TYLER, Texas, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The ETFC Proxy Committee today announced that RiskMetrics Group, the leading independent proxy voting advisory and corporate governance services firm formerly known as ISS, has recommended that shareholders of East Texas Financial Services, Inc. ("East Texas" or the "Company") (OTC Bulletin Board: ETFS) vote FOR the election of two director nominees put forth by the ETFC Proxy Committee at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders currently scheduled to be held on Wednesday, January 28, 2009. RiskMetrics recommends that shareholders oppose the re-election of the two incumbent directors nominated by the Company, and vote the GOLD proxy card to elect Jimmy W. Murphy and Glenn D. Phillips to the Board.

RiskMetrics is widely recognized as one of the leading independent proxy voting and corporate governance advisory firms. Their analyses and recommendations are relied upon by many major institutional investment firms, mutual funds and fiduciaries throughout North America.

RiskMetrics noted the following in their recommendation to shareholders:

    --  "Earnings quality is also questionable due to the fact that the
        company's allowance for loan losses declined precipitously in 2008,
        in spite of the sizeable increase in loans and the current economic
        environment."
    --  "...the company has underperformed both its local and national
        peers in terms of several profitability indicators."
    --  "RiskMetrics generally supports a one-share, one-vote policy and
        opposes mechanisms that skew voting rights. We believe that both
        shareholder rights and shareholder value are maximized when voting
        rights accrue in accordance with one's equity capital commitment to
        the company...we support the dissident's stated commitment to
        attempt to remove the voting right cap, which we believe is a negative
        feature in terms of shareholder rights."
    --  "...on balance we conclude that the presence of the two dissident
        nominees on the East Texas board would likely prove beneficial to
        shareholder value. The long-term financial performance of the company,
        the dissident's stated commitment to attempt to remove the voting
        right cap, and the nominees' backgrounds establish both the need
        for change and the dissident's ability to effect change. We
        recommend shareholders vote FOR Jimmy W. Murphy and Glenn D.
        Phillips."

Sammy York, a member of the ETFC Proxy Committee stated, "We are pleased that RiskMetrics supports the election of our two director nominees over the incumbent directors. Their independent recommendation is an affirmation of our goals to effect change at the Company and drive increased shareholder value."

The 2009 Annual Stockholder Meeting is currently scheduled to be held at the East Texas company headquarters, located at 1200 S. Beckham Avenue, Tyler, Texas at 2:00 pm local time on Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

The ETFC Proxy Committee urges all stockholders to vote their GOLD proxy cards in favor of the two Committee nominees. Please discard any proxy card that you received from the Company. If you have already voted for management's nominees and wish to change your vote, you have every right to revoke your proxy and vote the GOLD proxy. Only the latest dated proxy counts.

Stockholders who have questions concerning the current proxy solicitation should contact Georgeson Inc., the Committee's proxy solicitor, toll free at (888) 264-7028.

SOURCE The ETFC Proxy Committee