-- Third quarter provision for loan losses of $76 million-- Allowance to loans ratio of 1.91%, up from 1.53% in second quarter-- Net loss for third quarter-- Capital levels are strong

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ: UCBI) announced today that it hasincreased its allowance for loan losses to 1.91 percent of total loans dueto continued credit deterioration in the residential constructionportfolio. The third quarter provision of $76 million exceeded netcharge-offs of $56 million, resulting in a $20 million build-up of theallowance in anticipation of further credit challenges. Additionally, thecompany wrote down other real estate assets by $8 million to expedite assetsales in the fourth quarter. As a result of these actions, United expectsto report a net loss of $39.9 million, or 84 cents per diluted commonshare, for the third quarter of 2008.

"Economic pressures on the housing market, particularly in Atlanta,continue to have an impact on our loan portfolio," said Jimmy Tallent,president and chief executive officer. "In the third quarter, we saw somerise in the level of classified and non-performing assets and also asteepening of discounts. In light of this environment, with disappointingsummer sales and increasing inventories in the marketplace, we have takensteps to dispose of some of our larger exposures before surplus real estateinventory valuations deteriorate further."

The third quarter provision for loan losses was $76 million. Netcharge-offs for the third quarter were $56 million of which 83 percent wereresidential construction loans in metro Atlanta. At quarter-end, theallowance to loans ratio was 1.91 percent, compared with 1.53 percent atJune 30, 2008.

Non-performing assets at quarter-end totaled $178 million, compared with$152 million at June 30, 2008. Non-performing assets included $139 millionin non-accrual loans, $39 million in other real estate owned, and no loansaccruing that were 90 days past due. The ratio of non-performing assets tototal assets was 2.20 percent, compared with 1.84 percent at June 30, 2008.

In the third quarter, United sold $66 million of non-performing assets.Among these were sales at the very end of the quarter that resulted in thedisposition of 13 of the company's largest non-performing loans and assets,totaling $42 million. Additionally, the company has verbal commitments tosell three non-performing assets totaling $18 million, which have beenfully written down at quarter-end and should close in the next few weeks.The losses on these 16 sales represent a significant portion of the $56million in charge-offs for the third quarter.

"While these actions resulted in sizable charge-offs for the quarter, ouraggressive strategy cleared away loans and assets that represented ourlargest losses to date and those that we felt had the highest potential forcontinued decline in valuations," stated Tallent. "Selling these moreilliquid properties was very positive for the company. Our goal is to getthrough this difficult credit cycle as quickly as possible, so we willcontinue our strategy of aggressively marketing properties rather thanwaiting for improved pricing for which the timing is difficult to predict."

"United continues to maintain a very strong capital position, well abovethe regulatory guidelines to be considered 'well-capitalized,'" saidTallent. "At quarter-end the Tier I Risk-Based Capital, Total Risk-BasedCapital and Tangible Equity to Assets ratios are expected to be 8.7percent, 11.4 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. As announced inAugust, we increased our regulatory capital by adding $30 million ofsubordinated debt and we will close an internal trust preferred offering bythe end of October. Our strong capital levels allowed us to absorb lossesthis quarter without impairing the company's financial soundness, so weplan to maintain our aggressive pursuit of problem asset disposition."

"We are disappointed with expected earnings for the third quarter, but wefirmly believe that the actions taken strengthen our ability to managethrough this cycle and support the long-term success of the company," saidTallent. "As we look to the quarters ahead, we see ongoing creditchallenges. Charge-offs will continue to be elevated as we work throughproblem credits, but we certainly do not see a recurrence of the thirdquarter's level of charge-offs in the immediate future. Core earnings andour solid capital position will support the ongoing strategy ofaggressively moving problem credits off our books and will enable us toactively pursue disposition options while remaining on solid financialfooting."

Conference Call

United Community Banks will hold a conference call today, Monday, October6, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) to discuss the contents of this news release.The telephone number for the conference call is (877) 681-3370 and the passcode is "UCBI." The conference call will also be available by web castwithin the Investor Relations section of the company's web site atwww.ucbi.com.

About United Community Banks, Inc.

Headquartered in Blairsville, United Community Banks is the third-largestbank holding company in Georgia. United Community Banks has assets of $8.3billion and operates 27 community banks with 108 banking offices locatedthroughout north Georgia, the Atlanta region, coastal Georgia, westernNorth Carolina and east Tennessee. The company specializes in providingpersonalized community banking services to individuals and small- tomid-size businesses. United Community Banks also offers the convenience of24-hour access through a network of ATMs, telephone and on-line banking.

United Community Banks common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global SelectMarket under the symbol UCBI. Additional information may be found at thecompany's web site at www.ucbi.com.

Safe Harbor

This news release contains forward-looking statements, as defined byFederal Securities Laws, including statements about financial outlook andbusiness environment. These statements are provided to assist in theunderstanding of future financial performance and such performance involvesrisks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materiallyfrom those in such statements. Any such statements are based on currentexpectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For adiscussion of some factors that may cause such forward-looking statementsto differ materially from actual results, please refer to the sectionentitled "Forward-Looking Statements" on page 4 of United Community Banks,Inc.'s annual report filed on Form 10-K with the Securities and ExchangeCommission.

For more information:Rex S. SchuetteChief Financial Officer(706) 781-2266Email Contact