First Reliance Bancshares : 2023 Annual Shareholder Meeting

2023 Annual Meeting

"Banking as Unique as You are"

May 25, 2023

COMPANY OVERVIEW

COMPANY PROFILE

• First Reliance Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for its wholly owned subsidiary, First Reliance Bank ("FRB")
• Website:www.firstreliance.com
• • Ticker: FSRL (OTC Pink)
  • Corporate Headquarters ("HQ"): Florence, SC
  • The Bank filed it's De Novo application in February of 1999 with operations beginning immediately thereafter
  • On April 1, 2002 the holding company, First Reliance Bancshares, Inc., was created with the sole purpose of serving as the holding company to First Reliance Bank
  • The Bank is engaged in various lending strategies including commercial, mortgage, and retail lending among others
  • The Bank operates in attractive markets throughout South Carolina, including Florence, Columbia, Greenville, Charleston and Myrtle Beach and has recently expanded in highly attractive North Carolina markets, including Charlotte and Winston-Salem

FIRST RELIANCE FRANCHISE MAP

Greenville

Florence

Myrtle Beach

Charleston

Bank Branches

Corporate Center

Mortgage Operations Center

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

DEEP, EXPERIENCED SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Name & Title	Biography
	■ Founded First Reliance Bank in 1999
	■ Former Senior Vice President, City Executive of Florence, and Board of Director at Pee Dee State Bank from
F.R. "Rick" Saunders Jr	1983 through 1997 and former Senior Market Executive with Centura Bank from 1997 to1998
Founder, CEO & Director	■ Awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor awarded to citizens of South Carolina, for his
	contributions to the betterment of the state and SC communities
	Years in Banking: 42 / Years at First Reliance: 24
	■ Hired as President of First Reliance Bank in January 2021
Justin Strickland	■ Former Chairman of the South Carolina Bankers Association
■ Former President of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (formerly Greenville First Bancshares, Inc.) and Southern
President of FRB	First Bank, N.A. from November 2006 until January 21, 2020; held various positions with The Citizens &
	Southern National Bank of South Carolina and served as President of Carolina First Bank from 1993 to 2006
	Years in Banking: 38 / Years at First Reliance: Joined First Reliance in January2021
Robert Haile	■ Hired as Chief Financial Officer in November 2020
■ From 2001 until 2020, held various roles including Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer for both Carolina
Sr. EVP & Chief Financial
Financial Corp. and CresCom Bank
Officer
Years in Banking: 22 / Years at First Reliance: Joined First Reliance in November2020
	■ Chief Credit Officer since January 2021. Joined First Reliance Bank in July 2020 as Senior Vice President and
Brook Moore	Senior Credit Administrator
Sr. EVP, Chief Credit	■ Former Team Leader and Senior Credit Executive at Southern First Bank; held various banking roles including
Officer	Commercial Banking Exec., Columbia Market President, & CLO
	Years in Banking: 28 / Years at First Reliance: Joined First Reliance in July 2020
Chuck Stuart	■ Appointed President of First Reliance Mortgage in December 2020 and former Executive Vice President of
Mortgage Banking from February 2015 to December2020
President of Mortgage	■ Former Senior Vice President of Residential Lending / Capital Markets at First Federal
Division
Years in Banking: 27 / Years at First Reliance: 8

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

MARKET OVERVIEW

CHARLESTON, SC MSA

			 The oldest and largest city in the state of South Carolina
				 Current MSA population of 813,052, which is expected to grow
				7.3% within the next five years
				 MSA median household income of $72,451, which is expected
				to grow 12.4% within the next five years
			 Located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean,
				Charleston offers access via vessel to more than 140
				international destinations with the deepest water of any port
				in the South Atlantic through the SC PortsAuthority
			 Consistently nationally ranked as one of the best city's to live
				and work in America
				 Conde Nast ranked Charleston the #2 Best Small City in the
				U.S. (2021)
				 Ranked Best City in the US by Travel and Leisure Tourism for
	KEY EMPLOYERS		10 years in row
			Ranked 9th among top US metros for high foreign direct
				investment intensity
			Home to Boeing's east coast assembly and delivery facility,
				Mercedes-Benz Vans plant that assembles the Sprinter vans
				for the US and Canadian markets, Volvo's first US plant that
				produces all new S60 mid-size sedans, Medical University of
				South Carolina ("MUSC"), and Kiawah Island Golf Resort
				(home to the 2021 PGAChampionship)

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

MARKET OVERVIEW (CONTINUED)

	COLUMBIA, SC MSA		FLORENCE, SC MSA

• Columbia, the capital and 2nd largest city of South Carolina
• • Current MSA population of 838,250 and MSA median household income of $53,845, which is expected to grow 5.2% and 8.4% within the next five years, respectively
• Columbia has a number of strong employers including

SCANA Corp. (recently acquired by Dominion

Energy),

BlueCross BlueShield, Prisma Health, University of South Carolina, region HQ for UPS and among many others

• • Over 70 foreign affiliated companies and 14 Fortune 500 companies have operations within the Columbia region
  • Over $1.4 billion invested in Columbia over the past 5 years
  • Inc. Magazine ranked Columbia a Top 50 Best U.S. Cities for starting a business (2020)
• Home to four major universities including the University of South Carolina (with over 35,000 students) and the nation's largest Army training facility, Fort Jackson

• Strategically positioned on the I-95 corridor midway between New York and Miami, the MSA of Florence is expected to continue the growth of its diverse economy consisting of manufacturing, metal fabrication, medical services, distribution and pharmaceuticals
• • Current population of 199,259 and median household income of $47,429
  • Florence County has brought more than $1 billion in capital investments in the industrial, commercial, institutional arts sectors in the past eight years alone
• Recently named among America's top 50 cities for business relocation and expansion by Expansion Management Magazine

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