Item 1. Description of Business.

Subsequent Events

Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. (“Financial”) was incorporated on October 3, 2003 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Financial was incorporated at the direction of Bank of the James (the “Bank”) to serve as a bank holding company of the Bank. Effective January 1, 2004, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Share Exchange dated October 9, 2003 (the “Agreement”) between Financial and the Bank, and approved by the shareholders of the Bank at a special meeting of shareholders held on December 17, 2003, Financial acquired all of the outstanding stock of the Bank in a statutory share exchange transaction. Under the terms of the Agreement, the shares of the Bank’s common stock were exchanged for shares of Financial on a one-for-one basis.

Following completion of the share exchange, Financial became the successor issuer to the Bank, pursuant to Rule 12g-3 (promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). Prior to the share exchange, the Bank was subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and, in accordance with Section 12(i) thereof, was required to file reports and other financial information with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”). Such reports and other information filed by the Bank with the Federal Reserve may be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. at the Freedom of Information Office, 1st Floor of the Martin Building, 20th & C Streets, and in Richmond, Virginia at the Research Library of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 701 East Byrd Street. The last financial report filed by the Bank with the Federal Reserve was its Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended September 30, 2003, filed on November 13, 2003.

As of the date hereof, the sole business of Financial is the ownership of the capital stock of the Bank. Financial had no business until January 1, 2004 and unless otherwise noted all of the financial statements and results referenced herein refer to the results and statements of the Bank.

General

The Bank is a Virginia banking corporation headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia and is Financial’s only subsidiary. The Bank was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia as a state chartered bank in 1998 and began banking operations in July 1999. The Bank was organized to engage in general retail and commercial banking business.

The Bank was organized in part as a response to the loss of many of the Central Virginia, Region 2000 area’s (as defined in “Market Area” below) local financial institutions through mergers with larger, non-local banks and bank holding companies. The organizers perceived that local customers who once relied on experienced personal attention were being forced to use 800 numbers, computerized menus, and persons in other localities who were not familiar with their needs.

The Bank opened for business on July 22, 1999 to fill this void left in the Region 2000 market. The Bank’s organizers recognized that an opportunity existed to create a banking institution designed exclusively for a market that expected personalized service. The idea was to build a financial institution staffed with experienced professionals who would place a high value on knowing their customers and serving their distinctive banking needs.

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The Bank was capitalized by more than 2,400 shareholders that wanted a new local bank. These investors provided the initial customer base and are integral to the success of the Bank. Management believes that the key to the Bank’s success lies in providing Bank customers with personalized service while providing products and services that meet their banking needs.

The Bank is a community-oriented financial institution that provides varied banking services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, and professional concerns in Region 2000. The Bank provides a full range of services to meet the financial needs of its customers and strives to provide its customers with products comparable to statewide regional banks located in its market area, while maintaining the prompt response and level of service of a community bank. Management believes this operating strategy has particular appeal in the Bank’s market area. Management believes that the combination of local ownership and size allows the Bank to offer services and products specifically tailored to the needs of the community.

The Bank’s Principal Office is located at 615 Church Street, Lynchburg, Virginia 24504 and its telephone number is (434) 846-2000. The Bank also maintains a website at www.bankofthejames.com .

Principal Products

The Bank currently conducts business from four full-service offices. Two of the full-service offices are located in Lynchburg, Virginia, one full-service location is located in Madison Heights, Virginia, and one is located in Forest, Virginia. The Bank established a mortgage loan origination division that conducts business under the name “Bank of the James Mortgage, a Division of Bank of the James” primarily from the full-service branch located in Forest, Virginia. The Bank has no operating subsidiaries.

Deposit Services. The Bank offers a full range of deposit services that are typically available in most banks and savings and loan associations including checking accounts, savings accounts and other time deposits of various types, ranging from daily money market accounts to longer-term certificates of deposit. The transaction accounts and time certificates are tailored to the Bank’s market area at rates competitive to those offered in the area. In addition, the Bank offers its customers Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). All deposit accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) up to the maximum amount allowed by law (generally, $100,000 per depositor, subject to aggregation rules). The Bank solicits such accounts from individuals, businesses, associations and organizations, and governmental authorities.

Lending Services . The Bank also offers a full range of short-to-medium term commercial and personal loans. Commercial loans include both secured and unsecured loans for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion (including acquisition of real estate and improvements), and purchase of equipment and machinery. Consumer loans include secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education and personal investments. Additionally, the Bank originates fixed and floating-rate mortgage loans and real estate construction and acquisition loans.

Other Services . Other services offered by the Bank include safe deposit boxes, travelers checks, direct deposit of payroll and social security checks, automatic drafts for various accounts, and credit card merchant services. The Bank also has become associated with a shared network of automated teller machines (ATMs) that may be used by Bank customers throughout Virginia and the United States. The Bank operates a deposit pick-up service (under the name “Better Business Banking”) pursuant to which the Bank will pick-up the non-cash deposits of its business customers as needed, up to once daily.

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The Bank intends to introduce new products and services as permitted by the regulatory authorities or desired by the public. The Bank remains committed to meeting the challenges that require technology. The Bank provides its customers with access to the latest technological products, such as telephone banking and internet banking. The services allow customers to handle routine transactions using a standard touch tone telephone and via the internet at the Bank’s website www.bankofthejames.com .

Market Area

The Bank’s market area primarily consists of Region 2000, which encompasses the seven jurisdictions of the Town of Altavista, Amherst County, Appomattox County, the City of Bedford, Bedford County, Campbell County, and the City of Lynchburg. Region 2000 supports a diverse, well-rounded economy. U.S. Routes 29, 60, 221, 460 and 501 and State Routes 24 and 40 all pass through the trade area and provide efficient access to other regions of the state. Regional airport service and rail service provide additional transportation channels.

Total population in the market area equals approximately 230,000. The area is serviced by one daily newspaper and a number of radio and television stations providing diverse media outlets. The City of Lynchburg, the location of the Bank’s main office, has the largest population base, with approximately 66,000 persons. Median family income has continued to increase in Region 2000 during the past ten years.

Region 2000 has a broad range of services, light industry, and manufacturing plants. Principal service, industrial, research and development employers include: GE Financial Assurance (life insurance and other financial products); Centra Health, Inc. (health care services); C.B. Fleet, Inc. (medical supplies); Framatome Advanced Nuclear Power (military and nuclear); Frito-Lay, Inc. (snack foods); Weyerhaeuser Containerboard Packaging (paper board products); as well as Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Sweet Briar College, Liberty University, and Lynchburg College.

Employees

As of March 9, 2004, the Bank had 65 full-time equivalent employees. None of its employees are represented by any collective bargaining agreements, and relations with employees are considered excellent.

Governmental Monetary Policies

The earnings and growth of the Bank are affected not only by general economic conditions, but also by the monetary policies of various governmental regulatory authorities, particularly the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”). The Federal Reserve Board implements national monetary policy by its open market operations in United States government securities, control of the discount rate and establishment of reserve requirements against both member and nonmember financial institutions’ deposits. These actions have a significant effect on the overall growth and distribution of loans, investments and deposits, as well as the rates earned on loans, or paid on deposits.

Management of the Bank is unable to predict the effect of possible significant changes in monetary policies upon the future operating results of the Bank.

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Competition

The Bank competes as a financial intermediary with other commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, securities brokerage firms, insurance companies, money market mutual funds and other financial institutions operating in the Region 2000 market area and elsewhere. Many of the Bank’s nonbank competitors are not subject to the same extensive federal regulations that govern federally-insured banks and state regulations governing state chartered banks. As a result, such nonbank competitors may have certain advantages over the Bank in providing certain services.

Virginia law permits statewide branching by banks. Consequently, the Bank’s market area is a highly competitive, highly branched banking market. Competition in the market area for loans to individuals, small businesses, and professional concerns, the Bank’s target market, is keen, and pricing is important. Most of the Bank’s competitors have substantially greater resources and lending limits than the Bank and offer certain services, such as extensive and established branch networks and trust services, that the Bank is not currently providing. Moreover, larger institutions operating in the Region 2000 market area have access to borrowed funds at a lower cost than are presently available to the Bank. Deposit competition is strong and comes from institutions in the market, U.S. Government securities, private issuers of debt obligations and suppliers of other investment alternatives for depositors, among other sources. As a result, the Bank has paid, and may in the future pay, above-market rates to attract deposits.

The adoption of legislation permitting nationwide interstate banking and branching and the use of financial holding companies may also increase competition in the Bank’s market area. See “Regulation of Financial” and “Regulation of the Bank” below.

Regulation of Financial

General . As a bank holding company registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the “BHCA”), Financial is subject to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”). The Federal Reserve Board has jurisdiction under the BHCA to approve any bank or non-bank acquisition, merger or consolidation proposed by a bank holding company. The BHCA generally limits the activities of a bank holding company and its subsidiaries to that of banking, managing or controlling banks, or any other activity that is so closely related to banking or to managing or controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto.

Since September 1995, the BHCA has permitted bank holding companies from any state to acquire banks and bank holding companies located in any other state, subject to certain conditions, including nationwide and state imposed concentration limits. Banks are also able to branch across state lines, provided certain conditions are met, including that applicable state laws expressly permit such interstate branching. Virginia has adopted legislation that permits branching across state lines, provided there is reciprocity with the state in which the out-of-state bank is based.

Financial is also subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) of annual, quarterly and other reports on the financial condition and performance of the organization. As a reporting company under the Exchange Act, Financial is directly affected by the recently enacted Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “SOx”), which is aimed at improving corporate governance and reporting procedures and requires expanded disclosure of Financial’s corporate operations and internal controls. Financial is in compliance with new rules and regulations implemented pursuant to the SOx and intends to comply with any applicable rules and regulations implemented in the future. The new legislation and its implementing regulations will potentially lead to an increase in certain outside professional costs.

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Capital Requirements . The Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) had adopted capital adequacy guidelines pursuant to which it assesses the adequacy of capital in examining and supervising a bank holding company and in analyzing applications to it under the BHCA. The FRB’s capital adequacy guidelines are similar to those imposed on the Bank by the FRB. See “Regulation of the Bank – Capital Requirements.”

Limits on the Payment of Dividends . Financial is a legal entity, separate and distinct from the Bank. A significant portion of Financial’s revenues will be from dividends paid to it by the Bank. Both Financial and the Bank are subject to laws and regulations that limit the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain capital at or above regulatory minimums. Banking regulators have indicated that Virginia banking organizations should generally pay dividends only (1) from net undivided profits of the bank, after providing for all expenses, losses, interest and taxes accrued or due by the bank and only (2) if the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality and overall financial condition. In particular, under the current supervisory practices of the Federal Reserve Board, prior approval from the Federal Reserve Board and a supermajority of the Bank’s shareholders is required if cash dividends declared in any given year exceed net income for that year plus retained earnings of the two preceding years. In addition, under the FDIA, insured depository institutions such as the Bank are prohibited from making capital distributions, including the payment of dividends, if, after making such distribution, the institution would become “undercapitalized” (as such term is used in the statute).

The Bank generated start-up losses in its beginning years; as such the organization had negative retained earnings and was not able to pay cash dividends until recently. Although our retained earnings are now positive, dividends are not planned at this time. We believe the additional capital can be used more effectively to support future growth of the organization.

Regulation of the Bank

The Bank is subject to various state and federal banking laws and regulations that impose specific requirements or restrictions on and provide for general regulatory oversight with respect to virtually all aspects of its operations. The following is a brief summary of the material provisions of certain statutes, rules and regulations that will affect the Bank. This summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the particular statutory and regulatory provisions referred to below.

General. The Bank is under the supervision of, and subject to regulation and examination by, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, and the State Corporation Commission of Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions (the “Commission”). As such, the Bank is subject to various statutes and regulations administered by these agencies that govern, among other things, required reserves, investments, loans, lending limits, acquisitions of fixed assets, interest rates payable on deposits, transactions among affiliates and the Bank, the payment of dividends, mergers and consolidations, and establishment of branch offices.

The earnings of the Bank is affected by general economic conditions, management policies and the legislative and governmental actions of the various regulatory authorities, including those referred to above.

Deposit Insurance. Section 38 of the FDIA, as amended by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”), requires that the federal banking agencies establish five capital levels for insured depository institutions - “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized” - and requires or

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permits such agencies to take certain supervisory actions as an insured institution’s capital level declines. In certain circumstances, a financial institution’s low capital position can lead to enhanced restrictions by the FDIC. An “adequately capitalized” institution is restricted from accepting brokered deposits, and a “significantly undercapitalized” institution must develop a capital restoration plan and is subject to a number of mandatory and discretionary supervisory actions. These powers and authorities are in addition to the traditional powers of the federal banking agencies to deal with undercapitalized institutions.

As an institution with deposits insured by the Bank Insurance Fund (“BIF”), the Bank also is subject to insurance assessments imposed by the FDIC. In 2003 and for the first semiannual assessment period of 2004, the FDIC continued the risk based BIF assessment rate schedule of 0.0% to 0.27% of an institution’s average assessment base. The actual assessment to be paid by each BIF member is based on whether the institution is considered “well capitalized”, “adequately capitalized,” or “undercapitalized”, as such terms have been defined in applicable federal regulations, and whether such institution is considered by its supervisory agency to be financially sound or to have supervisory concerns.

The Deposit Insurance Funds Act of 1996 (the “Funds Act”) was enacted on September 30, 1996. Among other provisions, the Funds Act (i) requires that certain depository institutions pay a one-time special assessment to the FDIC to capitalize the Savings Association Insurance Fund (“SAIF”) at its statutory required reserve ratio of 1.25% of insurable deposits, (ii) exempts certain depository institutions with SAIF-assessable deposits that meet any of several specified criteria from paying the special assessment and (iii) authorizes the Financing Corporation (“FICO”) to impose periodic assessments on depository institutions that are members of BIF, in addition to institutions that are members of the SAIF, in order to spread the cost of the interest payments on the outstanding FICO bonds over a larger number of institutions. Until this change in the law, only SAIF-member institutions bore the cost of funding these interest payments. FICO assessments are set quarterly and were set at 0.0168%, 0.0162%, 0.0160%, 0.0152%, and 0.0154% annually for the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, respectively for both BIF and SAIF assessable deposits. The FDIC may change the rates for insurance in its discretion to ensure insurance fund solvency. Increases in FDIC insurance charges will have an adverse financial impact on the Bank.

Regulators have broad powers under current federal law to take prompt corrective action to resolve problems of insured depository institutions. The extent of the action depends on the capital adequacy and other features of the organization in question.

Capital Requirements . The various federal bank regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve Board, have adopted risk-based capital requirements for assessing bank capital adequacy. In addition, Virginia chartered banks must also satisfy the capital requirements adopted by the Commission. The federal capital standards define capital and establish minimum capital requirements in relation to assets and off-balance sheet exposure, as adjusted for credit risk. The risk-based capital standards currently in effect are designed to make regulatory capital requirements more sensitive to differences in risk profile among bank holding companies and banks, to account for off-balance sheet exposure and to minimize disincentives for holding liquid assets. Under these guidelines, assets and off-balance sheet items are assigned to broad risk categories, with each multiplied by one of several risk adjustment percentages. The resulting capital ratios represent capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets and off-balance sheet items.

The minimum requirement for the ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets (including certain off-balance sheet obligations, such as stand-by letters of credit) for a bank to be “adequately capitalized” is 8.0%. At least half of the risk-based capital must consist of stockholders’ equity (including retained earnings) and qualifying noncumulative preferred stock, less deductions for goodwill and various other intangibles (“Tier 1 capital”). The remainder (“Tier 2 capital”) generally consists of a limited amount of

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subordinated debt, certain hybrid capital instruments and other debt securities, preferred stock and a limited amount of the general valuation allowance for loan losses. No element of Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital may contain covenants, terms, or restrictions that are inconsistent with sound banking practices. The sum of Tier 1 capital and Tier 2 capital is “total risk-based capital.” The Tier 1 and total capital to risk-weighted asset ratios of the Bank as of December 31, 2003 were 9.6% and 10.8%, respectively, exceeding the minimums required.

The Federal Reserve Board also has adopted regulations that supplement the risk-based guidelines to include a minimum leverage ratio of Tier 1 capital to quarterly average assets (“Leverage ratio”) of 3.0%. The Federal Reserve Board has emphasized that the foregoing standards are supervisory minimums and that a banking organization will be permitted to maintain such minimum levels of capital only if it receives the highest rating under the regulatory rating system and the banking organization is not experiencing or anticipating significant growth. Such banks are expected to maintain capital ratios well above minimum levels. All other banking organizations are required to maintain a Leverage ratio of at least 4.0% to 5.0% of Tier 1 capital. These rules further provide that banking organizations experiencing internal growth or making acquisitions will be expected to maintain capital positions substantially above the minimum supervisory levels and comparable to peer group averages, without significant reliance on intangible assets. The tangible Tier 1 Leverage ratio is the ratio of a banking organization’s Tier 1 capital, less deductions for intangibles otherwise includable in Tier 1 capital, to total tangible assets. The Leverage ratio of the Bank as of December 31, 2003 was 8.2%, exceeding the minimums required.

Further, the Federal Reserve Board and other federal banking agencies have adopted regulations to ensure that banks with significant exposure to market risk maintain adequate capital to support that exposure. Under these rules, the Federal Reserve Board must explicitly include a bank’s exposure to declines in the economic value of its capital due to changes in interest rates as a factor in evaluating a bank’s capital adequacy.

Mergers and Acquisitions. The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 authorizes the Federal Reserve Board to permit adequately capitalized and adequately managed bank holding companies to acquire all or substantially all of the assets of an out-of-state bank or bank holding company, subject to certain conditions, including nationwide and state concentration limits. Banks also are able to branch across state lines, provided certain conditions are met, including that applicable state law must expressly permit such interstate branching. Virginia law permits branching across state lines, provided there is reciprocity with the state in which the out-of-state bank is based.

Financial Modernization. On November 12, 1999, financial modernization legislation known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (the “Act”) was signed into law. The Act, which was effective March 11, 2000, permits bank holding companies to become financial holding companies and thereby affiliate with securities firms and insurance companies and engage in other activities that are financial in nature. A bank holding company may become a financial holding company by filing a declaration that the bank holding company wishes to become a financial holding company if each of its subsidiary banks (i) is well capitalized under regulatory prompt corrective action provisions, (ii) is well managed, and (iii) has at least a satisfactory rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”). No regulatory approval will be required for a financial holding company to acquire a company, other than a bank or savings association, engaged in activities that are financial in nature or incidental to activities that are financial in nature, as determined by the Federal Reserve Board.

The Act defines “financial in nature” to include securities underwriting, dealing and market making; sponsoring mutual funds and investment companies; insurance underwriting and agency; merchant banking activities; and activities that the Board has determined to be closely related to banking. Subsidiary banks of a financial holding company must continue to be well capitalized and well managed

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in order to continue to engage in activities that are financial in nature without regulatory actions or restrictions, which could include divestiture of the financial in nature subsidiary or subsidiaries. In addition, a financial holding company or a bank may not acquire a company that is engaged in activities that are financial in nature unless each of the subsidiary banks of the financial holding company or the bank has a CRA rating of satisfactory or better.

Although the above laws may have a significant impact on the banking industry by promoting, among other things, competition, it is not possible for the management of the Bank to determine, with any degree of certainty, the impact of such laws on the Bank.

Community Reinvestment Act . The Bank is also subject to the requirements of the CRA. The CRA imposes on financial institutions an affirmative and ongoing obligation to meet the credit needs of their local communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of those institutions. Each financial institution’s efforts in meeting community credit needs currently is evaluated as part of the examination process pursuant to a number of assessment factors. These factors also are considered in evaluating mergers, acquisitions and applications to open branches.

Safety and Soundness . The federal banking agencies have broad powers under current federal law to take prompt corrective action to resolve problems of insured depository institutions. The extent of these powers depends upon whether the institutions in question are “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized,” or “critically undercapitalized,” all such terms are defined under uniform regulations defining such capital levels issued by each of the federal banking agencies.

On December 19, 1991, the FDICIA was enacted into law. FDICIA requires each federal banking regulatory agency to prescribe, by regulation or guideline, standards for all insured depository institutions and depository institution holding companies relating to (i) internal controls, information systems and audit systems; (ii) loan documentation; (iii) credit underwriting; (iv) interest rate risk exposure; (v) asset growth; (vi) compensation, fees and benefits; and (vii) such other operational and managerial standards as the agency determines to be appropriate. The compensation standards would prohibit employment contracts or other compensatory arrangements that provide excess compensation, fees or benefits or could lead to material financial loss. In addition, each federal banking regulatory agency must prescribe, by regulation or guideline, standards relating to asset quality, earnings and stock valuation as the agency determines to be appropriate. The federal banking agencies, including the Federal Reserve Board, have adopted regulations concerning standards for safety and soundness required to be prescribed by regulation pursuant to Section 39 of the FDIA. In general, the standards relate to (1) operational and managerial matters; (2) asset quality and earnings; and (3) compensation. The operational and managerial standards cover (a) internal controls and information systems, (b) internal audit systems, (c) loan documentation, (d) credit underwriting, (e) interest rate exposure, (f) asset growth, and (g) compensation, fees and benefits.

Activities and Investments of Insured State-Chartered Banks. The activities and equity investments of FDIC-insured, state-chartered banks are generally limited to those that are permissible for national banks. Under regulations dealing with equity investments, an insured state bank generally may not directly or indirectly acquire or retain any equity investment of a type, or in an amount, that is not permissible for a national bank. An insured state bank is not prohibited from, among other things, (i) acquiring or retaining a majority interest in a subsidiary, (ii) investing as a limited partner in a limited partnership the sole purpose of which is direct or indirect investment in the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of a qualified housing project, provided that such limited partnership investments may not exceed 2% of the bank’s total assets, (iii) acquiring up to 10% of the voting stock of a company that

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solely provides or reinsures directors’, trustees’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage or bankers’ blanket bond group insurance coverage for insured depository institutions, and (iv) acquiring or retaining the voting shares of a depository institution if certain requirements are met. In addition, an insured state-chartered bank may not, directly, or indirectly through a subsidiary, engage as “principal” in any activity that is not permissible for a national bank unless the FDIC has determined that such activities would pose no risk to the insurance fund of which it is a member and the bank is in compliance with applicable regulatory capital requirements. Any insured state-chartered bank directly or indirectly engaged in any activity that is not permitted for a national bank must cease the impermissible activity.

Regulatory Enforcement Authority. Applicable banking laws include substantial enforcement powers available to federal banking regulators. This enforcement authority includes, among other things, the ability to assess civil money penalties, to issue cease-and-desist or removal orders and to initiate injunctive actions against banking organizations and institution-affiliated parties. In general, these enforcement actions may be initiated for violations of laws and regulations and unsafe or unsound practices. Other actions or inactions, including the filing of misleading or untimely reports with regulatory authorities, may provide the basis for enforcement action.

USA Patriot Act . The USA Patriot Act became effective on October 26, 2001 and provides for the facilitation of information sharing among governmental entities and financial institutions for the purpose of combating terrorism and money laundering. Among other provisions, the USA Patriot Act permits financial institutions, upon providing notice to the United States Treasury, to share information with one another in order to better identify and report to the federal government concerning activities that may involve money laundering or terrorists’ activities. Interim rules implementing the USA Patriot Act were issued effective March 4, 2002. The USA Patriot Act is considered a significant banking law in terms of information disclosure regarding certain customer transactions. Although it does create a reporting obligation, the Bank does not expect the USA Patriot Act to materially affect its products, services or other business activities.

Reporting Terrorist Activities . The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) has sent, and will send, our banking regulatory agencies lists of the names of persons suspected of involvement in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. The Bank has been asked, and may be asked again, to search its records for any relationships or transactions with persons on those lists. If the Bank finds any relationships or transactions, it must file a suspicious activity report and contact the FBI.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), which is a division of the Department of the Treasury is responsible for helping to ensure that United States entities do not engage in transactions with “enemies” of the United States, as defined by various Executive Orders and Acts of Congress. OFAC has sent, and will send, our banking regulatory agencies lists of names of persons and organizations suspected of aiding, harboring or engaging in terrorist acts. If the Bank finds a name on any transaction, account or wire transfer that is on an OFAC list, it must freeze such account, file a suspicious activity report and notify the FBI. The Bank has appointed an OFAC compliance officer to oversee the inspection of its accounts and the filing of any notifications. The Bank actively checks high-risk OFAC areas such as new accounts, wire transfers and customer files. The Bank performs these checks utilizing software, which is updated each time a modification is made to the lists provided by OFAC and other agencies of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.

Mortgage Banking Regulation . The Bank’s mortgage banking subsidiary is subject to the rules and regulations of, and examination by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), the Federal Housing Administration (the “FHA”), the Department of Veteran Affairs and state regulatory authorities with respect to originating, processing, servicing and selling mortgage loans. Those rules and

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regulations, among other things, establish standards for loan origination, prohibit discrimination, provide for inspections and appraisals of property, require credit reports on prospective borrowers and, in some cases, restrict certain loan features, and fix maximum interest rates and fees. In addition to other federal laws, mortgage origination activities are subject to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Truth-in-Lending Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and the Home Ownership Equity Protection Act, and the regulations promulgated thereunder. These laws prohibit discrimination, require the disclosure of certain basic information to mortgagors concerning credit and settlement costs, limit payment for settlement services to the reasonable value of the services rendered and require the maintenance and disclosure of information regarding the disposition of mortgage applications based on race, gender, geographical distribution and income level.