You have likely seen updates in the national news about banks who have announced that they are accepting government funding through the Capital Purchase Program ("CPP"). Arvest is well capitalized and has a strong balance sheet. Funding through this program is not necessary. An announcement was released on Wednesday, Nov 26 announcing that we will not seek the federal funding.

Portions of the announcement made this morning are contained below:

Financial Strength Makes Funding Unnecessary

"Arvest evaluated the provisions of the Capital Purchase Program carefully and made a business decision not to apply for the funds due to the strength of our balance sheet and our capital exceeding federal standards for being well-capitalized" said Kevin Sabin, President and Chief Operating Officer of Arvest. "While the current economic environment and outlook is certainly challenging to many banks and customers, we intend to remain a well-capitalized bank servicing the borrowing, depository, investment and transactional needs of the many customers we serve", said Sabin.

"The Treasury is to be commended for undertaking efforts to deal with the current instability in the financial markets and with the weakening national economy. Arvest has sufficient capital needed to fund expansion and to support the borrowing needs of our customers. The trade territories in which we operate have avoided the worst of the real estate issues experienced elsewhere and we are optimistic these markets will continue to have healthy local economies."

Arvest Bank had total assets of $9.82 billion as of September 30, 2008, with total shareholders equity of $961.6 million. The bank’s Total risk-based capital and Tier 1 Leverage ratios as of September 30, 2008 were 10.45% and 7.37%, respectively. Arvest operates more than 215 branches and more than 320 ATMs in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and offers a wide range of financial services including FDIC-insured deposit accounts, business loans, personal loans, home loans, credit cards, brokerage accounts, trust services, life insurance, international banking and cash management. Arvest's Report of Condition as of September 30 can be found online at arvest.com.