Exhibit 5

                                                   June 26, 1996




Board of Directors
Triangle Bancorp, Inc.
4300 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, North Carolina  27612

RE:  Registration Statement on Form S-4 to Effect
           Acquisition of Granville United Bank

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel to Triangle  Bancorp,  Inc.  ("Bancorp")  in connection
with its proposed  acquisition  (the  "Acquisition")  of Granville  United Bank,
Oxford, North Carolina ("Granville").  As part of the Acquisition,  Bancorp will
file with the Securities and Exchange  Commission the Registration  Statement on
Form S-4 (the  "Registration  Statement")  under the  Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the  "Securities  Act"),  pursuant to which shares of Bancorp's  common
stock, no par value (the "Common Stock"), are to be registered.

In our capacity as counsel,  we have examined originals or copies,  certified or
otherwise   identified  to  our   satisfaction,   of  (i)  the   certificate  of
incorporation  and bylaws of Bancorp,  (ii) the corporate  resolutions and other
records of actions taken by the Board of Directors of Bancorp  pertaining to the
Acquisition,  (iii) the Agreement and Plan of  Reorganization  and Merger by and
among Bancorp, Triangle Bank and Granville dated June 7, 1996 (the "Agreement"),
(iv) the Registration  Statement,  (v) the relevant provisions of the Securities
Act, Chapters 53 and 55 of the North Carolina General Statues,  the Bank Holding
Company Act of 1956, as amended,  and the regulations  promulgated  under all of
the   aforementioned   statues,   and  (vi)  such  other   documents,   records,
certificates,  papers and legal matters as we have  considered  necessary as the
basis for the  opinions  given  herein.  In  addition,  we have made  reasonable
inquiries  of  the  officers  of  Bancorp  as to  all  relevant  items.  In  all
examinations  of  documents,  we have  assumed  the  genuiness  of all  original
documents and all  signatures  and the  conformity to original  documents of all
copies submitted to us as certified, conformed or photostatic copies.







Board of Directors
June 26 1996
Page 2


On the basis of such  examination  (and  subject to the  Registration  Statement
becoming  and  remaining  effective,  approval of the  Acquisition  by Granville
shareholders,  receipt of all required regulatory approvals, and consummation of
the Acquisition on the terms and in the manner  described in the Agreement),  we
are of the opinion that the shares of Common  Stock to be issued to  Granville's
shareholders,  upon the  issuance  thereof  in  accordance  with the  terms  and
conditions of the Agreement,  will be legally and validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable.

This opinion is furnished by us solely for your benefit in  connection  with the
transaction described herein and may not be quoted or relied upon by, nor copies
be  delivered  to, any other person or entity,  or used for any other  purposes,
without our prior express written consent. We hereby expressly disclaim any duty
or  responsibility  to update this opinion or the  information  upon which it is
based after the date hereof.

We hereby  consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the  Registration
Statement and the reference to our firm in the Prospectus/Proxy  Statement which
is a part of the Registration Statement, under the Section entitled "Opinions".

                                           Very truly yours,

                                           MOORE & VAN ALLEN, PLLC


                                           (Signature of Alexander M. Donaldson
                                                     appears here)
                                           By:  Alexander M. Donaldson