Exhibit 99.1

NEWS RELEASE

CARDINAL ANNOUNCES RECORD 2011 ANNUAL EARNINGS;

LOAN GROWTH AND ASSET QUALITY REMAIN STRONG

Cardinal Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CFNL) (the “Company”) today announced earnings of $28.0 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, for year ended December 31, 2011.  This is a 51.8% increase over earnings of $18.4 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, for the previous year.   For the quarter ended December 31, 2011, income was $8.2 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, versus $4.0 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the same quarter in 2010.

Selected Highlights

·                  Asset quality continues to be strong.  Nonperforming assets remained low at 0.69% of total assets, and annualized net loan charge offs were 0.34% of loans outstanding.  Real estate owned decreased to $3.0 million from $4.0 million at the previous quarter ended September 30, 2011, and the Company currently has $208,000 loans receivable past due 90 days or more.

·                  The Company’s tax equivalent net interest margin increased to 3.81% for the current year, up from 3.68% in the previous year. For the most recent quarter, net interest margin was 3.88% compared to 3.86% for the previous quarter ended September 30, 2011.

·                  Total assets at period-end were $2.603 billion versus $2.072 billion one year earlier, an increase of 25.6%.

·                  Loans held for investment grew to $1.632 billion, an increase of $223 million, or 15.8%, compared to the prior year end.

·                  Total non-interest bearing deposits grew to $263.8 million, an increase of 14.9% compared to December 31, 2010.

·                  All capital ratios substantially exceed the requirements of banking regulators to be considered well-capitalized.  Tangible common equity capital (TCE) as a percentage of total assets was 9.08%.

Income Statement Review

For the fourth quarter of 2011, net income was $8.2 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, an increase of 103.3% compared to the year ago quarter.  For the same periods, net interest income increased 23% to $22.7 million from $18.5 million and the tax equivalent net interest margin improved to 3.88% from 3.77%. The growth in net interest income and the margin is the result of the Bank’s success in growing its balance sheet, while average earning asset yields decreased less than the associated funding expense.  Compared to the year ago quarter, average earning assets grew $392 million, the average yield on earning assets decreased by 0.23% and the average cost of interest bearing liabilities decreased 0.42%. The average balance of the Company’s loans held for investment portfolio increased $190 million, while the yield decreased 0.24%. The average balance of loans held for sale increased $182 million and the yield decreased 0.19%.  To fund this asset growth, the average balance of non-interest bearing deposits increased $57 million, or 24%, and interest-bearing deposits increased $320 million while the costs decreased 0.27%.  In 2012, the Company expects net interest margin pressure to increase due to an increasingly competitive environment for both loans and deposits.

Noninterest income was $6.6 million for the current quarter compared to $5.5 million for the year ago quarter. For the current year compared to the prior year, noninterest income increased to $34.3 million from $27.4 million, or 25%.  The increase in income year over year is primarily attributable to revenues from mortgage banking activities, which improved by $6.4 million to $25.6 million from $19.2 million.  Mortgage banking operations were positively impacted by historically strong refinancing activity by homeowners during the year.

Noninterest expense decreased to $15.1 million for the current quarter from $16.9 million for the year ago quarter, which included an impairment charge of $2.6 million. Absent these charges, expenses increased 5.2% year over year.

For the comparable years ended December 31, noninterest expense increased to $64.5 million from $59.5 million, or 8.4%. Expenses in 2011 include losses on extinguishment of FHLB Advances of $2.3 million and settlements for potential repurchase of mortgage loans of $670,000.   In 2010, goodwill and other intangible assets charges totaled $3.0 million. Expenses for 2010 also included $801,000 of expenses related to the accelerated vesting of certain retirement benefits and data processing and telecom expenses related to the Company’s systems conversion of $943,000 partially offset by a $686,000 reduction in accruals for potential mortgage repurchases.

Absent the items mentioned in the preceding paragraph, noninterest expenses for 2011 and 2010 were $61.5 million and $55.4 million, respectively.

Review of Balance Sheet and Credit Quality

At December 31, 2011, total assets of the Company were $2.60 billion, an increase of 25.6% from total assets of $2.07 billion at December 31, 2010. Loans held for investment grew 15.8% to $1.63 billion at December 31, 2011, from $1.41 billion at December 31, 2010.  During this period, loans held for sale increased $323 million, or 157.0% while the Bank’s investment portfolio decreased slightly by $34 million, or 10.0%.

The Bank’s asset growth was primarily funded by a 26.5% increase in deposits, which grew $372 million and totaled $1.78 billion at December 31, 2011 versus $1.40 billion a year earlier. Most of this deposit growth was comprised of short term brokered CD’s, which were primarily used to fund the increase in loans held for sale. Demand deposit account balances also increased by 14.9% year over year, reflecting the Bank’s continued focus on attracting primary banking relationships.

The quality of the Bank’s loan portfolio has remained strong. The Company’s nonperforming assets stood at 0.69% of total assets at December 31, 2011 compared to 0.59% at September 30, 2011 and 0.43% at December 31, 2010.  Net loan charge-offs totaled $217,000 for the current quarter, compared to $1.3 million for last quarter.  There were $208,000 loans past due 90 days or more at December 31, 2011, while early stage loan delinquencies at 30-89 days past due were $1.9 million.  The provision for loan losses was $2.2 million for the current quarter versus $1.9 million for the fourth quarter of last year.  The total allowance for loan losses decreased to 1.60% of loans outstanding from a comparable ratio of 1.72% at December 31, 2010.

Other Information

With respect to the previously disclosed matter involving the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”), the Company continues to cooperate fully with the DOJ in its investigation and has provided relevant information to resolve the issues. It is too early to assess whether the resolution of this matter will have any effect on the Company.

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS

Bernard H. Clineburg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said:

“We are pleased to announce a record year for earnings, loan and asset growth.  As our Company’s total assets surpassed the $2.6 billion mark at year end, loan losses remained minimal as we maintained a continuing conservative risk philosophy.

Moving forward into 2012, our Company will continue to concentrate on gaining core market share and increasing franchise value for our shareholders.  We remain enthusiastically committed to building a great financial services company for our employees, clients, shareholders and the communities we serve.”

CAUTION ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements contain information related to matters such as the Company’s intent, belief or expectation with regard to such matters as financial and operational performance, credit quality and branch expansion. Such statements are necessarily based on management’s assumptions and estimates and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties concerning the Company’s operations and business environment, which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of the Company. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results of the Company to differ materially from those matters expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. For an explanation of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other reports filed with and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Cardinal Financial Corporation: Cardinal Financial Corporation, a financial holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia with assets of $2.60 billion at December 31, 2011, serves the Washington Metropolitan region through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cardinal Bank, with 27 conveniently located banking offices. Cardinal also operates several other subsidiaries: George Mason Mortgage, LLC, and Cardinal First Mortgage, LLC, residential mortgage lending companies based in Fairfax, with ten offices throughout the Washington Metropolitan region; Cardinal Trust and Investment Services, a trust division; Cardinal Wealth Services, Inc., a full-service brokerage company; and Wilson/Bennett Capital Management, Inc., an asset management company. The Company’s stock is traded on NASDAQ (CFNL). For additional information please visit our Web site at www.cardinalbank.com or call (703) 584-3400.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Summary Statements of Condition

December 31, 2011 and  December 31, 2010

(Dollars in thousands)

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Summary Income Statements

 For the Three Months and Years Ended December 31, 2011 and 2010

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Selected Financial Information

(Dollars in thousands, except per share data and ratios)

(1) Tangible book value is calculated as total shareholders’ equity, adjusted for changes in other comprehensive income, less goodwill and other intangible assets, divided by common shares outstanding.

(2) Net interest margin is calculated as net interest income divided by total average earning assets and reported on a tax equivalent basis at a rate of 34% for 2011 and 35% for 2010.

(3) Efficiency ratio is calculated as total non-interest expense divided by the total of net interest income and non-interest income.

(4) Does not include approximately $1.1 million of land held for investment.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Average Statements of Condition and Yields on Earning Assets and Interest-Bearing Liabilities

For the Three Months and Years Ended December 31, 2011 and 2010

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)