Metro Bancorp Issues Statement Regarding Director Nominations

Metro Bancorp, Inc. (“Metro” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ Global Select Market Symbol: METR), parent company of Metro Bank, today confirmed that is has received notice on behalf of the PL Capital Group, which has disclosed beneficial ownership of approximately 8.8% of the outstanding shares of Metro, that it intends to submit nominations of two candidates to stand for election to the Metro Board of Directors at the Company’s 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Metro shareholders are not required to take any action at this time.

Metro provided the following statement:

We welcome open communication with our shareholders and value their input toward the goal of enhancing shareholder value. We will continue to take actions that we believe enable us to achieve this objective.

As demonstrated by our recently announced initiatives to enhance shareholder returns and earnings, Metro’s Board and management team continue to work to increase shareholder returns, improve the Company’s profitability and grow the value of the Metro franchise.

Metro’s Board is composed of eleven highly qualified directors, ten of whom are independent, and all of whom are highly experienced professionals with expertise across a wide range of disciplines and relevant industries critical to the Company’s businesses. Three new directors – Douglas Berry, Jessica Meyers and Thomas Smida – were recently appointed to the Board, and each brings invaluable financial and business experience and expertise to Metro.

The Metro Board will consider these nominations in due course after they are formally submitted. The Board will present its formal recommendation regarding director nominees in Metro’s definitive proxy statement and other materials, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to all shareholders eligible to vote at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

Important Additional Information and Where to Find It

The Company intends to file a proxy statement on Schedule 14A and other relevant documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in connection with the solicitation of proxies for its 2015 annual meeting of stockholders. STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO READ THE COMPANY’S 2015 PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the 2015 proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents that the Company files with the SEC from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or the Company’s website at www.mymetrobank.com in the “Investor Relations” section as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

Certain Information Regarding Participants in Solicitation

The Company, its directors, its executive officers and its nominees for election as director may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Company’s 2015 annual meeting of stockholders. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered participants in the solicitation of stockholders in connection with the Company’s 2015 annual meeting, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, which may be different from those of the Company’s stockholders generally, will be set forth in the Company’s definitive proxy statement for the 2015 annual meeting of stockholders and the other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which we refer to as the Exchange Act, with respect to the financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, future performance and business of Metro Bancorp, Inc. These forward-looking statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors (some of which are beyond our control). The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

While we believe our plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions as reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available to us at the time, we can give no assurance that any of them will be achieved. You should understand that various factors, in addition to those discussed elsewhere in this document, could affect our future results and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, including:

• the effects of and changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies, including in particular interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, including the duration of such policies;
• general economic or business conditions, either nationally, regionally or in the communities in which we do business, may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality and loan performance or a reduced demand for credit;
• federal budget and tax negotiations and their effects on economic and business conditions in general and our customers in particular;
• the federal government’s inability to reach a deal to permanently raise the debt ceiling and the potential negative results on economic and business conditions;
• the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act and other changes in financial services’ laws and regulations (including laws concerning taxes, banking, securities and insurance as well as enhanced expectations of regulators);
• possible impacts of the capital and liquidity requirements of the Basel III standards as implemented or to be implemented by the Federal Reserve and other US regulators, as well as other regulatory pronouncements [relating to capital, liquidity and other prudential standards / proposals and interpretations];
• changes in regulatory policies on positions relating to capital distributions;
• ability to generate sufficient earnings to justify capital distributions;
• continued effects of the aftermath of recessionary conditions and the impacts on the economy in general and our customers in particular, including adverse impacts on loan utilization rates as well as delinquencies, defaults and customers' ability to meet credit obligations;
• our ability to manage current levels of impaired assets;
• continued levels of loan volume origination;
• the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses or any provisions;
• the views and actions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding consumer credit protection laws and regulations;
• changes resulting from legislative and regulatory actions with respect to the current economic and financial industry environment;
• changes in the FDIC deposit fund and the associated premiums that banks pay to the fund;
• interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations;
• the results of the regulatory examination and supervision process;
• unanticipated regulatory or legal proceedings and liabilities and other costs;
• compliance with laws and regulatory requirements of federal, state and local agencies, including regulatory expectations regarding enhanced compliance programs;
• our ability to continue to grow our business internally or through acquisitions and successful integration of new or acquired entities while controlling costs;
• deposit flows;
• inability to achieve anticipated cost savings in the amount of time expected, and the emergence of unexpected offsetting costs in the compliance or risk management areas or otherwise;
• changes in consumer spending and saving habits relative to the financial services we provide;
• the ability to hedge certain risks economically and effectively;
• the loss of key officers or other personnel;
• changes in accounting principles, policies and guidelines as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and other accounting standards setters;
• the timely development of competitive new products and services by us and the acceptance of such products and services by customers;
• the willingness of customers to substitute competitors’ products and services for our products and services and vice versa, based on price, quality, relationship or otherwise;
• other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory and technological factors affecting the Company’s operations, pricing, products and services;
• rapidly changing technology;
• continued relationships with major customers;
• effect of terrorist attacks and threats of actual war;
• interruption or breach in security of our information systems, including cyber-attacks, resulting in failures or disruptions in customer account management, general ledger processing and loan or deposit systems or disclosure of confidential information;
• our ability to maintain compliance with the exchange rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.;
• our ability to maintain the value and image of our brand and protect our intellectual property rights;
• disruptions due to flooding, severe weather or other natural disasters or Acts of God; and
• our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing.

Because such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these factors or any of our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document or, in the case of documents incorporated by reference, the dates of those documents. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of us except as required by applicable law.