U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Litigation Release No. 18363 / September 25, 2003.

, Civil Action No. 03-22524-CIV-Jordan/Brown (S.D. Florida, filed September
25, 2003).

SEC Charges Three Miami Bankers With Fraud

   The United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced
   today that it filed a federal civil action charging Eduardo A.
   Masferrer ("Masferrer"), Juan Carlos Bernacé ("Bernacé") and John M.R.
   Jacobs ("Jacobs") with securities fraud. Masferrer, Bernacé and Jacobs
   were officers of Hamilton Bancorp, Inc. ("Hamilton"), the
   publicly-traded holding company for Hamilton Bank, N.A. ("Hamilton
   Bank"), a Miami-based former national bank.

   Specifically, Masferrer was the president, chief executive officer and
   chairman of Hamilton, Bernacé was its executive vice president and a
   director, and Jacobs was its senior vice president and chief financial
   officer.

   According to the complaint, the SEC alleges that Hamilton Bank,
   through Masferrer, Bernacé and Jacobs, engaged in a series of
   manipulative exchange transactions designed to fraudulently allow the
   bank to hide tremendous losses associated with severely impaired
   foreign investments. The SEC alleges that, as a result of these
   transactions, which took place during the period of about September
   1998 and September 1999, Hamilton materially overstated its income and
   other financial results in periodic filings made with the Commission
   and in press releases issued to the public. Moreover, Hamilton is
   alleged to have failed to make and keep books, records and accounts,
   and to devise and maintain a system of internal controls as required
   by the federal securities laws.

   The SEC's complaint alleges that, as a result of the conduct described
   above, Masferrer, Bernacé and Jacobs violated Section 10(b) of the
   Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5
   thereunder, and aided and abetted Hamilton's violations of Sections
   13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act and Rules
   12b-20, 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder. The complaint further alleges
   that Bernacé and Jacobs violated, in addition to the above provisions,
   Rule 13b2-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act. The SEC seeks
   permanent injunctions, officer and director bars, disgorgement of
   ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and the imposition of civil
   money penalties against Masferrer, Bernacé and Jacobs.

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