulting merger will expand Premier Bank's full service footprint into the Charleston, West Virginia market place.

Premier President and CEO Robert W. Walker commented, "We are excited about the opportunity to once again expand the Premier community bank franchise, this time into the capital city of West Virginia. While we have established commercial loan relationships in Charleston, our retail loan and deposit product offerings should enjoy a natural boost with the addition of First Bank of Charleston'sretail franchise. Centrally located between our Ripley, Spencer and Madison markets, a Charlestonbased retail presence will enable Premier Bank to compete head-to-head with the large out-of-state banking franchises that bought their way into the marketplace, bringing their out-of-state, centralized decision making banking models with them. Premier Bank's community oriented approach to banking is managed in geographic regions with divisional presidents making local lending decisions. In addition, J. Mark Bias, President and CEO of Premier Bank, spent 27 years of his career in Charlestonbuilding relationships and developing a local decision based customer service approach to banking. After conversion to our data processing and information systems, First Bank customers should enjoy Premier's ever-increasing modern financial products and services, such as internet and mobile banking, electronic bank statements, and checking accounts with fraud prevention features such as "Debit Card Secure Lock," as well as credit monitoring services and alerts that help customers manage their personal financial information and help detect identity fraud. First Bank's commercial customers will also benefit from Premier's larger lending limits and cash management products while retaining the quality customer service and prompt credit decisions for which community banks like First Bank and Premier are well-known."

First Bank President and CEO Larry Stark stated, "I have personally known Bob Walker and Premier'smanagement team for a great number of years. Under their management, Premier has become an exceptional company while retaining their community bank atmosphere. We are pleased they chose First Bank as their partner as Premier strategically expands into the Charleston marketplace. I firmly believe this merger will be a success for our shareholders, customers, employees, and communities."

Premier and First Bank of Charleston and certain of their directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of First Bank of Charleston in connection with the proposed merger and the shareholders of Premier in connection with approving the issuance of Premier common stock. Information about the directors and executive officers of Premier is set forth in the proxy statement for Premier's 2017 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on April 25, 2017. Additional information regarding the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction may be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed merger when it becomes available. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph, when it becomes available.