SCBT Financial Corporation Applied to Repay Capital Purchase Program Investment of the U.S. Treasury and Announces Offering of 1,150,000 Shares of Common Stock

COLUMBIA, S.C.--(Business Wire)--
SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: SCBT) announced today its intention to
redeem all of the shares of Preferred Stock issued to the U.S. Treasury
Department pursuant to its participation in the Capital Purchase Program (CPP).
The repayment is subject to the review and approval by regulators and completion
of an evaluation of SCBT's capital position. SCBT applied to the Treasury
Department to repay the CPP funds on April 30, 2009. The repurchase of the
preferred stock would be made with available cash resources at SCBT Financial
Corporation.

SCBT is the only bank headquartered in South Carolina to publicly announce that
it has applied with the Treasury Department to repay CPP funds.

The $64,779,000 in preferred stock was issued by SCBT to the Treasury Department
on January 16, 2009 pursuant to the CPP established under the Troubled Asset
Relief Program (TARP).

"SCBT`s strong balance sheet has allowed us to continue to perform well. We had
a solid first quarter and have been profitable in each quarter of this
recession. We accepted the CPP funds only in an abundance of caution and always
had the liquidity and capital to repay the funds. The new capital we intend to
raise will further strengthen our strong balance sheet and position us to take
advantage of opportunities in the marketplace," said Robert R. Hill, Jr., SCBT`s
chief executive officer.

In addition, SCBT Financial Corporation announced today that it is commencing a
public offering of 1,150,000 shares of its common stock. The shares will be
issued pursuant to a prospectus supplement filed as part of an existing shelf
registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form
S-3 (File No. 333-158116). The company intends to use the proceeds from the
equity offering for general corporate purposes and to enhance SCBT`s already
strong base of tangible common equity.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. is acting as the lead book-running manager and
Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. is acting as co-manager for the offering. The
underwriters will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15
percent of the offered amount of common stock from SCBT to cover
over-allotments, if any.

Prospective investors should read the prospectus contained in the registration
statement, the preliminary prospectus supplement and other documents that SCBT
Financial Corporation has filed or will file with the SEC for more complete
information about SCBT Financial Corporation and the offering. Investors may
obtain these documents without charge by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at
www.sec.gov. The common stock offering may be made only by means of a prospectus
and the related prospectus supplement. Copies of the preliminary prospectus
supplement and the prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from
Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Equity Capital Markets, 787 Seventh Avenue, Fourth
Floor, New York, NY 10019, (800) 966-1559.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an
offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of
these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

SCBT Financial Corporation, Columbia, South Carolina is a registered bank
holding company incorporated under the laws of South Carolina. The company
operates through SCBT, N.A., the third largest bank headquartered in South
Carolina, and NCBT, a Division of SCBT, N.A. Providing financial services for
over 75 years, SCBT Financial Corporation operates 49 financial centers in 16
South Carolina counties and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina. SCBT Financial
Corporation has assets of approximately $2.8 billion and its stock is traded
under the symbol SCBT in the NASDAQ Global Select Market. More information can
be found at www.SCBTonline.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature are
intended to be, and are hereby identified as, forward looking statements for
purposes of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. SCBT Financial Corporation cautions readers that forward-looking
statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from forecasted results. Such risks and
uncertainties, include, among others, the following possibilities: (1) credit
risk associated with an obligor's failure to meet the terms of any contract with
the bank or otherwise fail to perform as agreed; (2) interest risk involving the
effect of a change in interest rates on both the bank's earnings and the market
value of the portfolio equity; (3) liquidity risk affecting the bank's ability
to meet its obligations when they come due; (4) price risk focusing on changes
in market factors that may affect the value of traded instruments in
"mark-to-market" portfolios; (5) transaction risk arising from problems with
service or product delivery; (6) compliance risk involving risk to earnings or
capital resulting from violations of or nonconformance with laws, rules,
regulations, prescribed practices, or ethical standards; (7) strategic risk
resulting from adverse business decisions or improper implementation of business
decisions; (8) reputation risk that adversely affects earnings or capital
arising from negative public opinion; (9) terrorist activities risk that results
in loss of consumer confidence and economic disruptions; (10) economic downturn
risk resulting in deterioration in the credit markets; (11) greater than
expected non-interest expenses; (12) excessive loan losses; (13) restrictions
imposed under the United States Treasury's Capital Purchase Program; (14) the
possibility that our company may not be able to repurchase some or all of the
securities issued to United States Treasury under the Capital Purchase Program;
(15) volatile capital markets; and (16) other factors, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements.

SCBT Financial Corporation
Media Contact: Donna Pullen, 803-765-4558
Analyst Contact: Robert R. Hill, Jr., 803-765-4629

Copyright Business Wire 2009