Exhibit 99.1

Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. Reports

Earnings for First Quarter 2012

AUGUSTA, Ga., April 27, 2012 – Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. (OTCBB:SBFC), the holding company for Georgia Bank & Trust Company of Augusta (GB&T) today reported quarterly net income of $3.3 million, or $0.49 in diluted earnings per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $2.3 million, or $0.34 in diluted earnings per share, in the first quarter of 2011.

“We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter,” said R. Daniel Blanton, president and chief executive officer. “We generated a 43.4 percent increase in net income compared to the first quarter of 2011, which included gains in net interest income and noninterest income, and also expanded our net interest margin. At the same time, our credit quality improved as measured by decreases in both nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets and net charge-offs since the beginning of the year. As a result, we felt comfortable with having a loan loss provision that was $1.0 million less than the first quarter of last year.”

Total assets at March 31, 2012, were $1.6 billion, an increase of $33.7 million from Dec. 31, 2011. Loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter were $877.9 million, an increase of $2.8 million from Dec. 31, 2011, and a decline of $3.8 million from March 31, 2011. Total deposits were $1.4 billion at March 31, 2012, an increase of $14.2 million from Dec. 31, 2011, and a decrease of $4.8 million from the same period a year ago. Cash and cash equivalents totaled $73.7 million at the end of the first quarter.

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Net interest income for the first quarter of 2012 was $12.6 million, a 3.4 percent increase from $12.2 million in the same period a year ago. Noninterest income for the first quarter was $5.3 million, a 30.1 percent increase from the first quarter of 2011, resulting primarily from a 67.3 percent increase in mortgage income and an 11.1 percent increase in wealth and trust service income. Noninterest expense in the first quarter of 2012 totaled $10.9 million, an 11.7 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago. The increase was due, in part, to losses associated with other real estate owned (OREO) as the bank accelerated its disposal of troubled properties.

The company’s net interest margin grew to 3.34 percent in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 3.28 percent both for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2011, and for the same period a year ago. Return on average assets (ROA) was 0.81 percent for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 23 basis points from the same period a year ago. Return on average shareholders’ equity (ROE) was 11.10 percent for the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 173 basis points from the first quarter of 2011.

Nonperforming assets at March 31, 2012, were 2.92 percent of total assets, compared to 3.19 percent at Dec. 31, 2011, and 2.20 percent at March 31, 2011. Net charge-offs for the first quarter of 2012 totaled 0.78 percent of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to 1.26 percent annualized in the fourth quarter of 2011, and 1.43 percent annualized in the first quarter of 2011. The company held $4.9 million in OREO at March 31, 2012, compared to $6.2 million at Dec. 31, 2011, and $7.6 million at March 31, 2011.

The provision for loan losses totaled $2.2 million for the first quarter of 2012, compared to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $3.2 million in the first quarter of 2011. Allowance for loan losses totaled $29.6 million, or 3.50 percent of loans outstanding at March 31, 2012, compared to $29.0 million, or 3.43 percent of loans outstanding, at Dec. 31, 2011, and $26.8 million, or 3.08 percent of loans outstanding, at March 31, 2011.

“We’re making solid progress in an uncertain economy where loan demand continues to be stagnant,” said Blanton. “Our success over the past year is an indication that we are on the right track, and as such, we will continue our efforts to grow our interest and noninterest revenue streams, while enhancing profitability and shareholder value.”

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About Southeastern Bank Financial Corp.

Southeastern Bank Financial Corp. is the $1.6 billion-asset bank holding company of Georgia Bank & Trust Company of Augusta (GB&T). GB&T is the largest locally owned and operated community bank in the Augusta metro market, with nine full-service Augusta-area offices, three full-service offices in Aiken County, S.C. operating as Southern Bank & Trust and one limited service Loan Production Office in Athens, GA. The company also has mortgage operations in Augusta and Savannah. The banks focus primarily on real estate, commercial and consumer loans to individuals, small to medium-sized businesses and professionals, and also provide wealth management and trust services. The company’s common stock is publicly traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol SBFC. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site, www.georgiabankandtrust.com.

Safe Harbor Statement – Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this release by Southeastern Bank Financial Corporation (The Company) other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made based upon management’s belief as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: unanticipated changes in the Bank’s local economy and in the national economy; governmental monetary and fiscal policies; deposit levels, loan demand, loan collateral values and securities portfolio values; difficulties in interest rate risk management; difficulties in operating in a variety of geographic areas; the effects of competition in the banking business; changes in governmental regulation relating to the banking industry, including regulations relating to branching and acquisitions; failure of assumptions underlying the establishment of reserves for loan losses, including the value of collateral underlying delinquent loans; and other factors. The Company cautions that such factors are not exclusive. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by, or on behalf of, the Company.

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SOUTHEASTERN BANK FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARY

Consolidated Balance Sheets

SOUTHEASTERN BANK FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARY

Consolidated Statements of Income

(Unaudited)