Exhibit 99.1

News Release

For more information contact:

Dennis J. Zember Jr.

Executive Vice President & CFO

(229) 890-1111

AMERIS BANCORP ANNOUNCES 2013 FINANCIAL RESULTS

January 23, 2014

AMERIS BANCORP (NASDAQ-GS: ABCB), Moultrie, Georgia, today reported unaudited operating net income of $23.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, compared to $14.4 million in 2012. Operating net income excludes $3.6 million of after-tax merger charges from the Company’s net income for 2013. On an operating basis, net income available to common shareholders increased 101% to $21.9 million and $0.90 per share in 2013, compared to $10.9 million and $0.46 per share in 2012.

Net income available to common shareholders, on an operating basis, was $4.3 million and $0.18 per share in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to $3.6 million and $0.15 in the same quarter in 2012. Results in the fourth quarter of 2013 were adversely impacted by higher than normal credit costs and lower profitability associated with mortgage operations. Additionally, because the merger with The Prosperity Banking Company occurred on December 23, 2013, the acquisition’s impacts to the Company’s revenue and net income were minimal.

Highlights of the Company’s results for 2013 include the following:

Acquisition of The Prosperity Banking Company

The Company successfully completed the acquisition of The Prosperity Banking Company on December 23, 2013. Highlights of the merger are as follows:

Increase in Net Interest Income

Net interest income increased in 2013 to $116.2 million, up from $114.4 million reported in 2012. Lower levels of accretion on covered assets were more than offset by lower deposit costs, pushing the Company’s net interest margin higher in 2013 to 4.74%, compared to 4.60% during 2012. Yields on earning assets in 2013 declined only slightly to 5.15%, compared to 5.20% in 2012. Better allocation of earning assets helped mitigate the impact to overall yields on earning assets from lower yields on loans and investments. Average loans comprised 82.6% of total earning assets during 2013, compared to 79.0% during 2012. Short-term assets fell to 4.0% of earning assets during 2013 compared to 6.2% during 2012.

Non-covered loan yields decreased during the year, averaging 5.41% in 2013, compared to 5.58% in 2012. Yields on new loan production in the fourth quarter of 2013 were 4.87%, compared to 4.94% in the fourth quarter of 2012. While yields on production of new and renewed loans are below current portfolio yields, management anticipates the revenue impact to be muted as they expect continued growth in total loans and less interest rate pressure due to a recent increase in interest rates. Covered loan yields increased from 7.33% in 2012 to 7.62% in 2013, as adjustments made to certain fair value determinations and resolutions of problem credit positively impacted the covered loan yield. As expected cash flow on covered loans improves, a portion of the loan discount that was previously attributable to credit problems is reclassified into interest income. This reclassification occurs over the estimated life of the loan.

The Company has offset the declines in earning asset yields with corresponding declines in funding costs. Deposit costs, the Company’s largest funding expense, declined from 0.51% in 2012 to 0.34% in 2013. That decline relates to continued shifts in deposit mix, favoring lower cost transaction accounts and non-interest bearing balances, and lower market rates in the Company’s communities. Savings on time deposits were most significant, with CD costs falling from 1.06% in 2012 to 0.73% in 2013. Additional savings have been achieved from improvement in the deposit mix, with average time deposits representing only 27.0% of total deposits in 2013, compared to 32.0% in 2012.

Non-Interest Income

Excluding gains on FDIC-assisted transactions, non-interest income increased by 23.0% in 2013 to $46.5 million, compared to $37.8 million in 2012. The majority of the growth resulted from the Company’s mortgage operations, although additional revenues were recorded on SBA activities and bank owned life insurance.

Mortgage revenue increased by 47.3% in 2013, to $19.1 million, compared to 2012. However, on a quarterly basis, mortgage revenue declined 15.1% against the third quarter of 2013. The decline in mortgage revenue relates to a slower quarter in loan closings and a measurable drop in the Company’s open pipeline. Loan production declined in the fourth quarter by $2.7 million to $149.3 million and the open pipeline declined from $72.5 million at September 30, 2013 to $40.5 million at December 31, 2013. Pipelines are refilling rapidly in the first quarter of 2014, despite the aggressive restructuring actions taken in the fourth quarter.

During 2013, the Company recorded pre-tax gains of approximately $1.5 million on sales of SBA loans, compared to $264,000 during 2012. During the fourth quarter of 2013, the Company began hiring dedicated development officers, and the Company expects to continue hiring for most of 2014. Management believes that combined production from the dedicated SBA officers and the existing branch referrals pose a meaningful opportunity for revenue growth in 2014 and beyond.

Non-Interest Expense

Total operating expenses increased 2.0% in 2013 to $121.9 million, compared to $119.5 million for 2012. Excluding the effect of credit-related costs in both years and merger charges in 2013, operating expenses would have reflected an increase of 9.7% to $106.5 million in 2013, compared to $97.1 million in 2012. This growth in operating expenses relates almost entirely to the increased costs associated with the Company’s mortgage operations, which reflected 63.8% growth in total revenue. Costs associated with this growth in revenues totaled $18.1 million in 2013, compared to $9.9 million in 2012.

As reflected above, mortgage expenses declined compared to the third quarter of 2013. However, restructuring charges and non-recurring amounts totaling approximately $600,000 were reflected in the current quarter. Restructuring efforts in the current quarter centered on significantly scaling back the Company’s wholesale division, as well as reducing lower level producers and accompanying back office overhead. Management believes these efforts, combined with current levels of production and open pipelines, are adequate to regain profitability at appropriate levels.

Balance Sheet Trends

Total assets increased $648.6 million during 2013, ending the year at $3.67 billion, compared to $3.01 billion at December 31, 2012. Total loans, excluding purchased non-covered and covered loans, were $1.62 billion at December 31, 2013, increasing 11.6%, or $167.8 million, during the year. Expansion of loan officer teams in the Company’s larger metro markets contributed significantly to the growth, as did several newer lines of business, including mortgage banking. Purchased non-covered loans of $448.8 million are attributable to the acquisition of The Prosperity Banking Company during 2013. Covered loans declined by $117.5 million during 2013 to $390.2 million at year-end, compared to $507.7 million reported at December 31, 2012.

Total deposits increased $374.6 million to $3.00 billion during 2013, compared to $2.62 billion at December 31, 2012. Noninterest-bearing demand deposits grew 30.9% in 2013 after growing 29.2% in 2012, ending the year at $668.5 million, or 22.3% of total deposits, compared to 19.5% of total deposits at December 31, 2012.

Credit Expenses and Asset Quality

Credit expenses for the year ended December 31, 2013, totaled $27.4 million, compared to $54.2 million in 2012. The decline in credit costs were driven by declines in levels of existing non-performing assets and declines in the in-migration of new non-accrual loans. Management expects that the improving market conditions for the resolution and/or sale of problem assets and the slower pace of new problem assets will allow for continued reduction in credit costs in 2014.

Total non-covered, non-performing assets at December 31, 2013 were $73.5 million, compared to $78.7 million at December 31, 2012. Included in levels reported at the end of 2013 were $10.9 million in non-performing assets acquired in the Prosperity merger. Total classified loans, excluding purchased non-covered and covered loans, declined 20.7% during 2013, ending the year at $58.1 million, compared to $73.3 million at December 31, 2012. A slower pace of migration to classified and non-accrual status during 2013 compared to prior years and an accelerated pace of resolution led to the improvement in classified assets.

Ameris Bancorp is headquartered in Moultrie, Georgia, and at the end of the most recent quarter had 68 locations in Georgia, Alabama, northern Florida and South Carolina.

This news release contains certain performance measures determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Management of Ameris Bancorp (the “Company”) uses these non-GAAP measures in its analysis of the Company’s performance. These measures are useful when evaluating the underlying performance and efficiency of the Company’s operations and balance sheet. The Company’s management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations, enhance comparability of results with prior periods and demonstrate the effects of significant gains and charges in the current period. The Company’s management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate the Company’s financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the Company’s underlying performance. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

This news release contains statements that constitute “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 words “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “anticipate” and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates which they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are referred to the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a summary of certain factors that may impact the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.

AMERIS BANCORP

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(unaudited)

(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)

AMERIS BANCORP

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(unaudited)

(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)

AMERIS BANCORP

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(unaudited)

(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)

AMERIS BANCORP

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(unaudited)

(dollars in thousands except per share data and FTE headcount)