GAINESVILLE - GB&T Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: GBTB) has been added to the Russell 3000® Index, a benchmark listing of the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies in the United States. <br>
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Compiled by the Frank Russell Company, one of the world's leading investment services firms, the Russell 3000® Index is comprised of the Russell 2000® Index which tracks the top 2,000 small capitalization stocks and the Russell 1000® Index which tracks the top 1,000 large capitalization stocks. <br>
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Index membership as determined by the Russell Company went into effect July 1, with the final list posted July 9th. Membership will remain in place for one year.<br>
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"We are pleased to be included on the Russell 3000," commented Richard Hunt, GB&T Bancshares President and CEO. "This recognition of our growing stature among public companies is gratifying, reflecting as it does on the success of our strategies for growth and earnings performance. Inclusion on the index will provide us with additional visibility in the investment community and have a favorable impact on our trading volume." <br>
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Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. As of the June 30th reconstitution, the market capitalization of the stocks included in the Russell 2000®, which includes GB&T Bancshares, ranged from $117 million to $1.2 billion. GB&T Bancshares' market capitalization, as of June 30, 2003, was approximately $130 million.<br>
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Hunt also noted that GB&T Bancshares achieved top quartile recognition on the Georgia 100 list of top-performing companies in the state. This is the fourth consecutive year that GB&T was included on the list.<br>
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