CORNELIUS, N.C., Dec. 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquesta Financial Holdings, Inc (Parent to Aquesta Bank and Aquesta Insurance Services) (“Aquesta”) (OTC:AQFH) announced today that it has approved a Cash Bonus of $1,000 to all employees and an increase of minimum wage to $15 per hour.  The bonuses will be paid in the first week of January and the hourly rate increases will be effective January 1, 2018.

Aquesta President and CEO, Jim Engel, stated, “We are very happy to share with our valuable team members some portion of the benefits Aquesta will realize by the enactment of Tax Reform.  Decreased tax rates will allow Aquesta Bank to continue to grow by accelerating lending to small businesses and hiring additional team members to help with that growth.  While almost all of our employees will also pay lower taxes in 2018 due to this new law, we felt that immediate recognition of their importance to Aquesta would send the right message: our people are what makes Aquesta different. 

Aquesta’s subsidiary, Aquesta Bank, is the largest community bank headquartered in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and has branches in Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mooresville, and Wilmington, North Carolina, and loan production offices in Greenville and Charleston, South Carolina.   Aquesta Insurance Services, Inc. ---an independent agency--- has offices in Cornelius, Mooresville, Hampstead, and Wilmington, North Carolina and Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

For additional information regarding Aquesta or Aquesta Bank, please contact Jim Engel (Chief Executive Officer and President) at 704-439-4343 or visit us online at www.aquesta.com.