NORFOLK, Va., April 10, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- On April 8, 2008, the Board of Directors of Hampton Roads Bankshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:HMPR), the financial holding company for Bank of Hampton Roads, elected Jack W. Gibson as its Vice Chairman. In addition, the Board elected Herman A. Hall, III as Vice Chairman of the Bank's Board of Directors.
Gibson is a founding Director of Bank of Hampton Roads and has served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since inception in 1987. When Hampton Roads Bankshares was formed in 2001, Gibson assumed the same positions within the Holding Company. Hall is also a founding Director of the Bank and has served on the Holding Company Board since its inception.
Gibson, a United States Air Force veteran and honor graduate of Old Dominion University, began his professional career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Whinney. In 1982, he joined People's Bank of Chesapeake where he served as Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer. When People's Bank of Chesapeake was acquired, Gibson and Hall joined with other local business and community leaders to form Bank of Hampton Roads.
Under Gibson's leadership, Bank of Hampton Roads has become one of the most well respected financial institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Bank achieved profitability in its first full year of operations in 1988 and has consistently increased net income for 20 consecutive years. In 2007, the Bank's twentieth anniversary year, Hampton Roads Bankshares reported its strongest financial performance to date. The Company ended the year with record earnings of $6,810,613, an increase of 13% over 2006. In addition, total assets, total loans and total deposits all ended the year at record levels of $564 million, $477 million, and $431 million, respectively.
About Hampton Roads Bankshares
Hampton Roads Bankshares, Inc. is a financial holding company that was formed in 2001 and is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. The Company's primary subsidiary is Bank of Hampton Roads, which opened for business in 1987. The Bank engages in general community and commercial banking business, targeting the needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. Currently, the Bank operates 18 banking offices in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. Shares of Hampton Roads Bankshares common stock are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol HMPR. Additional information about the Company and its subsidiaries can be found on the Web at www.bankofhamptonroads.com.
Additional Information Concerning Pending Merger with Shore Financial Corporation.
On January 9, 2008 Hampton Roads Bankshares and Shore Financial Corporation ("Shore Financial") announced a definitive agreement, under which Shore Financial will be merged with and into Hampton Roads Bankshares. Hampton Roads Bankshares has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a registration statement on Form S-4 to register the shares of its common stock to be issued to the shareholders of Shore Financial in connection with the proposed transaction. The registration statement includes a joint proxy statement/prospectus that will be sent to the shareholders of Hampton Roads Bankshares and Shore Financial seeking their approval of the proposed merger. The joint proxy statement/prospectus contains important information about Hampton Roads Bankshares, Shore Financial, and the merger and about the persons soliciting proxies from shareholders of Hampton Roads Bankshares and Shore Financial in the merger, including the executive officers and directors of each of Hampton Roads Bankshares and Shore Financial, and their respective interests in the merger, such as their stock ownership in Hampton Roads Bankshares and Shore Financial.
Additional information about Hampton Roads Bankshares' directors and executive officers is included in Hampton Roads Bankshares' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, which was filed with the SEC and is available on Hampton Roads Bankshares' website at www.bankofhamptonroads.com and at the Hampton Roads Bankshares address provided below. Additional information about Shore Financial's directors and executive officers is included in Shore Financial's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, which was filed with the SEC and is available on Shore Financial's website at www.shorebank.com and at the Shore Financial address provided below.
Investors and shareholders of Hampton Roads Bankshares and Shore Financial are urged to read the registration statement on Form S-4 and the joint proxy statement/prospectus included in the registration statement on Form S-4, and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction, because they contain important information about Hampton Roads Bankshares, Shore Financial, and the proposed transaction.
Investors and shareholders may obtain free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents related to the merger through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Free copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents also may be obtained by directing a request by telephone or mail to the following:
Hampton Roads Bankshares, Inc. Shore Financial Corporation
999 Waterside Drive, Suite 200 25020 Shore Parkway
Norfolk, VA 23510 Onley, Virginia 23418
Attention: Jack W. Gibson Attention: Scott C. Harvard
Telephone Number: (757) 217-1000 Telephone Number: (757) 787-1335
Certain statements in this report may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that include projections, predictions, expectations, or beliefs about events or results or otherwise are not statements of historical facts. Although the Company believes that its expectations with respect to certain forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its existing knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results, performance or achievements of the Company will not differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from historical results or those anticipated depending on a variety of factors. For an explanation of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and other reports filed and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release and this release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction in which such solicitation would be unlawful.