EXHIBIT 99.1

News Release

For more information contact:

Dennis J. Zember Jr.

Executive Vice President & CFO

(229) 890-1111

AMERIS BANCORP REPORTS NET INCOME OF $3.6 MILLION FOR

THIRD QUARTER OF 2007

AMERIS BANCORP (NasdaqGS: ABCB), Moultrie, Georgia, reported net income of $3.6 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, compared to net income of $5.9 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, in the same quarter of 2006.  Earnings per share in the third quarter of 2006 were positively affected by the Company’s sale of a banking charter for $1.0 million.  Year to date earnings totaled $14.0 million or $1.02 per diluted share compared to $16.4 million or $1.24 per diluted share for the same period in 2006.

Growth in Net Interest Income

Net interest income during the third quarter of 2007 grew 6.61% to $19.1 million compared to the same quarter in 2006. Yields on earning assets increased to 7.87% in the current quarter from 7.73% in the third quarter of 2006. Average loan balances increased 16.2% to $1.6 billion during the quarter ending September 30, 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.

Average deposits during the third quarter of 2007 grew 10.8% to $1.70 billion compared to $1.53 billion during the same quarter in 2006. Continued growth in loans and deposits is largely the result of successful sales efforts across the Company's footprint, particularly in growth markets such as Jacksonville, Florida and Columbia, South Carolina.

Higher Levels of Provision for Loan Loss

During the third quarter, additional levels of loan loss provisions were recorded associated with two problem credits that the Company believes are nearing resolution.  These two problem credits amounted to 45.9% of total non-performing loans at the current quarter end.  The Company has aggressively pursued collection of these credits and the current collateral values are fully recognized in current earnings at liquidation levels.

These problem credits are located in an area that has recently experienced declines in value and a slowdown in real estate sales.  While 1% of the Company’s loan portfolio is located in this area, only these specific credits have exhibited weakness.  A broader review of the portfolio shows steady to improving criticized and classified credits and steady past dues ranging from 0.60% to 0.75% of total loans.  Addressing the Company’s credit quality, Edwin W. Hortman, Jr., President and CEO, commented, “Although we’re disappointed with the condition of several loans and their impact on our results, we are encouraged that steps taken last year to tighten underwriting standards and improve collection efforts have resulted in steady quality indicators in the overall portfolio.  There is no systemic credit quality issue in our portfolio and exposure to areas experiencing significant declines in real estate values are limited.”

The Company’s allowance for loan losses totaled $26.4 million at the end of the third quarter of 2007 or 1.66% as a percentage of total loans versus 1.74% at September 2006.  Non-performing assets increased $3.6 million during the quarter to end at $21.9 million.  Non-performing assets as a percentage of loans and repossessed collateral were 1.38% at quarter end versus 0.73% at September 2006.

Non-Recurring Expenses and Dilution from Expansion Projects

In addition to higher than normal provision for loan losses, the Company realized other operating expenses, primarily associated with collection efforts and upgrades to operating systems necessary to support our recently centralized functions.  Partially offsetting these expenses were significantly lower levels of employee incentive accruals.  The net increase in these operating expenses was approximately $400,000.

Expansion efforts continue in South Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida.  Dilution from these activities totaled $0.02 per share for the quarter and $0.08 for the year to date period.  Total loans and deposits in these markets increased to $240.5 million and $286.2 million, respectively, compared to $109.6 and $162.2 million for the same period in 2006.

Non-interest Income and Efforts to Improve Efficiency

Recurring non-interest income increased 10.9% during the quarter to $4.7 million from $4.2 million in the same quarter in 2006.  Income from mortgage banking activities increased $236,000 or 43.1% over amounts reported in the third quarter of 2006.  The Company’s efforts to recruit experienced mortgage bankers continued during the quarter.  During 2007, Ameris has added approximately 20 mortgage bankers across its footprint to capture a greater share of related activity.  The Company has no exposure to subprime mortgage losses and recent communications with the Company’s correspondent banks have not revealed weaknesses or funding issues.

Service charges on deposit accounts also increased materially during the quarter to $3.2 million, an increase of 7.4% when compared to the same quarter in 2006.  Sales efforts associated with transaction accounts and further adjustments to fee schedules are the primary reason for the increase.

During the third quarter of 2007, the Company substantially completed the centralization of the remaining non-customer contact roles related to loan and deposit operations.  Certain levels of overstaffing were needed as the Company transitioned to centralized processes.  Management anticipates some reduction in staff during the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008 as new support centers develop the necessary expertise to ensure no impact on customer service.

Advertising costs were approximately $321,000 higher during the third quarter of 2007 than in the prior quarter as the Company rolled out several programs aimed at raising low cost deposit accounts and other retail activities.  As a result of these sales efforts, the Company’s banking staff opened approximately 4,300 low-cost deposit accounts, a significant improvement over levels seen in previous quarters.  The Company anticipates advertising costs to moderate at levels slightly lower than during the third quarter of 2007.

Edwin W. Hortman, Jr. commented on the quarter, saying “The industry’s challenges with credit quality, declining real estate values and the inverted yield curve of the past year have sharpened our senses and our efforts to fine tune each part of our franchise.  As we emerge from this tough period, our Company will be better prepared to outperform as we have improved disciplines around efficiency and risk management.  We’re succeeding in many areas of the Company, including efforts to recruit seasoned bankers with excellent reputations, consolidation of non-customer contact roles and growth of non-interest income through areas other than service charges.  I’m proud of our employees who are working hard to distinguish Ameris Bank and I’m confident that our efforts will be successful.”

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Ameris Bancorp Common Stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “ABCB”. The preceding release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “anticipate” and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates which they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

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AMERIS BANCORP
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(unaudited)
(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)
	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended
	Sept			June			Mar.			Dec.			Sept.			Sept			Sept
	2007			2007			2007			2006			2006			2007			2006
EARNINGS
Net Income	$	3,570		$	5,373		$	5,024		$	5,758		$	5,954		$	13,967		$	16,369
PER COMMON SHARE DATA
Earnings per share:
Basic		0.26			0.40			0.37			0.44			0.46			1.04			1.26
Diluted		0.26			0.39			0.37			0.43			0.45			1.02			1.24
Cash Dividends per share		0.14			0.14			0.14			0.14			0.14			0.42			0.42
Book value per share (period end)		13.93			13.60			13.51			13.24			12.31			13.93			12.31
Tangible book value per share (period end)		9.51			9.16			9.06			8.73			8.58			9.51			8.58
Weighted average number of shares:
Basic		13,501,663			13,485,683			13,443,850			13,044,493			13,022,400			13,477,065			12,986,788
Diluted		13,620,069			13,663,072			13,667,509			13,269,289			13,226,055			13,650,217			13,156,784
Period-end number of shares		13,539,195			13,541,476			13,527,520			13,553,002			13,033,193			13,539,195			13,033,193
Market data:
High closing price		23.05			25.58			28.15			28.99			27.77			27.94			27.91
Low closing price		17.72			21.76			23.11			25.77			20.99			17.72			19.35
Period end closing price		18.08			22.47			24.33			28.18			27.07			18.08			27.07
Average daily volume		50,547			38,941			41,130			23,016			36,957			43,565			25,001
PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets		0.68	%		1.06	%		1.01	%		1.17	%		1.28	%		0.92	%		1.24	%
Return on average equity		7.56	%		11.64	%		11.22	%		13.51	%		15.15	%		10.10	%		14.33	%
Earning asset yield (TE)		7.87	%		7.80	%		7.85	%		7.64	%		7.73	%		7.84	%		7.49	%
Total cost of funds		3.90	%		3.84	%		3.79	%		3.65	%		3.50	%		3.85	%		3.15	%
Net interest margin (TE)		4.03	%		4.03	%		4.10	%		4.03	%		4.26	%		4.05	%		4.36	%
Non-interest income excluding securities transactions,
as a percent of total revenue (TE)		11.04	%		11.34	%		11.29	%		17.02	%		13.82	%		11.22	%		12.65	%
Efficiency ratio		64.08	%		59.98	%		62.96	%		62.66	%		58.24	%		62.36	%		58.57	%
CAPITAL ADEQUACY
Equity to assets		8.97	%		8.98	%		8.97	%		8.73	%		8.25	%		8.97	%		8.73	%
Tangible common equity to assets		6.30	%		6.24	%		6.20	%		5.95	%		5.90	%		6.30	%		5.90	%
OTHER PERIOD-END DATA
FTE Headcount		621			604			600			600			588			621			588
Assets per FTE	$	3,387		$	3,393		$	3,394		$	3,413		$	3,309		$	3,387		$	3,309
Branch locations		47			46			46			44			43			47			43
Deposits per branch location	$	36,337		$	36,852		$	37,228		$	38,867		$	38,162		$	36,337		$	38,162

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AMERIS BANCORP
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(unaudited)
(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)
	Three Months Ended												Nine Months Ended
	Sept			June		Mar.		Dec.		Sept.			Sept			Sept
	2007			2007		2007		2006		2006			2007			2006
INCOME STATEMENT
Interest income
Interest and fees on loans	$	33,479		$	31,573	$	30,760	$	29,175	$	28,553		$	95,811		$	78,384
Interest on taxable securities		3,480			3,434		3,337		3,032		2,986			10,252			8,678
Interest on nontaxable securities		175			176		179		174		156			530			381
Interest on deposits in other banks		317			659		1,042		1,626		899			2,017			1,956
Interest on federal funds sold		-			1		91		73		30			92			188
Total interest income		37,451			35,842		35,409		34,080		32,624			108,702			89,587
Interest expense
Interest on deposits		15,877			15,540		15,205		14,392		12,600			46,621			31,207
Interest on federal funds purchased and securities
sold under agreements to repurchase		43			34		59		62		37			137			118
Interest on other borrowings		2,450			1,939		1,727		1,713		2,090			6,115			6,300
Total interest expense		18,370			17,512		16,991		16,167		14,727			52,873			37,625
Net interest income		19,081			18,330		18,419		17,913		17,897			55,829			51,962
Provision for loan losses		2,964			936		507		713		713			4,407			2,124
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		16,117			17,394		17,911		17,200		17,184			51,422			49,838
Noninterest income
Service charges on deposit accounts		3,197			3,066		2,870		3,665		2,978			9,133			8,535
Mortgage banking activity		783			799		683		639		547			2,265			1,495
Other non-interest income		680			769		972		2,718		1,730			2,422			2,960
Gain(loss) on sale of securities		(69	)		8		-		-		(3	)		(61	)		(308	)
Total noninterest income		4,591			4,643		4,525		7,023		5,252			13,759			12,682
Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits		7,438			7,492		7,732		7,445		7,131			22,662			19,797
Equipment and occupancy expense		1,757			1,718		1,676		2,281		1,658			5,151			4,555
Amortization of intangible assets		324			324		324		322		344			973			785
Other operating expenses		5,650			4,245		4,712		5,577		4,348			14,607			12,723
Total noninterest expense		15,170			13,780		14,444		15,626		13,481			43,394			37,860
Operating Profit		5,539			8,257		7,992		8,597		8,955			21,787			24,660
Provision for income taxes		1,968			2,884		2,968		2,838		3,001			7,820			8,291
Net Income	$	3,570		$	5,373	$	5,024	$	5,759	$	5,954		$	13,967		$	16,369
Diluted earnings per share		0.26			0.39		0.37		0.43		0.45			1.02			1.24

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AMERIS BANCORP
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(unaudited)
(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)
	Sept.			June			Mar.			Dec.			Sept.
	2007			2007			2007			2006			2006
PERIOD-END BALANCE SHEET
Assets
Cash and due from banks	$	58,281		$	50,328		$	49,640		$	66,856		$	54,093
Federal funds sold & interest bearing balances		22,910			16,342			94,496			135,232			148,118
Securities available for sale, at fair value		301,989			300,642			300,322			283,192			266,546
Loans		1,593,014			1,556,862			1,475,869			1,442,951			1,373,071
Less: allowance for loan losses		26,434			25,032			25,113			24,863			23,905
Loans, net		1,566,581			1,531,831			1,450,756			1,418,088			1,349,166
Premises and equipment, net		54,639			52,385			47,251			46,604			42,266
Intangible assets, net		5,126			5,450			5,775			6,099			5,640
Goodwill		54,675			54,629			54,419			54,365			42,933
Other assets		38,939			37,466			33,754			37,106			37,142
Total Assets	$	2,103,139		$	2,049,073		$	2,036,413		$	2,047,542		$	1,945,904
Liabilities
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing demand	$	192,706		$	200,849		$	197,845		$	221,592		$	226,939
Interest-bearing demand		586,891			576,309			574,089			545,564			517,300
Savings		57,080			60,243			64,182			63,255			66,645
Time deposits		871,177			857,785			876,391			879,752			830,082
Total deposits		1,707,855			1,695,185			1,712,507			1,710,163			1,640,966
Federal funds purchased & securities sold under
agreements to repurchase		32,359			6,966			5,370			15,933			6,725
Other borrowings		116,500			105,500			75,500			75,500			76,287
Other liabilities		15,560			15,054			18,003			24,945			19,217
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures		42,269			42,269			42,269			42,269			42,269
Total liabilities		1,914,543			1,864,974			1,853,649			1,868,810			1,785,464
Stockholders' equity
Common stock		14,869			14,868			14,850			14,850			14,356
Capital surplus		82,308			82,019			81,620			81,481			67,728
Retained earnings		103,805			102,124			98,631			95,523			91,589
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(1,617	)		(4,231	)		(1,744	)		(2,529	)		(2,640	)
Less treasury stock		(10,769	)		(10,681	)		(10,593	)		(10,593	)		(10,593	)
Total stockholders' equity		188,597			184,099			182,764			178,732			160,440
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$	2,103,139		$	2,049,073		$	2,036,413		$	2,047,542		$	1,945,904
Other Data
Earning Assets		1,917,914			1,873,846			1,870,687			1,861,375			1,787,735
Intangible Assets		59,801			60,079			60,193			60,464			48,573
Interest bearing liabilities		1,706,277			1,649,071			1,637,801			1,622,273			1,539,308
Average Assets		2,069,715			2,030,018			2,014,040			1,946,772			1,851,073
Average Stockholders' Equity		187,290			185,177			181,645			169,135			155,922

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AMERIS BANCORP
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(unaudited)
(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)
	Three Months Ended															Nine Months Ended
	Sept			June			Mar.			Dec.			Sept.			Sept			Sept
	2007			2007			2007			2006			2006			2007			2006
ASSET QUALITY INFORMATION
Allowance for loan losses
Balance at beginning of period	$	25,032		$	25,113		$	24,863		$	23,905		$	23,366		$	24,863		$	22,294
Acquired Reserves		-			-			-			1,024			-			-			-
Provision for loan loss		2,964			936			507			713			713			4,407			2,124
Charge-offs		1,806			1,327			787			1,635			744			3,919			2,502
Recoveries		244			309			530			856			570			1,083			1,989
Net charge-offs (recoveries)		1,562			1,018			257			779			174			2,837			513
Ending balance	$	26,434		$	25,032		$	25,113		$	24,863		$	23,905		$	26,434		$	23,905
As a percentage of loans		1.66	%		1.61	%		1.70	%		1.72	%		1.74	%		1.66	%		1.74	%
As a percentage of nonperforming loans		135.81	%		154.51	%		282.46	%		361.54	%		283.37	%		135.81	%		283.37	%
As a percentage of nonperforming assets		120.37	%		136.90	%		252.93	%		285.29	%		237.91	%		120.37	%		237.91	%
Net Charge-off information
Charge-offs
Commercial	$	1,358		$	959		$	353		$	1,078		$	300		$	2,669		$	634
Installment		423			82			146			385			159			651			489
Real Estate		25			286			288			145			280			599			1,299
Agriculture		-			-			-			7			4			-			7
Other		-			-			-			20			1			-			73
Total charge-offs		1,806			1,327			787			1,635			744			3,919			2,502
Recoveries
Commercial		141			192			357			356			481			690			1,172
Installment		70			100			121			107			61			291			370
Real Estate		31			17			51			362			21			100			383
Agriculture		1			-			0			31			4			2			36
Other		-			-			-			-			3			-			28
Total recoveries		244			309			530			856			570			1,083			1,989
Net charge-offs (recoveries)	$	1,562		$	1,018		$	257		$	779		$	174		$	2,837		$	513
Non-accrual loans		19,464			16,201			8,891			6,877			8,436			19,464			8,436
Foreclosed assets		2,497			2,084			1,038			1,838			1,612			2,497			1,612
Total non-performing assets		21,961			18,285			9,929			8,715			10,048			21,961			10,048
Non-performing assets as a percent of loans
and foreclosed assets		1.38	%		1.17	%		0.67	%		0.60	%		0.73	%		1.38	%		0.73	%
Net charge offs as a percent of loans (Annualized)		0.39	%		0.26	%		0.07	%		0.22	%		0.05	%		0.24	%		0.05	%

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