Exhibit 99.1

NEW CENTURY REPORTS

YEAR-END AND FOURTH QUARTER 2010 RESULTS

DUNN, NC . . . For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, New Century Bancorp (the “Company”) reported net income of $125,000 and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.02. For the year ended as of the same date, New Century Bancorp reported a net loss of ($4.96) million and basic and diluted losses per share of ($0.72).

At December 31, 2010, the Company held total assets of $626.9 million, total deposits of $534.6 million and total loans of $470.5 million. At December 31, 2009, these figures stood at total assets of $630.4 million, total deposits of $540.3 million, and total loans of $481.2 million.

New Century Bancorp President and CEO William L. Hedgepeth II commented on the results, saying, “It is difficult to report these year-end results in light of the work we have done and the progress that has been made as we use a disciplined approach to managing the Company. Through June 30, 2010, we reported net income of $1.5 million and were on track for a successful 2010, prior to reporting an alleged fraud that resulted in an addition to our loan loss provision of $10.8 million.”

Highlights for 2010 include:

Hedgepeth said, “In 2011, we will help our customers as they work through a continuing difficult economy and as they begin to recover, hopefully enabling them to ‘power their plans’ for a great future—whatever it holds. For New Century, we will stay the course, following our disciplined approach—an approach that, without extraordinary events, had us on track toward our overall goals. We remain committed to employing every legal remedy available to us in recovering losses resulting from the alleged fraud that impacted the Company. On behalf of everyone at New Century, we look forward to a great year in 2011.”

New Century Bancorp, which through New Century Bank has offices in Dunn, Clinton, Fayetteville (2), Goldsboro, Lillington, Lumberton, Pembroke, and Raeford, as well as a loan production office in Greenville, NC, remains well-capitalized and deposits held by the bank are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $250,000 per depositor.

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The information as of and for the quarter and year-ended December 31, 2010 as presented is unaudited. This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements regarding certain of our goals and expectations with respect to earnings, earnings per share, revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well as other measures of economic performance, including statements relating to estimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions. The actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to, our ability to manage growth, our limited operating history, substantial changes in financial markets, regulatory changes, changes in interest rates, loss of deposits and loan demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes in real estate values and the real estate market. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company’s SEC filings, including its periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request from the Company.

New Century Bancorp, Inc.

Selected Financial Information and Other Data

($ in thousands, except per share data)