SPRINGFIELD, Mo., March 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq:GFED), parent of Guaranty Bank (the "Bank"), today announced that in connection with the appointment of Shaun Burke as President and CEO of the Bank, the independent directors of the Company authorized the issuance of 25,000 stock options as an employment inducement to Mr. Burke pursuant to a stock option agreement. Stock options awarded under this agreement are considered non-qualified for federal income tax purposes, vest at the rate of 20% per year over a five year period, become fully vested in the event of a "change in control" as defined in the agreement and expire no later than ten years from the date of grant. Pursuant to the term of the stock option agreement requiring the price of any stock options granted thereunder to not be less than the market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, all of these stock options were granted to Mr. Burke at an exercise price of $19.62 per share.
Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. has a subsidiary corporation offering full banking services. The principal subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, is located in Springfield, Missouri and has eight branches and 18 ATM locations located in Greene and Christian Counties. In addition Guaranty Bank is a member of the Privileged Status ATM network, which provides its customers surcharge free access to over 60 area ATMs and over 1,000 ATMs nationwide.