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                          NEW ENGLAND BANCSHARES, INC.
                               855 Enfield Street
                                Enfield, CT 06082

For Immediate Release

CONTACT:  Scott D. Nogles, Chief Financial Officer
          (860) 253-5200

              New England Bancshares, Inc. Reports Earnings for the
                 Three and Nine Months Ended December 31, 2007

ENFIELD,  CT, January 29, 2008 - New England  Bancshares,  Inc. (the  "Company")
(Nasdaq GM:  NEBS),  the holding  company for Enfield  Federal  Savings and Loan
Association and Valley Bank,  reported net income for the quarter ended December
31,  2007 of  $395,000,  or $0.07 per  diluted  and basic  share as  compared to
$264,000,  or $0.05 per diluted and basic share, reported for the same quarter a
year ago. Net income for the nine months ended  December 31, 2007 was  $691,000,
or $0.12 per diluted and basic  share,  as  compared to  $774,000,  or $0.15 per
diluted  share and $0.16 per basic share for the nine months ended  December 31,
2006.  During the current year nine month period,  the Company sold $6.4 million
of securities, recording a loss of $222,000 ($199,000 on an after-tax basis), as
it restructured its balance sheet to provide a better yield on investments.

Earnings  for the three and nine months  ended  December  31,  2007  include the
operations  of Valley  Bank  commencing  on July 12,  2007,  the date that First
Valley  Bancorp,  Inc., the holding company for Valley Bank, was acquired by the
Company. In connection with the acquisition, each share of First Valley Bancorp,
Inc.  was  converted  into  $9.00  in cash and  0.8907  shares  of the  Company,
resulting in the issuance of 1,068,885  shares and the payment of $10.8  million
in cash.  Through the  acquisition  of First Valley  Bancorp,  Inc., the Company
acquired $190.6 million of assets,  including  $141.0 million of net loans,  and
$178.4  million of  liabilities,  including  $168.4 million of deposits and $8.5
million of borrowings.

NET INTEREST AND DIVIDEND INCOME IMPROVES OVER PRIOR YEAR
Net interest and  dividend  income for the three months ended  December 31, 2007
increased by $1.5 million, or 60.7%, compared to the three months ended December
31,  2006.  The  increase  for the quarter was  primarily  due to an increase in
average  interest earning assets of $200.8 million and a 39 basis point increase
in yield on  average  interest  earning  assets,  partially  offset  by a $187.9
million increase in average  interest  bearing  liabilities and a 66 basis point
increase in the rate paid on average interest bearing  liabilities.  The changes
of the yield on  average  interest  earning  assets and the rate paid on average
interest  bearing  liabilities  caused the  Company's  interest  rate  spread to
decrease  from 3.08% for the quarter  ended  December  31, 2006 to 2.81% for the
quarter  ended  December 31, 2007.  The  Company's  net interest  margin for the
quarter ended  December 31, 2007 was 3.40% compared to 3.79% in the year earlier
period.

NONINTEREST INCOME
Noninterest income was $434,000 and $247,000 for the three months ended December
31, 2007 and 2006,  respectively,  and $836,000 and $673,000 for the nine months
ended December 31,

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2007 and  2006,  respectively.  Noninterest  income  for the nine  months  ended
December 31, 2007 was  affected by a $225,000  loss on sale of  investments,  of
which  $222,000  was  related to the sale of two  mutual  funds,  totaling  $6.4
million.  Based on the  forecasts  for  interest  rates and the  continued  loss
position of the funds,  the Company  decided to sell the funds and  reinvest the
proceeds  in  loans  and  other  investments.   The  Company's   composition  of
noninterest  income has changed with the  acquisition of Valley Bank,  primarily
due to its investment services subsidiary,  Riverside Investments. For the three
and nine months  ended  December  31, 2007,  Riverside  Investments  contributed
$48,000 and $84,000, respectively, to the Company's noninterest income.

INCOME TAX EXPENSE
Income tax expense  increased  from $125,000 for the three months ended December
31, 2006 to  $223,000  for the three  months  ended  December  31, 2007 and from
$352,000  for the nine months  ended  December 31, 2006 to $555,000 for the nine
months ended December 31, 2007. The effective tax rates were 36.1% and 32.1% for
the three months ended  December 31 2007 and 2006,  respectively,  and 44.5% and
31.3% for the nine months ended December 31 2007 and 2006, respectively. For the
nine months ended  December 31,  2007,  the $225,000  loss on sale of the mutual
funds  described  above is  considered  a capital loss and can only be offset by
capital gains. The Company was able to offset $68,000 of the loss from a capital
gain  recorded two years ago;  however,  the Company is not able to record a tax
benefit on the remaining  $154,000  capital loss.  The $154,000 is allowed to be
carried forward for five years to offset future capital gains, if any.

LOANS AND DEPOSITS GROW
At December 31, 2007,  total assets were $502.9  million,  an increase of $218.8
million,  or 77.0%, from March 31, 2007. Net loans outstanding  increased $174.1
million,  or 87.8%, to $372.6 million at December 31, 2007 compared to March 31,
2007.  At  December  31,  2007,  commercial  real  estate and  commercial  loans
accounted for 55.6% of the loan portfolio,  residential mortgage loans accounted
for 34.5%;  and consumer  loans  accounted  for 9.9%.  It has been the Company's
policy not to originate or invest in  sub-prime or Alt-A loans.  Total  deposits
increased  $178.3  million to $360.0  million at  December  31, 2007 from $181.7
million at March 31,  2007.  Securities  sold  under  agreements  to  repurchase
increased  $1.3 million from $9.2 million at March 31, 2007 to $10.4  million at
December 31, 2007.  Borrowed funds  increased  $25.5 million to $59.1 million at
December 31, 2007 compared to $33.6 million at March 31, 2007.

STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM
On October 9, 2007 the Company announced the authorization of a stock repurchase
program to purchase 320,986 shares of the Company's outstanding common stock. As
of December 31, 2007 the Company has  purchased  250,000  shares,  at an average
price of $11.89, for a total of $3.0 million.

Statements  contained in this news release,  which are not historical facts, are
forward-looking  statements  as that term is defined in the  Private  Securities
Litigation  reform Act of 1995. Such  forward-looking  statements are subject to
risks and  uncertainties,  which could cause actual results to differ materially
from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors,  which include, but
are not limited to, factors discussed in documents filed by the Company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Subject to applicable laws
and regulation,  the Company does not undertake - and specifically disclaims any
obligation - to

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publicly  release  the  results  of  any  revisions  which  may be  made  to any
forward-looking  statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
such  statements or to reflect the occurrence of  anticipated  or  unanticipated
events.

New England  Bancshares,  Inc. is  headquartered  in Enfield,  Connecticut,  and
operates Enfield Federal Savings and Loan Association with eight banking centers
servicing  the  communities  of Enfield,  Manchester,  Suffield,  East  Windsor,
Ellington  and Windsor Locks and Valley Bank with four banking  centers  serving
the communities of Bristol,  Terryville and  Southington.  For more  information
regarding    Enfield   Federal's    products   and   services,    please   visit
www.enfieldfederal.com and for more information regarding Valley Bank's products
and services, please visit www.valleybankct.com.

                               Statistical Summary
                                   (unaudited)
                  (dollars in thousands, except per share data)

Income Statement Data                     Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
                                             December 31,        December 31,
                                            2007      2006      2007      2006
                                           ------    ------    ------    ------
Net interest and dividend income           $3,846    $2,393    $9,894    $7,065
Provision for loan losses                      38        60       208       182
Non-interest income                           434       247       836       673
Non-interest expense                        3,624     2,191     9,276     6,430
Net income                                    395       264       691       774
Earnings per share:
Basic                                      $ 0.07    $ 0.05    $ 0.12    $ 0.16
Diluted                                      0.07      0.05      0.12      0.15

Dividend per share                         $ 0.03    $ 0.03    $ 0.09    $ 0.09

Balance Sheet Data                      December 31, 2007         March 31, 2007
                                        -----------------         --------------
Total assets                                $502,908                 $284,158
Total loans, net                             372,594                  198,447
Loan loss reserve                              3,960                    1,875
Total deposits                               359,955                  181,675
Repurchase agreements                         10,431                    9,177
Borrowings                                    59,115                   33,587
Total equity                                  68,869                   57,266
Book value per share(1)                        11.87                    11.65
Tangible book value per share(2)                8.87                    11.30

Key Ratios                              Three Months Ended    Nine Months Ended
                                           December  31,         December 31,
                                         2007       2006       2007       2006
                                         ----       ----       ----       ----
Return on average assets                 0.32%      0.39%      0.22%      0.39%
Return on average equity                 2.25%      1.84%      1.40%      1.81%
Net interest margin                      3.40%      3.79%      3.53%      3.84%

(1) Calculation  excludes  unallocated ESOP shares and unvested  incentive stock
grants. Including these shares in the calculation causes book value per share to
decrease  to  $11.16  and  $10.71 at  December  31,  2007 and  March  31,  2007,
respectively.

(2) Calculation  excludes  unallocated ESOP shares and unvested  incentive stock
grants. Including these shares in the calculation causes book value per share to
decrease  to $8.34  and  $10.40  at  December  31,  2007  and  March  31,  2007,
respectively.

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