COLUMBIA, Md., August 29, 1997 -- The Columbia Bank has announced the
opening of a new, Towson-based Residential Mortgage Lending Division, formed
exclusively to service consumers in the Baltimore City and Baltimore and
Harford County region. The full-service operation is housed adjacent to the
Bank's branch banking office in Heaver Plaza, located at 1301 York Road.

Steve Sankovich, Residential Mortgage Director for The Columbia Bank will
oversee all activities and operations of the new office. The lending division
offers a full complement of services including residential mortgage initiation
and production, loan servicing operations and correspondent relations. The
Columbia Bank specializes in single-family permanent and construction loans.

"The opening of this new office was necessary to satisfy the growing demand
for residential mortgages and construction loans in the Baltimore metropolitan
region," explained John M. Bond, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of
The Columbia Bank. "To maintain the high level of personal service and market
knowledge that our customers have come to expect, we created this new office
to focus on the specific needs of Baltimore-area homebuyers."

The opening of this Residential Mortgage Lending of fice follows on the heels
of The Columbia Bank's aggressive expansion plan last year. In 1996, The Bank
opened full-service branches at Heaver Plaza in Towson and The Village at
Cross Keys in Baltimore City. Two specialized retirement community branches
are operational in Roland Park Place and Blakehurst in Towson. The Bank is
currently pursuing new Baltimore-area expansion opportunities, with special
emphasis on the Owings Mills area.

The Columbia Bank is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Howard
County. It operates thirteen branch banking offices and provides a full range
of financial services to consumers and businesses.

The Columbia Bank is the banking subsidiary of Columbia Bancorp, a holding
cormpany headquartered in Columbia. Maryland founded in 1987. Columbia
Bancorp's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under
the symbol 'CBMD."