Immediate

     Wayne R. Weidner, President, National Penn Bancshares, Inc. - 610-369-6282
     Karl D. Gerhart, President & CEO, Community Independent
          Bank, Inc. - 610-488-1251

                          NATIONAL PENN BANCSHARES AND
                        COMMUNITY INDEPENDENT BANK, INC.
                                   TO COMBINE


BOYERTOWN,  PA, - July 24, 2000 .... National Penn Bancshares,  Inc.  ("National
Penn")(NASDAQ/NMS:NPBC),  parent company of National Penn Bank and Panasia Bank,
and  Community  Independent  Bank,  Inc.  ("CIB")(AMEX:INB),  parent  company of
Bernville Bank,  N.A.,  announced today the execution of a definitive  agreement
for National Penn to acquire CIB. CIB is a $110 million one bank holding company
headquartered in Bernville, Pennsylvania,  operating four community bank offices
in Berks County. The joint announcement was made today by Lawrence T. Jilk, Jr.,
Chairman  and Chief  Executive  Officer,  and Wayne R.  Weidner,  President,  of
National Penn, and Frederick P. Krott, Chairman, and Karl D. Gerhart,  President
and Chief Executive Officer, of CIB.


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         The basic terms of the Agreement  call for the tax-free  exchange of .9
share of National Penn common stock for each share of CIB common stock. Based on
National Penn's July 21, 2000,  closing price of $21.88 per share, the value per
share of CIB would be $19.69.  This price equates to 56.25 times CIB's estimated
trailing twelve months  earnings,  and a multiple of 1.89 times CIB's book value
as of March 31, 2000.

         As of today,  CIB had 700,327  shares of common stock  outstanding  and
options for approximately 22,600 additional shares.

         Upon completion of the merger of CIB into National Penn,  National Penn
intends to merge  Bernville  Bank into  National  Penn Bank as part of its Berks
County Division.

         One  member  of the CIB Board  will be  mutually  selected  to become a
director of National Penn and that person and another  mutually-selected  person
will become  directors  of National  Penn Bank.  All current  members of the CIB
Board will become members of National Penn Bank's Berks County Division Board.

         National   Penn  will  have  assets  of  $2.6  billion   following  the
acquisition,  which is subject to  regulatory  approval,  as well as approval of
shareholders of CIB.  National Penn  anticipates that the transaction will close
in the  first  quarter  of  2001  and  will be  accounted  for as a  pooling  of
interests. Effective immediately,

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National Penn has rescinded its existing  authorization to repurchase its common
stock,  which  authorized the repurchase of up to 850,000  shares.  During 2000,
National  Penn  has   repurchased   approximately   441,021   shares  under  the
authorization.   Effective   immediately,   CIB  has   terminated  its  Dividend
Reinvestment Plan.

         The merger is expected to be accretive to National Penn earnings in the
second year. As with any earnings  estimate,  there are factors that could cause
the actual  results  to differ  materially,  such as the  factors  discussed  in
National Penn's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

         "The  addition of Bernville  Bank is highly  complementary  to National
Penn's existing franchise and will provide an excellent  opportunity to increase
our market share in Berks County," said Wayne R. Weidner,  President of National
Penn.  "Bernville's  longevity in Berks County and deep-seated  commitment to be
aware of customers' needs is a natural fit with National Penn's philosophy."

         Bernville's  Chairman  of the  Board,  Frederick  P.  Krott,  said "The
affiliation with National Penn offers us an expanded  opportunity to enhance our
product  offerings,   services,  and  delivery  channels  to  both  current  and
prospective customers. Joining National Penn will provide our customers with the
continued benefit of a community bank philosophy,  which always has been central
to our company. The expanded services and products

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available  through this  affiliation will enable us to increase the expansion of
our customer base in many respects.  The increased  level of total  resources of
the merged  companies will enable the Bernville  franchise to better serve small
and large business customers,  as well as individual  consumers,  by immediately
adding  electronic  banking  services,   trust  services,  and  commercial  cash
management products.  We have gained an excellent reputation for our willingness
to serve the local  community  with  competitive  products  while  enhancing the
quality of life in the markets we service," stated Krott.

         National Penn Bancshares, Inc. currently operates 56 banking offices in
southeastern Pennsylvania through National Penn Bank and its divisions, Chestnut
Hill  National  Bank,  1st Main Line Bank,  National  Asian Bank,  and  Elverson
National  Bank,  and three  banking  offices in the North Jersey - New York City
marketplace  through Panasia Bank. Trust and investment  management services are
provided  through  Investors  Trust  Company;  brokerage  services  are provided
through Penn  Securities,  Inc.;  and mortgage  banking  activities are provided
through Penn 1st Financial Services, Inc.

         National Penn Bancshares, Inc. common stock is traded on the
Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "NPBC."

         Additional  information  about the National Penn family is available on
National Penn's website at http://www.natpennbank.com.

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