Bank of the James Announces Results for 1st Quarter 2003.

Business Editors

LYNCHBURG, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2003

Bank of the James (OTCBB:BOTJ) (quarterly results unaudited) reported today total net income after tax of $305,000 or $0.33 per basic share for the quarter ending March 31, 2003 compared to net income of $114,000 or $0.12 per share for the same period a year ago.

Return on average assets and return on average equity for the quarter ended March 31, 2003 were 1.08% and 11.94% respectively.

Net interest income for the quarter ended March 31, 2003 was $1,232,000 as compared to net interest income of $875,000 in the same quarter of 2003, an increase of 40.8%. The growth in net interest income was due to the increase in average interest-earning assets which was the result of growth in the loan and investment portfolios funded by the growth in deposits and an increase in the net interest margin. The net interest margin increased to 4.69% in the first quarter of 2003 from 4.44% in the same period a year ago.

The average rate on earning assets decreased 42 basis points from 7.43% in the first quarter of 2002 to 7.01% in the first quarter of 2003 and the average rate on interest-bearing liabilities decreased 78 basis points from 3.20% in the first quarter of 2002 to 2.42% in the first quarter of 2003.

Total assets as of March 31, 2003 were $118,560,000 compared to $114,077,000 at the end of 2002, an increase of $4,483,000 or 3.9%. The increase may be attributed to modest deposit growth from $103,509,000 for the period ended December 31, 2002 to $105,901,000 at the end of the first quarter, 2003, for an increase of 2.3%