Belmont Bancorp. Shareholders Elect Eight Directors and Ratifies Auditor Appointment.

Business Editors

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2000

Shareholders of Belmont Bancorp. (Nasdaq:BLMT) elected eight directors and ratified the appointment of Crowe, Chizek and Company LLP, independent public accountants, as Belmont's auditors at the Corporation's annual meeting of shareholders held on August 21, 2000. Elected to serve on the Board of Directors of Belmont Bancorp. for a three-year term expiring 2003 are: David R. Giffin, Terrence A. Lee, Dana J. Lewis, W. Quay Mull, II, and Wilbur R. Roat. Elected to serve on Belmont's Board of Directors for the balance of a term expiring 2001 are: Joseph F. Banco and Robert W. Whiteside. Elected to serve on Belmont Board for the balance of a term expiring 2002 is Jay A. Beck.

David R. Giffin, who has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Belmont National Bank since July 2000, is a registered representative with Beaconsfield Financial Services, Inc., a brokerage firm. In addition, he is owner and president of Giffin Financial Group, a financial planning firm, Giffin Management Group, a provider of property management services, Giffin Mortgage Company, Inc., a mortgage brokerage firm, Pension Systems, Inc., a provider of pension administration and management services, and Marina Investors Group, Inc., an owner and operator of Grand Isle Marina, Grand Haven, Michigan. Giffin serves on the board of directors of NorthPointe Bank, Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also serves as vice chairman of the Michigan State Waterways Commission, having originally been appointed to a three-year term by Michigan Governor John Engler in 1996 and reappointed to a second three-year term in 1999. Giffin's election to the Corporation's board is subject to approval by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Terrence A. Lee has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation and the Bank since 1987. He also has been the owner of the accounting firm, Lee & Associates, since January 1996. He previously was a partner in the accounting firm, Lee, O'Connor & Associates, in 1995. From 1989 until 1995, Lee was the owner of the accounting firm, Lee & Associates.

Dana J. Lewis has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation and the Bank since 1994. He has served as the president of Zanco Enterprises, Inc., an owner and operator of McDonald's restaurants, since 1977.

W. Quay Mull, II has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation and the Bank since 1998 and was first elected to its Board of Directors in 1984. He has been employed at a management company, Mull Industries, Inc., since 1964, where he now serves as its Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Wilbur R. Roat has served as a director and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation and the Bank since December 1999. Prior to accepting this appointment, he served as the president and chief executive officer of First Lehigh Bank from September 1994 until February 1999. From March 1992 to September 1994, Roat served as the president and chief executive officer of St. Edmonds's Savings and Loan.

Joseph F. Banco has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Belmont National Bank since July 2000. He is president of Farm Fresh, a convenient store chain, a position he has held since 1999. Banco is the owner of Sonny Boy restaurant and also has owned and operated Banco Building, a real estate development firm, since 1966.

Robert W. Whiteside has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Belmont National Bank since July 2000. He is president of Whiteside Auto Dealers, an operator of automobile dealerships, a company he founded in 1983. Whiteside has also served as president of Whiteside Realty, Inc., a real estate brokerage firm, since 1985. He serves on the boards of various other organizations, including the Wheeling Symphony, the AAA Automobile Club, St. Mary's Church, and the Oglebay Institute.

Jay A. Beck has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Belmont National Bank since July 2000. He is the manager and director of Beck-Altmeyer Funeral Home, a position he has held since 1998. Beck also serves on the boards or advisory boards of various organizations, including St. Clairsville Schools, the St. Clairsville Chamber of Commerce, and the National and State Funeral Directors Association.

Belmont Bancorp. is a holding company with Belmont National Bank offices in Bellaire, Bridgeport, Cadiz, Lansing, New Philadelphia, St. Clairsville, Schoenbrunn and Shadyside, Ohio, and in the Woodsdale and Elm Grove areas of Wheeling, West Virginia. Belmont Bancorp. stock trades in the SmallCap Market of NASDAQ under the symbol BLMT.