Driver Management Issues Letter to Community Bankers Trust Corporation Board of Directors

Calls on the Board of Directors to Immediately Embrace Best Practices in Corporate Governance

Requests Majority Voting for Directors at 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Highlights Importance of 2020 Annual Meeting Given Investor Unrest

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Driver Management Company LLC today sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Community Bankers Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: ESXB), the holding company for Virginia-based Essex Bank.

Below is the full text of the letter.

The Board of Directors
Community Bankers Trust Corporation
9954 Maryland Drive
Suite 2100
Richmond, VA 23233
Attn: Senator John C. Watkins, Chairman
February 4, 2020

Dear Members of the Board,

In light of what appears to us to be considerable shareholder discontent with the management and strategic direction of Community Bankers Trust Corporation (the “Company”), the upcoming 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2020 Annual Meeting”) may prove a pivotal moment for the Company. In order to guarantee that members of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) are truly responsive and accountable to the shareholders they owe fiduciary duties to, we are requesting that the Board immediately adopt a majority voting standard for the election of directors at the 2020 Annual Meeting.

Under a majority voting standard, an affirmative majority of votes cast at the 2020 Annual Meeting would be required to elect any director; nominees not receiving such a majority would not be elected. Majority voting standards have been endorsed by the major proxy advisory firms and shareholder advocacy groups and have been adopted by many of Richmond’s leading corporations, including Altria, Performance Food Group, CarMax, Dominion Energy, Owens & Minor, Genworth Financial and Markel.

Please indicate as soon as possible, to us and all shareholders, whether the Board will adopt a majority voting standard for the election of directors at the 2020 Annual Meeting.

Sincerely,

J. Abbott R. Cooper
Managing Member
Driver Management Company LLC

#itsessexbanknotrexsbank

About Driver Management Company

Driver employs a valued-oriented, event-driven investment strategy that focuses exclusively on equities in the U.S. banking sector. The firm’s leadership has decades of experience advising and engaging with bank management teams and boards of directors on strategies for enhancing shareholder value. For information, visit www.drivermanagementcompany.com.