MCLEAN, Va., July 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONA) (the "Company") today announced that Tyler Stafford has joined the executive team as President of Panacea Financial, a newly created division of the Company. Concurrently with Mr. Stafford's hiring, the Company announced that it has agreed to an exclusive marketing and licensing agreement with Panacea Financial, LLC which will focus on national lending, deposit gathering, wealth, and insurance needs with unique products and services for the medical community. Mr. Stafford is the CEO and Co-Founder of Panacea Financial, LLC, which is headquartered in Little Rock, AR and more information can be found at www.panaceafinancial.com.

SONA CEO, Dennis Zember noted, "I am very excited about the opportunity with Panacea and excited about having Tyler on our team. Panacea will enhance the overall growth outlook of the bank, providing strong credit quality metrics and core deposit opportunities with a highly sought after group of professionals. Zember further noted that, "Tyler's career has been focused on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the industry and its strategies and I know that his insight and perspective will make us a better organization on several levels."

Mr. Stafford was most recently a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at Stephens, Inc. where he covered Southeast and West Coast financial institutions for nearly a decade with a focus on small and mid-cap regional banks. Prior to Stephens, Mr. Stafford began his career at Regions Financial in commercial banking. Mr. Stafford is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Mr. Stafford noted, "I am excited to join the Southern National team and lead the Panacea Financial Division. I've always appreciated Dennis's forward thinking view and am excited for Panacea to partner with such a strong leader and bank."

About Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc.

As of March 31, 2020, Southern National had $2.76 billion in total assets, $2.21 billion in total loans and $2.08 billion in total deposits. Sonabank, the Company's banking subsidiary provides a range of financial services to individuals and small and medium sized businesses through forty-five full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland and through certain internet and mobile applications.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that relate to future events or the future performance of Southern National. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results. These forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the respective management of Southern National and Sonabank and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond their respective control. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results discussed or implied in these forward-looking statements because of numerous possible uncertainties. Words like "may," "plan," "contemplate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "continue," "expect," "project," "predict," "estimate," "could," "should," "would," "will," and similar expressions, should be considered as identifying forward-looking statements, although other phrasing may be used. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and may not be realized due to a variety of factors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in the reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Registration Statements on Form S-4) filed by Southern National. You should consider such factors and not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. No obligation is undertaken by Southern National to update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the issuance of this press release.

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SOURCE Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc.