ROCKY MOUNT, N.C., April 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Centura Bank (NYSE: CBC) is
expanding outside North Carolina for the first time by opening financial
stores in five Virginia Hannaford supermarkets.
    Centura will open two supermarket financial stores in Virginia Beach and
one in Norfolk on April 12, with a third Virginia Beach location scheduled to
open April 26.  The final Centura supermarket financial store will open in
Virginia Beach in September.
    With a population of 1.5 million, the rapidly growing Hampton Roads region
in Virginia's Southeast corner is an ideal market for Centura, which already
has the largest bank market share in adjacent Northeastern North Carolina. The
Hampton Roads region is the country's 28th largest metro area and home to the
world's largest naval base, a strong local economy and a well-educated,
affluent population.
    "The demographics and economy of the Hampton Roads area make it one of the
most attractive markets we could enter," said Cecil W. Sewell, Centura's
chairman and chief executive officer.  "We look forward to offering more
valuable ways for customers to manage their money in Norfolk and Virginia
Beach."
    The supermarket financial stores are one of Centura's many initiatives to
make banking and money management services more convenient for customers.  The
stores will offer a full line of financial services and be staffed by Centura
employees who have wide-ranging responsibilities, from taking deposits to
making loans and opening new accounts.
     All of Centura's supermarket financial stores will feature ATM machines,
private areas for consultations, telephones linked to Centura Highway, the
company's telephone banking center, and a demonstration area for Centura's
Online Money Management services.  The ATM and Centura Highway phone will be
available anytime Hannaford is open;  the stores will be staffed by Centura
employees 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Mon. - Sat. and noon - 6 p.m. on Sunday.
    Centura is scheduled to open 28 full-service financial stores in Hannaford
Supermarkets in North Carolina and Virginia by the end of 1998.  Centura
expects to have a total of 24 in-store financial centers by the end of the
year -- including locations in a Harris-Teeter supermarket, Wal-Mart and
K-mart -- to provide more convenience for its clients.
    With assets of $6.4 billion, Centura provides a complete line of banking,
investment, insurance and trust services to individuals and businesses
throughout North Carolina.  It provides services through: 169 financial
stores, including 15 supermarkets; more than 265 ATMs, including most N.C.
Wal-Mart and Sam's stores; the Centura Highway telephone banking center;
Quicken, QuickBooks and Microsoft Money software and America Online.

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