Aquesta Financial Holdings, Inc. Names New Board Member Alison Smith

CORNELIUS, N.C., Dec. 05, 2017 -- Aquesta Financial Holdings, Inc (OTC:AQFH) (Parent Company to Aquesta Bank and stock symbol of AQFH) is pleased to announce the election of Alison Smith as its newest Board of Directors member effective January 1, 2018.

Alison has over thirty-five years experience in the financial services industry.  She has worked as an investment and international banker in both London and the United States.   She achieved her Chartered Financial Analyst CFA accreditation in 1988 and is certified in Entity and Intangible Valuation.  She has also served on several bank holding company boards – including most recently ASB Bancorp (Parent to Ashville Savings Bank) and Yadkin Financial Corp (Parent to Yadkin Bank).  There she served on Audit, Asset and Liability, and Strategic Planning Committees.

Alison has provided independent merger and acquisition analysis and post-merger valuation through her company, Smith Capital, Inc. since 1995. Prior to that she was an investment banker at Interstate/Johnson Lane specializing in financial institutions, and a banker at Nationsbank.

Jim Engel, President and CEO, said, “We are fortunate to have Alison join the Aquesta board with her extensive financial analysis and strategic assessment experience.  As the banking market continues to evolve, we believe Alison can help Aquesta achieve its strategic plan of being the best community bank in the markets we serve.”  Regarding her addition to Aquesta’s board, Smith said, "It is a true honor to become a member of the board and I'm looking forward to working alongside the leadership team at Aquesta."

Alison lives in Charlotte with her husband and enjoys poring over detailed financial statements when not swimming or running half marathons and listening to opera.

Aquesta Bank is the largest Community Bank headquartered in Mecklenburg County and provides full service commercial banking from its headquarters in Cornelius, North Carolina about 15 miles north of Charlotte along with its 7 full service locations.   Aquesta Insurance Services, Inc. offers property, casualty and health insurance products as an independent agency. Aquesta Financial Holdings, Inc. is the holding company to its wholly owned subsidiaries, Aquesta Bank and Aquesta Insurance Services, Inc.  Aquesta Financial Holdings Inc. common stock is publicly traded and is quoted on OTC under the symbol “AQFH”.

For more information on Aquesta Bank, please contact Jim Engel, CEO and President. at (704) 439-4343 or visit our website at www.aquesta.com.