Cardinal Financial Corporation Announces 4th Quarter and 2001 Earnings Expectations.

Business Editors

FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2000

Cardinal Financial Corporation (Cardinal), with the acquisition of Heritage Bancorp Inc., its fourth bank subsidiary, has completed the first part of its initial strategic plan.

Beginning in June, 1998 Cardinal has opened three de novo bank subsidiaries, acquired a fourth bank subsidiary, and started an investment advisory subsidiary. While this building effort was completed within 36 months it still fell short of management's initial expectations. Consequently, the attainment of the second part of the strategic plan, profitability, has also been delayed.

With the completion of the start up phase, our entire focus is to achieve profitability as quickly as is feasible consistent with a long-term outlook.

With economic conditions changing noticeably from what has been considered an unprecedented economic boom over the last five to six years to a slowing economy and less robust banking environment, Cardinal has accordingly developed its 2001 expectations.

We see managing growth with disciplined credit management practices, exercising rigorous expense controls, and leveraging the business development opportunities afforded us by our expanded network of seven banking offices as our top three priorities in 2001.

With the strategy that we will not compromise our credit quality standards coupled with the slowing of the economy, we have reduced our loan and deposit growth expectations for the next twelve months.

Our current estimate is that Cardinal will not achieve profitability in 2001 although we expect to narrow the year 2000 loss dramatically. For the fourth quarter of 2000 we expect a loss of $0.27 to $0.30 per common share resulting in a loss for the year of $0.94 to $0.97 per common share.

The increase in loss from the third quarter is due primarily to expenses associated with assimilating the Heritage employees as well as a full quarter of goodwill amortization expense.

Cardinal will hold a conference call with analysts that follow its stock on Friday, December 22, 2000 at 11:30 A.M. EST. Anyone who wishes may access a time delayed verbatim transcript of the call by going to www.vcall.com, locate the Cardinal Financial line and click on the 'listen button.'

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'may', 'will', 'expect', 'anticipate', 'estimate', or 'continue', or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology.

The company cautions readers that certain important factors, including, among others, problems with terminology utilized by the company as described above, in some cases have affected, and in the future could affect, the Company's actual results and could cause the Company's actual results in 2000 and beyond, to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements in this report.

To learn more about Cardinal Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries please log on to www.cardinalbank.com, or call 703/934-9200.