FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Investor Relations
228-435-8208
investorrelations@thepeoples.com

PEOPLES FINANCIAL CORPORATION RESTATES 2011 EARNINGS

Fourth quarter results are adjusted by $500,000, net of tax, for additional loan loss provision

BILOXI, MS (March 15, 2012)—Peoples Financial Corporation (NASDAQ Capital Market: PFBX), parent of The Peoples Bank, revised fourth quarter and 2011 earnings to account for an additional loan loss provision of $660,000, announced Chevis C. Swetman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the holding company and the bank.

As a result of the revisions, fourth quarter earnings totaled ($622,000) for the fourth quarter 2011 and $1,203,000 for the full year.  The increase in the loan loss reserve and a reduction of $45,000 in the carrying value of real estate owned combined to reduce fourth quarter earnings by $500,000, net of taxes.

The adjustments were the result of new appraisals on real estate securing certain loans and on one parcel in the bank’s other real estate portfolio, said Swetman.

“We learned of these changes after we announced our annual earnings,” said Swetman, “which required us to allocate additional specific reserves as of December 31, 2011,” he said.

After revisions, earnings per share for 2011 totaled $.23 per average weighted share, compared to $.29 per average weighted share in 2010. Earnings per share figures are based on average weighted shares outstanding of 5,136,918 and 5,151,661 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

One effect of the restatement is to increase the bank’s primary capital ratio to 14.65%, six basis points higher than what was originally reported for 2011.

Founded in 1896, with $804 million in assets as of December 31, 2011, The Peoples Bank operates 16 branches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties. In addition to a comprehensive range of retail and commercial banking services, the bank also operates a trust and investment services department that has provided customers with financial, estate and retirement planning services since 1936. 

The Peoples Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peoples Financial Corporation, listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol PFBX. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.thepeoples.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements and reflects industry conditions, company performance and financial results. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties which could cause the Company’s actual results and experience to differ from the anticipated results and expectation expressed in such forward-looking statements.