Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc., Norfolk, VA, Announces the Appointment of Its North...

Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc., Norfolk, VA, Announces the Appointment of Its
North Carolina Advisory Board Members

NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc.
(Nasdaq:CWBS) today announced the appointment of its North Carolina Advisory
Board Members. Serving on the Advisory Board will be Mr. Clifton H. "Moe" Moore
of Griggs Lumber, Mr. Daniel Khoury of Vandeventer Black, Mr. Frank Gajar of
Port O' Call Restaurant and Mr. Raju Uppalapati of RAVA Group. These are
respected businesspeople that are very active and well regarded in the
community.

Mr. Moore served in the Army as an MP and after WWII attended East Carolina
University where he received a B.S in Business and a A.B. in History. Mr. Moore
has been with Griggs Lumber & Produce Company, Inc. since 1954 and has served as
secretary/treasurer, co-owner and president until successfully selling the
company to Carter Lumber Company. Mr. Moore has served on the Board of Trustees
at East Carolina University, the original Planning Board for Currituck County,
Stockholder Lumbermens Merchandising Corp and the Board of Education for
Currituck County. In addition, he was President of the North Carolina Potato
Association, a Member of the National Potato Council, President of Duck Woods
Country Club from 1967-1969, serving on the Board for 20 years, a Member of Duck
United Methodist Church, President of the 1st Fire Company in Lower Currituck
County and the State of N.C. Operation Commission for 3 terms.

Mr. Khoury is a partner with Vandeventer Black and concentrates his law practice
in commercial law, real estate transactions, international business and
municipal law. He earned a B.S. from Ohio State University and a J.D. from Wake
Forest University School of Law. He is a Board-Certified Specialist in Real
Estate Law for Business, Commercial and Industrial Transactions. Mr. Khoury is a
member of the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association and is a
member of the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization. He has served as
section chair of the Bar Association's Real Property Council, on the Real
Property Curriculum Committee, and the Commission on Public Trust. As a
councilor for the North Carolina State Bar, he was named to the Executive
Committee and served as state ethics chair. He was a member of the North
Carolina Board of Continuing Legal Education, where he served as Accreditations
Committee chair and vice chair of the board. He has been a faculty member and
lecturer of the North Carolina Bar association Real Estate and Residential Real
Property seminars and is an Attorney Affiliate Member of the North Carolina
Bankers Association. Currently, Mr. Khoury serves as Manteo Town Attorney and
President of the Manteo Preservation Trust.

Mr. Gajar received a Bachelors degree in Economics from Cornell University and a
MBA in finance from the University of North Carolina. Following his five year
military service as a helicopter pilot he was a financial analyst with Norfolk
Southern Railroad for seven years. Mr. Gajar currently is the owner of the Port
O' Call Restaurant and has been for the past 32 years. He is Treasurer and a
Board member of the Dare Education Foundation and is a Board member of the Dare
County Board of Health.

Mr. Uppalapati is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in Real
Estate, Hospitality Management, Financial Management and Business start-ups. He
is the Chairman and CEO of RAVA Group and CEO and partner of BD & A Realty &
Construction, Inc., one of the largest Real Estate Developers in Eastern North
Carolina. In addition, he is the founder of several successful business
start-ups involved in real estate, hospitality, financial, venture capital and
technology sectors. Mr. Uppalapati received his MA in International Management
from the University of Texas, Dallas and his MBA from Wright State University,
Dayton, Ohio. He is a past Director/Treasurer of Outer Banks Tourism Board,
Director/Treasurer and Vice Chairman of Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce and has
served on many other professional and charitable organizations.

Edward J. Woodard, Jr., CLBB, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO,
commented, "We are very pleased to have these esteemed individuals as part of
our team. Bank of the Commonwealth is embarking on a significant new period of
growth on the Outer Banks and throughout Northeastern North Carolina. We
currently have branch facilities in Waves on Hatteras Island, and Powells Point
in Currituck County. Our Moyock branch is currently under construction with
plans to open this spring. In addition, we just broke ground on our newest
office in Kitty Hawk last week, with plans of opening this summer. This new
branch in Kitty Hawk, our 19th location and our 4th location in Northeastern
North Carolina, represents our commitment to the area and our belief in the
people of Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks. Our commitment goes beyond building a
new facility, but also to building value-added relationships with our customers
and the community."

About Commonwealth Bankshares

Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc. is the parent of Bank of the Commonwealth which
opened its first office in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1971, creating a community bank
that was attuned to local issues and could respond to the needs of local
citizens and businesses. Over the last three decades, the Company's growth has
mirrored that of the communities it serves. Today, Bank of the Commonwealth has
seventeen bank branches strategically located throughout the Hampton Roads and
Northeastern North Carolina regions and an extensive ATM network for added
convenience. The Company continues to grow and develop new services, such as
Online Banking and a Corporate Cash Management program and at the same time,
maintain the longstanding commitment to personal service. Our slogan conveys our
true corporate philosophy: "When you bank with us, you bank with your
neighbors." Bank of the Commonwealth offers trust services through a division of
the Bank, insurance services through its subsidiary BOC Insurance Agencies of
Hampton Roads, Inc., title services through its subsidiary Executive Title
Center, mortgage funding services through its subsidiary Bank of the
Commonwealth Mortgage and investment related services through its subsidiary,
Commonwealth Financial Advisors, LLC.* Additional information about the company,
its products and services, can be found on the Web at
www.bankofthecommonwealth.com.

*Securities and Insurance Products are: not insured by FDIC or any Federal
Government Agency ; May Lose Value ; Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by the Bank
or any Bank Affiliate. Securities and insurance offered through BI Investments,
LLC, member NASD and SIPC. BI Investments is associated with Bank of the
Commonwealth. Commonwealth Financial Advisors, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Bank of the Commonwealth. This press release contains forward-looking
statements. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects,"
"intends," "should," "will," variations of such words and similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect
management's current beliefs as to the expected outcomes of future events and
are not guarantees of future performance. These statements involve certain
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict with regard
to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. Therefore, actual
results and outcomes may materially differ from what may be expressed or
forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause a
difference include, among others: changes in the national and local economies or
market conditions; changes in interest rates, deposit flows, loan demand and
asset quality, including real estate and other collateral values; changes in
banking regulations and accounting principals, policies or guidelines; and the
impact of competition from traditional or new sources. These and other factors
that may emerge could cause decisions and actual results to differ materially
from current expectations. Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc. undertakes no
obligation to revise, update, or clarify forward-looking statements to reflect
events or conditions after the date of this release.

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CONTACT: Commonwealth Bankshares, Inc.
Edward J. Woodard, Jr., CLBB, Chairman of the Board,
President and Chief Executive Officer
(757) 446-6904
ewoodard@bocmail.net
P.O. Box 1177
Norfolk, Virginia 23501
http://www.bankofthecommonwealth.com