CENIT Announces Annual Meeting Date.

Business Editors

NORFOLK, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 1999

CENIT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNIT) today announced that it has established Wednesday, June 14, 2000, as the date of its 2000 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Michael S. Ives, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated: "In the future, we plan to hold our stockholders' meetings in June of each year. This gives our stockholders sufficient time to review our annual financial disclosures before they have to decide whether there is any business that they wish to bring before the annual stockholders' meetings. For the past two years, one of our stockholders has elected to withdraw a proposal after meeting with management and being given a chance to review CENIT's financial reports for the most recent year. This procedural change will benefit our stockholders and the Company in future years through a reduction in stockholder proposals that may be filed because the proponents of these proposals did not have the benefit of the Company's annual financial disclosures."

CENIT also announced that in conjunction with the later annual meeting date for the year 2000, it will permit stockholders who desire to submit proposals for consideration at the 2000 annual meeting, and who wish to have such proposals included in CENIT's proxy statement for the meeting, to deliver their proposals to the Company's secretary not later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 14, 2000.