Community Bankshares Inc. -SC- to Acquire Ridgeway Bancshares, Parent of Bank of Ridgeway.

Business Editors

ORANGEBURG, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2001

South Carolina's oldest community bank

will become SCB subsidiary

Community Bankshares Inc., (AMEX:SCB), announced today that it will acquire Ridgeway Bancshares, Inc., the parent of the Bank of Ridgeway, in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $16 million that will give Community Bankshares a presence in the fast-growing I-77 corridor north of Columbia, South Carolina.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and satisfaction of certain conditions.

Community Bankshares will issue one million shares of its common stock and pay $4 million in cash in exchange for Ridgeway's 40,000 outstanding shares of common stock.

Community Bankshares Chairman and CEO E.J. Ayers stated, "We are delighted to announce that the Bank of Ridgeway will soon become part of our company. We are honored that they want to become one of our banks. The acquisition will expand our geographic coverage into the northern part of the Columbia metropolitan area."

Bank of Ridgeway President and CEO William 'Boe' Harwell stated, "We are extremely pleased to become associated with Community Bankshares because it will enable us to continue operating as the Bank of Ridgeway and we will also get the advantage of being part of a larger corporation. We think that Community Bankshares' business model, community banks operating under a corporate umbrella, makes a lot of sense for us and for our part of the country. We look forward to consummating this transaction as quickly as possible."

The Bank of Ridgeway, chartered in 1898, is the oldest bank in South Carolina. The bank has offices in Ridgeway, Blythewood and Winnsboro, South Carolina. At September 30, 2001 the bank had assets of $76.6 million and equity of $8.6 million.

Community Bankshares Inc. is based in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the parent company of three South Carolina commercial banks, Orangeburg National Bank, Sumter National Bank and Florence National Bank and a mortgage company, Community Resource Mortgage Inc. The company serves primarily consumers and small to medium sized business customers in the central and northeastern sections of South Carolina. At September 30, 2001, Community Bankshares had $292 million in consolidated assets and $25.5 million in equity. Community Bankshares' common stock is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SCB.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and several factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to anticipated revenues, gross margins, earnings, and growth of the market for our services and products. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ from those indicated in the forward-looking statements: uncertainties associated with market acceptance of and demand for the company's services and products, impact of competitive products and pricing, dependence on third party suppliers, and uncertainties associated with housing and mortgage markets. Investors are directed to the company's 2000 annual report, which is available from the company without charge for a more complete description of the company's business.