- Quarterly Net Income Increases 61%

                   - Semi-annual Net Income Increases 76%

                       - Net Interest Income Improves

                          - Loan Growth Continues



    PARIS, Ill., July 28 /EMWNews/ -- First BancTrust

Corporation (Nasdaq: FBTC), announced today that its second quarter net

income of $433,000 or 20 cents per diluted share, was 61.5 percent greater

than net income of $268,000, or 12 cents per diluted share, reported for

the same quarter last year. For the six months ended June 30, 2008, net

income was $769,000, or 36 cents per diluted share, an increase of 76.8

percent over the $435,000, or 19 cents per diluted share, for the same

period in the prior year.



    "We were able to continue growing our loan portfolio by 6.8 percent

during the first six months of 2008. Just as significant for continuing

improvement in our performance was the result of our efforts to attract

core deposits, an increase in retail deposits by nearly 6 percent which was

primarily due to an increase in core deposits. The current impact of these

factors was an increase in net interest income for the six months just

ended of $710,000 or 18.2 percent over the same period last year. We also

increased our provision for loan losses to $402,000 from $264,000 allocated

during the same period last year to assure that adequate loss reserves are

maintained for our growing loan portfolio," said Terry J. Howard, president

and chief executive officer.



    Howard added, "During these six months we also achieved a small

increase in non-interest income of $99,000 while non-interest expense grew

by only $73,000. These efforts also helped improve our operating

efficiency."



    Net Interest Income



    Howard noted that the First BancTrust's net interest margin for the

first six months of the year expanded to 3.05 percent, up from 2.92 percent

for the same period a year earlier. This increase accounted for nearly

two-thirds of the $710,000 improvement in net interest income. Net interest

income for the second quarter increased 23.1 percent, or $457,000, to $2.43

million from $1.98 million a year earlier, reflecting continuing

improvement in interest spread.



    Noninterest Income, Expense



    Second quarter noninterest income decreased $55,000 to $1.01 million

compared with the same period a year ago, primarily as a result of the lack

of realized gains on sale of securities ($70,000) and reduced loan

servicing fee income ($17,000) partially offset by increases in net gains

on loan sales, other service charges, and abstract and title fees. For the

six-month period, noninterest income increased $99,000 to $1.96 million

primarily due to net gains on loan sales and other service charges.



    Noninterest expense for the second quarter decreased slightly to $2.26

million for 2008, from $2.51 million in 2007. During the six-month period,

noninterest expense increased by $73,000 to $5.05 million from $4.97

million. The primary reasons for the results in the six-month period were

increases in salaries and benefits attributable to an increase in

commercial lending staff. These increases were at least partially offset by

decreases in nearly every other expense category.



    Loans, Deposits



    Total assets at June 30, 2008 were $342.6 million compared with $326.9

million at December 31, 2007, an increase of $15.7 million or 4.8%. During

the same period of time, loans, net of allowance for loan losses, increased

by $15.9 million from $234.9 million to $250.7 million, an increase of 6.8

percent. Deposits increased by $13.5 million to $245.7 million compared

with $232.1million at year-end 2007. During this time, core deposits

(demand, savings, NOW, and money market) grew by $10.5 million while time

deposits and brokered deposits increased by $3.0 million.



    Recent Events



    Howard noted that, "We are not immune to the challenging economic

environment faced by all community banks. However, we have maintained our

credit underwriting standards and improved our underwriting processes over

the years, which has lessened the impact on our operations. We continue to

be mindful of the quality of our loan portfolio in general and are working

diligently to minimize the impact of any borrower's inability to meet their

loan obligations. We believe that our allowance for loan and lease losses

("ALLL") is adequate at this time. We are committed to early detection and

monitoring of problem loans. This commitment should result in a prompt

recognition of any negative potential future financial impact while

reducing the level of losses overall to levels that can be accounted for in

our normal ALLL management process."



    Howard reported that First BancTrust Corporation had initiated the

process, previously announced on April 21, 2008, that will result in its

stock being traded in the Over-the-Counter ("OTC") market. The details of

the proposed transaction, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory

approvals, may be found in First BancTrust Corporation's preliminary proxy

statement which has been filed with the SEC. He stated that an initial

review of the preliminary proxy statement has been completed by SEC staff

and no delay in the announced timeline is anticipated.

    About First BancTrust



    First BancTrust Corporation is a holding company that owns all of the

capital stock of First Bank & Trust, S. B., an Illinois-chartered savings

bank that conducts business from its main office located in Paris,

Illinois, and branch banks in Marshall, Savoy, Rantoul, and Martinsville,

Illinois. On June 30, 2008, the company had $343 million of total assets,

$315 million of total liabilities and $27 million of stockholders' equity.



    This press release contains 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 Company

intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor

provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private

Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended, and is including this

statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking

statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future

plans, strategies and expectations of the Company, are generally

identifiable by use of the words "believe," "expect," "intend,"

"anticipate," "estimate," "project," or similar expressions. The Company's

ability to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or

strategies is inherently uncertain. Factors which could have a material

adverse affect on the operations and future prospects of the Company and

its wholly-owned subsidiaries include, but are not limited to, changes in:

interest rates; general economic conditions; legislative/regulatory

provisions; monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including

policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board; the quality of

composition of the loan or investment portfolios; demand for loan products;

deposit flows; competition; demand for financial services in the Company's

market area; and accounting principles, policies, and guidelines. These

risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking

statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.

Further information concerning the Company and its business, including

additional factors that could materially affect the Company's financial

results, is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and

Exchange Commission.






                           ...  tables follow  ...







                           First BancTrust Corporation

                         Selected Financial Information

                   (in thousands of dollars except share data)



    Balance Sheet Data                                    June 30,

                                                            2008      Dec. 31,

                                                         (unaudited)    2007



    Total Assets                                          $342,579   $326,875

    Cash And Cash Equivalents                               14,599     10,339

    Investment Securities                                   49,537     53,960

    FHLB Stock                                               3,749      3,749

    Loans Held For Sale                                        235        394

    Loans, Net of Allowance for

      Loan Losses of $2,459 and $2,091                     250,745    234,855

    Deposits                                               245,682    232,139

    Federal Home Loan Bank Advances and

     Other Borrowings                                       60,300     59,515

    Junior Subordinated Debentures                           6,186      6,186

    Stockholders' Equity                                    27,184     26,501



    Book Value Per Common Share                             $12.44     $11.50







   Summary Of Operations



                              Three Months Ended            Six Months Ended

                                   June 30                       June 30

                               2008       2007               2008       2007

                                                (unaudited)



    Interest Income           $4,969     $4,516             $9,873     $8,839

    Interest Expense           2,537      2,541              5,264      4,940



    Net Interest Income        2,432      1,975              4,609      3,899



    Provision For Loan

     Losses                      193        132                402        264



    Net Interest Income

     After Provision For

     Loan Losses               2,239      1,843              4,207      3,635

    Noninterest Income           956      1,011              1,960      1,861

    Noninterest Expense        2,255      2,508              5,045      4,972



    Income Before Income Tax     640        346              1,122        524

    Income Tax Expense           207         78                353         89



    Net Income                  $433       $268               $769       $435



    Share Data

      Weighted Avg. Shares

       Out. - Basic        2,097,048  2,157,963          2,098,247  2,177,334

      Weighted Avg. Shares

       Out. - Diluted      2,152,895  2,244,205          2,154,195  2,265,542



      Basic Earnings Per

       Share                   $0.21      $0.12              $0.37      $0.20

      Diluted Earnings Per

       Share                   $0.20      $0.12              $0.36      $0.19



    Ratios Based On Net

     Income

      Return on Average

       Stockholders' Equity     6.38%      4.10%              5.71%      3.31%

      Return On Average

       Assets                   0.51%      0.36%              0.46%      0.29%

    Company's financial results, are included in the Company's filings with

the Securities and Exchange Commission.