Gateway Financial Holdings' Chairman to Ring NASDAQ Closing Bell

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.

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CONTACT: Gateway Financial Holdings, Inc.,
D. Ben Berry, Chairman, President, and CEO
(757) 422-8004