ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., July 29 /PRNewswire -- Centura Banks Inc.
(NYSE: CBC) has completed its previously announced purchase of certain
deposits from Essex Savings Bank.
    Effective today, all Essex customers in the North Carolina cities of
Raleigh, Greensboro and Wilmington are Centura customers. Their accounts
have been moved to nearby Centura financial centers.
    With assets of $5.6 billion, Centura offers a full range of banking,
investment, insurance and trust services to individuals and businesses
throughout North Carolina. Centura provides services through 155
financial centers, more than 200 ATMs, the Centura Highway telephone
banking center and Quicken and Microsoft Money, the leading personal
finance software packages. Centura also is opening 33 offices in
Hannaford supermarkets in the Carolinas and Virginia by the end of next
year.