First Financial Service Corporation (the Company)(Nasdaq: FFKY) today announced diluted net income per share of $0.60 for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, an increase of 13% from $0.53 for the quarter ended December 31, 2005. Return on equity was 14.8% for the quarter and return on assets was 1.3%.

Diluted net income per share for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $2.34, an increase of 13% from $2.07 for the year ended December 31, 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, return on equity was 15.0% and return on assets was 1.3%.

On August 15, 2006, the Company declared a 10% stock dividend payable on September 14, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 29, 2006. All per share information has been restated to reflect the 10% stock dividend.

“We are pleased to announce another year of record financial results to our shareholders,” commented President and Chief Executive Officer, B. Keith Johnson. “We are very pleased with the efforts of our associates during the year and their commitment to serving our customers. Our reputation for service allowed us to cultivate additional relationships across all of our markets generating another year of solid loan and deposit growth, despite a very competitive marketplace. This growth, along with an increase in net interest margin produced a record level of net interest income, which was the primary driver of our earnings this year.”

The Company’s retail branch network continued to generate encouraging results. Total deposits have grown at a 7% compound annual growth rate over the past three years. Total deposits were $641 million at December 31, 2006, an increase of $50 million, or 8% for the year. The continued development of the retail branch network into the Metro Louisville market also yielded positive results. The Company had a combined $39.1 million in deposits in its two full-service facilities in the Metro Louisville market experiencing a 30% increase in deposits for the 2006 year following a 71% increase in deposits for the year of 2005. The Company opened these facilities in the second quarter of 2004 to support its growing customer base in this market. Twenty-two percent of the Company’s loan portfolio resides in the Metro Louisville market.

The Company’s emphasis on commercial lending generated an 8% compound annual growth rate in the total loan portfolio and a 20% compound annual growth rate in commercial loans over the past three years. Commercial loans were $475 million at December 31, 2006, an increase of 18%, or $71.8 million from December 31, 2005.

The growth in the Company’s commercial loan portfolio, coupled with the rising interest rate environment, has favorably impacted the level of interest income generated by the Company. Net interest margin increased to 4.04% for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to 3.93% for the same period a year ago. This has resulted in a $480,000 increase in net interest income to $7.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2006, and a $2.2 million increase in net interest income to $29.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to the respective periods in 2005. The increasing short-term interest rate environment positively impacted net interest margin due to the adjustable rate commercial loans in the Company’s loan portfolio. However, the net interest margin is likely to compress in future quarters as short-term interest rates peak and the cost of deposits continues to rise. The cost of deposits typically lags the increase in adjustable loan rates due to certificates of deposit which mature over a longer period of time than immediately adjustable loan rates.

The Company’s asset quality remains favorable. Net charge-offs as a percent of average total loans were 0.03% for the year ended December 31, 2006 and 0.06% for the year ended December 31, 2005. The allowance for loan losses as a percent of total loans, decreased to 1.09% at December 31, 2006 compared to 1.15% at December 31, 2005. The percentage of non-performing loans to total loans was 0.69% at December 31, 2006, compared to 0.97% at December 31, 2005.

Provision for loan loss expense decreased $309,000 to $193,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2006, and $718,000 to $540,000 for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to the same periods ended December 31, 2005. The decrease in provision for loan loss expense for the periods was due to higher provisions during 2005 resulting from loan downgrades during the first quarter of 2005. In addition, improvements in the Company’s security and position of certain classified loans during 2006, resulted in a reduction in the reserve allocated to the loans, which decreased provision for loan loss expense for the three months ended and year ended December 31, 2006.

Non-interest income decreased $93,000 to $1.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2006. Non-interest income decreased $328,000 to $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2006. During the year ended December 31, 2005, a $381,000 gain was recorded on the sale of investment securities and a $143,000 gain was recorded on the sale of lots. No gains on the sale of investments or lots were recorded for the year ended December 31, 2006. Excluding these one-time items in 2005, non-interest income was relatively flat, decreasing $93,000 for the quarter ended and increasing $196,000 for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to the same period ending December 31, 2005.

Non-interest expense increased $608,000 to $5.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared to the same quarter ended December 31, 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2006, non-interest expense increased $1.2 million to $22.0 million, compared to the year ended December 31, 2005. The primary contributing factor to this increase was an increase in employee compensation expense which increased $417,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2006 compared to the same quarter in 2005 and $777,000 for the year ended December 31, 2006 compared to the year ended December 31, 2005. The Company’s efficiency ratio was 59% for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to 58% for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Income tax expense decreased $231,000 to $896,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2005. During the fourth quarter the Company re-evaluated its tax contingency reserves and determined that approximately $281,000 was no longer required. As a result, tax expense was reduced by this amount, resulting in an effective tax rate of 25% in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to 32% in 2005. This reduction had a $0.06 impact on diluted earnings per share for the quarter and year.

First Financial Service Corporation is the parent bank holding company of First Federal Savings Bank of Elizabethtown, which was chartered in 1923. The Bank serves the needs and caters to the economic strengths of the local communities in which it operates and strives to provide a high level of personal and professional customer service. The Bank offers a variety of financial services to its retail and commercial banking customers. These services include personal and corporate banking services, and personal investment financial counseling services. Today, the Bank serves Central Kentucky through its 14 full-service banking centers.

This press release contains forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical income and those presently anticipated or projected. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Such risks and uncertainties include those detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, risks of adversely changing results of operations, risks related to the Company’s acquisition strategy, risk of loans and investments, including the effect of the change of the local economic conditions, risks associated with the adverse effects of the changes in interest rates, and competition for the Company’s customers by other providers of financial services, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

First Financial Service Corporation’s stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “FFKY.” Market makers for the stock are:

J.J.B. Hilliard,                         Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc.W.L. Lyons Company, Inc.                Goldman, Sachs & CompanyStifel Nicolaus & Company                Knight Securities, LPFirst Tennessee Securities               Sandler O'NeillSpear, Leeds & KelloggHowe Barnes Investments, Inc.