First Bancorp Announces Cash Dividend

TROY, N.C., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of First
Bancorp (Nasdaq: FBNC), the parent company of First Bank, has declared a cash
dividend of $0.08 per share payable October 23, 2009 to shareholders of record
as of September 30, 2009. The $0.08 per share dividend rate is the same as
the rate declared in the second quarter of 2009 and is a decrease from the
$0.19 per share rate declared in the third quarter of 2008.

First Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Troy, North Carolina
with total assets of approximately $3.5 billion. Its principal activity is
the ownership and operation of First Bank, a state-chartered community bank
that now operates 98 branches, with 83 branches operating in the central
piedmont and coastal regions of North Carolina, 10 branches in South Carolina
(Cheraw, Dillon, Florence, Latta, Jefferson, Myrtle Beach and Little River),
and 5 branches in Virginia (Abingdon, Dublin, Fort Chiswell, Radford, and
Wytheville), where First Bank does business as First Bank of Virginia. First
Bank also has a loan production office in Blacksburg, Virginia. First
Bancorp's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the
symbol "FBNC."

Please visit our website at www.FirstBancorp.com.

SOURCE First Bancorp

Mr. Jerry L. Ocheltree, President & Chief Executive Officer of First Bancorp,
+1-910-576-6171