ATLANTA, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Bancshares, Inc. (Amex: PMB) and
Lanier Bank & Trust Company today jointly announced that they have executed a
definitive agreement for Premier Bancshares, Inc. to acquire all of the
outstanding shares of stock of Lanier Bank & Trust Company.
    As outlined in the definitive agreement, Premier Bancshares, Inc. has
agreed to issue approximately 1,122,000 shares of its common stock in exchange
for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Lanier Bank & Trust
Company.  The value of the transaction is approximately $26 million based on
recent closing prices for Premier's common stock.
    The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval and the approval
of the shareholders of Lanier Bank & Trust Company, is expected to close in
the second quarter of 1998.  This transaction, coupled with Premier's recently
announced 1998 acquisition of The Bank Holding Company, will push the assets
of Premier Bancshares over the $1 billion mark.
    Lanier Bank & Trust Company, headquartered in Cumming, Georgia, is a state
chartered bank with assets of approximately $65 million.  The Bank's three
offices are all located in Forsyth County, Georgia.  Forsyth County is located
in the rapidly growing northeast quadrant of the Atlanta MSA.
    Premier Bancshares, Inc. is the fifth largest bank holding company
headquartered in Georgia with five subsidiaries operating 33 offices
including:  Premier Bank, with ten offices in north metro Atlanta;  Central
and Southern Bank of Georgia, with three offices in Milledgeville, Georgia;
Central and Southern Bank of North Georgia, FSB, with three offices in
Gainesville, Greensboro, and Winder, Georgia;  Citizens Bank of Gwinnett with
four offices in the north Atlanta suburban Gwinnett County; and Premier
Lending Corporation, a provider of residential mortgage loans and asset-based
commercial finance loans, with ten offices in the greater metro Atlanta area
and three regional satellite offices in Mobile, Alabama, Jacksonville,
Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina.
    Premier Bancshares' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Darrell D.
Pittard, said, "Lanier Bank & Trust Company is a well respected and well run
community bank with offices strategically located in the fastest growing
county in the Atlanta MSA."  Pittard continued, "Lanier's offices, which will
be merged into our Atlanta-based Premier Bank subsidiary, will also complement
both our mortgage and banking offices in the adjacent Fulton, Hall, and
Gwinnett Counties."
    A. Lee Wilhelm, President of Lanier Bank & Trust Company, said, "Joining
with Premier Bancshares, more specifically, Premier Bank, provides us with the
best of both worlds -- the opportunity to become a part of a regional banking
force while continuing to serve our market as a grass roots community bank."
After the acquisition, Wilhelm will serve as President of Premier Bank's
Central Metro Division.  John E. Aderhold, Chairman of the Board for Lanier
Bank & Trust Company, will become a Director for Premier Bancshares, Inc.
    Premier Bancshares closed its merger with Citizens Gwinnett Bancshares,
Inc., on December 12, 1997.  The four banking offices of Citizens Bank of
Gwinnett, which are all located in Gwinnett County just north of Atlanta, will
become part of the Company's Premier Bank subsidiary by the end of the second
quarter of 1998.
    On December 3, Premier Bancshares, Inc. announced that it had executed a
definitive agreement to acquire The Bank Holding Company.  The Bank Holding
Company is a two bank holding company headquartered in Griffin, Georgia.  This
transaction is also expected to close in the second quarter of 1998.
    Both the common stock of Premier Bancshares, Inc. and the preferred
securities of Premier Capital Trust I are traded on the American Stock
Exchange under the symbols PMB and PMB.PR, respectively.  Additional financial
information regarding Premier Bancshares, Inc. and the acquisition of Lanier
Bank & Trust Company is available from Michael E. Ricketson, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer of Premier Bancshares, Inc. at
404-814-3090.

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