CONTACT:
B. Grant Yarber
President and Chief Executive Officer            
Phone: (919) 645-3494
Email: gyarber@capitabank-nc.com

Local currency, the PLENTY, re-launches in Pittsboro

New life for currency with secure backing of Capital Bank

Pittsboro, N.C. — May 7, 2009 — New denominations of the PLENTY (Piedmont Local EcoNomy Tender) will launch in Pittsboro and surrounding counties to boost the health of the local economy. On Tuesday, May 12, the PLENTY Currency Cooperative will re-launch the PLENTY and Capital Bank will begin exchanging dollars for PLENTYs at its Pittsboro location, 37 Hillsboro St.

Originally launched in 2002, the PLENTY is supported by a grassroots effort to promote local spending in the heart of North Carolina´s Piedmont region; including Chatham, Orange, Durham and parts of Alamance, Wake and Lee counties.

Capital Bank´s Pittsboro branch is offering exchange services at the rate of $.90 for one PLENTY, providing consumers a 10 percent discount on purchases from local businesses. The public may also exchange “old” PLENTYs for the newly denominated PLENTYs at Capital Bank in Pittsboro. The new denominations correspond directly with US dollars ($1, $5, $10, etc.) and are taxed the same as dollars.

“Capital Bank´s backing of the PLENTY is the notable difference in this re-launch of our local currency,” said Lyle Estill, president of Piedmont Biofuels and member of the PLENTY Board of Trustees. “Now that the note is exchangeable, redeemable for something else of value, we should see wider use in the region.”

“Capital Bank stepped up to propel this community effort,” said Jennifer Benefield, chief administration officer for Capital Bank and member of the PLENTY Board of Trustees. “Our focus stays on the communities we serve and since local currencies are generated within a specific area, they help promote cooperation, bolster local commercial channels and foster a sense of civic pride that only makes a community stronger.”

To learn more about the PLENTY and to find out how to become a member to accept the PLENTY at your place of business, please visit www.theplenty.org.