July 10, 2003
For Immediate Release

Eastern Virginia Bankshares Added to Russell 3000 List

Tappahannock, VA. - Eastern Virginia Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EVBS) has been included on a list of additions announced last night by The Frank Russell Company to the Russell 3000®Index. The index includes the 3,000 largest United States companies, ranked according to market capitalization. Russell uses the list to calculate its Russell 3000®, Russell 2000® and Russell 1000® indexes. The Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 are subsets of the larger list, containing the largest 1,000 and next largest 2,000 companies respectively. The list, which has been updated on the Russell web site, www.russell.com was announced as a preliminary list on June 13, became final on July 1 and was formally announced on July 9, 2003. Annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes captures the 3,000 largest U. S. stocks as of the end of May each year, ranking them by market capitalization.

"Our Board and Management are excited about inclusion in the Russell 3000® and Russell 2000® Indexes, and believe that our increase in market capitalization reflects the financial strength and operating performance of our Company" said Joe A. Shearin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Virginia Bankshares, Inc. "This Company that began as two small community banks in Heathsville and Tappahannock in 1910 has grown into one of the 3,000 largest public companies in America, based on market capitalization ranking. We anticipate that inclusion in these indexes will benefit our shareholders by increasing liquidity of their stock holdings."

Russell produces a family of 21 U. S. equity indexes. These indexes are market cap-weighted and include only common stocks incorporated in the United States and its territories. All indexes are subsets of the Russell 3000® Index, which represents approximately 98% of the investable U. S. equity market. Membership in these indexes is determined strictly by market capitalization rankings and style rather than by subjective opinion or committee decisions. Russell indexes are widely used by managers of index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and actively managed investment strategies. Index funds and investment strategies benchmarked to Russell indexes are one of the fastest growing segments of the investment market. Investment managers who oversee these funds purchase shares of member stocks according to the company's weighting in the particular index. Inclusion in the index in one year does not ensure that a company will remain in that index in future years.

Eastern Virginia Bankshares, the parent company for Bank of Northumberland, Hanover Bank and Southside Bank, operates 17 retail branches located in the counties of Caroline, Essex, Gloucester, Hanover, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, and Northumberland. On June 12, the Company announced the signing of a definitive agreement with BB&T Corporation and First Virginia Bank-Hampton Roads for its Southside Bank subsidiary to acquire three First Virginia branches with a projected completion date before the end of the third quarter of 2003. The branches located in Waverly, Surry and Courtland are expected to add approximately $70 million in deposits to EVBS and under even the most conservative estimates are expected to be accretive to earnings in 2004. The Company's stock trades on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market System under the symbol EVBS.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this discussion may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by phrases such as "the Company expects," "the Company believes" or words of similar import. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks including, but not limited to, changes in general economic and business conditions, interest rate fluctuations, competition within and from outside the banking industry, new products and services in the banking industry, risk inherent in making loans such as repayment risks and fluctuating collateral values, problems with technology utilized by the Company, changing trends in customer profiles and changes in laws and regulations applicable to the Company. Although the Company believes that its expectations with respect to the forward-looking statements are based upon reliable assumptions within the bounds of its 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.