Exhibit 99.1

NEWS RELEASE

CARDINAL ANNOUNCES RECORD ANNUAL EARNINGS;

SURPASSES $4.0 BILLION TOTAL ASSETS

Cardinal Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CFNL) (the “Company”) today reported that earnings for the 2015 year were a record $47.3 million, compared to $32.7 million for the 2014 year. Diluted earnings per share increased 43% to $1.43 compared to $1.00 per diluted share for 2014.   Pre-tax, pre-provision, pre-merger and acquisition profits increased 30% to $73.3 million for 2015 compared to $56.4 million for 2014.  For the year ended 2015, return on assets and return on equity were 1.29% and 11.76%, respectively.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, earnings were $9.0 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, compared to $10.5 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, for the quarterly period ended December 31, 2014. Strong fourth quarter 2015 loan growth of $138 million contributed to an increase in the loan loss provision expense of $1.1 million compared to the prior year.  Pre-tax, pre-provision profits were stable at $14.3 million for 2015 compared to $14.6 million for 2014.

Selected Highlights

·                  The Company achieved another milestone as total assets grew to $4.03 billion, increasing 19% from December 31, 2014.  This represents the first reporting period that the Company’s total assets have exceeded $4.0 billion.

·                  For the current quarter, loans held for investment grew $138 million, or 19% annualized, bringing the total growth for the year to $475 million, or 18%.

·                  Asset quality remains excellent.  At December 31, 2015, nonperforming assets decreased to $773,000, or 0.02% of total assets. The Company had $0 past due loans

                        90 days or more and still accruing,  In 2015, the Company had net recoveries of 0.07% of average loans outstanding.

·                  The Company’s mortgage banking subsidiary, George Mason Mortgage, had solid performance in 2015, with reported net income of $9.2 million and operating net income of $6.8 million.  For the current quarter, it reported net income of $164,000 and operating net income of $929,000.  Operating net income is a non-GAAP measure which excludes the impact of Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) #109 that creates earnings volatility, and management believes operating net income more accurately reflects the performance of the Company.  See Table 4 for a comparison of operating versus GAAP net income.

·                  All capital ratios of the Company exceeded the requirements of banking regulators to be considered well-capitalized.  Tangible common equity capital (TCE) as a percentage of total assets was 9.24% at December 31, 2015.

Review of Balance Sheet

At December 31, 2015, total assets of the Company were $4.03 billion, an increase of 19% from total assets of $3.40 billion at December 31, 2014. Loans held for investment grew to $3.06 billion at December 31, 2015 versus $2.58 billion a year ago, an 18% increase.   Loans held for sale increased to $384 million at December 31, 2015 compared to $315 million at December 31, 2014, and the Company’s investment securities portfolio increased to $424 million from $348 million for these same respective periods.

Over the past year, deposit balances increased $497 million to $3.03 billion from $2.54 billion, an increase of 20%.   Non-interest bearing demand deposit accounts, which represent 22% of total deposits, increased $85 million to $657 million. Customer deposits and customer repurchase accounts were $2.74 billion, an increase of 18% since December 31, 2014.

Net Interest Income

The Company’s net interest income increased 8%, to $116.4 million from $107.7 million, for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  Average interest earning assets increased to $3.5 billion in 2015 from $3.0 billion in 2014, and average interest bearing liabilities increased to $2.6 billion from $2.2 billion.  The Company’s tax equivalent net interest margin was 3.37% for 2015 and 3.59% for 2014.  For the current quarter, the net interest margin was 3.25% versus 3.48% for the year ago quarter and 3.37% for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.   The yield on interest earning assets declined from 4.06% for the third quarter of 2015 to 3.95% for the current quarter as new loan originations and security purchases are being recorded at lower rates than maturing assets.  This is a result of competition and the historically low rate environment that has existed for the past several years. For these same respective periods, the cost of interest bearing liabilities has remained at 0.93%.

Commercial Banking Review

For the year ended December 31, 2015, net income for the commercial banking segment was $39.2 million, an increase of 14% from $34.4 million for the 2014 year.  Before M&A expenses, net income for these same respective periods was $39.5 million versus $37.8 million, and pretax, pre-provision profit was $60.0 million versus, $53.0 million, an increase of 13% (see Table 6).  For the fourth quarter of 2015, net income was $9.6 million, versus $10.8 million for fourth quarter of 2014, and pretax, pre-provision profit was $15.3 million, versus $15.0 million, for these same respective periods.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, the provision for loan losses was $449,000 versus a negative provision of $603,000 for the year ago quarter.  For the 2015 year, the provision expense was $1.4 million versus $1.9 million for 2014.  For the 2015 year, there were recoveries from previously charged off loans in excess of current charge offs of 0.07% of average loans outstanding.  The allowance for loan losses was 1.04% of loans outstanding at December 31, 2015 versus 1.10% at December 31, 2014.  This ratio decrease from a year ago is primarily the result of improving credit quality.  The Company’s nonperforming assets were 0.02% of total assets at December 31, 2015 compared to 0.13% a year ago.

Non-interest income was $5.3 million for the 2015 year compared to $5.7 million for the 2014 year.  For the fourth quarter of 2015, non-interest income was $963,000, versus $2.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2014.  Non-interest income for 2014 was affected by unusually large loan prepayment fees recognized in the fourth quarter of 2014, which totaled $810,000 versus the $107,000 for the current quarter.  For the 2015 and 2014 years, prepayment fees were $451,000 and $1.0 million respectively.  Excluding the change in prepayment income, loan fees increased 20% during the current year.  Deposit fees increased 6% as a result of new accounts and interchange income.  Also impacting the quarterly comparative results was a decrease in gains on available for sale securities of $428,000 from the year ago quarter.

Non-interest expense was $60.0 million for 2015 versus $58.3 million for the prior year.  A $2.6 million increase in parent company expense allocations accounted for nearly all of the expense increase.  Additionally, variable compensation expenses related to incentives for performance increased $750,000 in 2015 compared to 2014.  The commercial bank’s efficiency ratio for the current year, excluding the parent company allocation, was 47.8%.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, non-interest expense was $15.7 million versus $14.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. Expenses in the fourth quarter include typical incentive increases related to company performance, occupancy expenses related to a new office and the parent company allocation noted above.  For the fourth quarter of 2015, the commercial bank’s efficiency ratio was 50.8%.

Mortgage Banking Review

For the year ended December 31, 2015, the mortgage banking segment reported a net profit of $9.2 million and operating net income of $6.8 million.  Operating net income (a non-GAAP measure) excludes the impact of the Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) 109 accounting

requirement to record unrealized gains and losses on the Company’s forward commitments to sell its locked mortgage loan pipeline.  Comparable quarterly results are shown below.

The accompanying Table 7 provides additional recent quarterly information regarding the impact of SAB 109.

The net realized gain on sales and other fees, before the impact of SAB 109, was $39.7 million for 2015 versus $28.7 million for 2014.  The improvement is the result of the higher production levels, as loan closings increased to $3.6 billion from $3.0 billion, and a gain on sale margin increase to 2.60% from 2.40% a year ago.  As previously announced, in late June, George Mason Mortgage began a program to sell approximately 25% of its loan originations on a pooled mandatory delivery basis in order to increase profitability.  Traditionally, all loans have been sold individually on a best efforts basis. The increase in the gain on sale margin is reflective of the success of this program during the second half of 2015 as the mandatory loan sale program performed as expected.

Operating expenses increased to $31.8 million in 2015 compared to $30.8 million in 2014. The increase was due to expenses related to personnel and temporary help commensurate to the higher levels of production.

Loan applications totaled $1.06 billion during the fourth quarter of 2015, a slight decrease from $1.15 billion for quarter ended September 30, 2015 as activity normally decreases during the holiday season.  Purchase money applications were $787 million, which represented 74% of total application volume in the current quarter, consistent with 74% in the previous quarter.

Parent Company Only Review

For the year ended December 31, 2015, Cardinal’s parent company reported a net loss of $1.1 million versus a net loss of $4.5 million in 2014.  The change is partially due to the larger expense allocation associated with managing Cardinal Bank.  Additionally, $2.95 million in income was realized as a litigation settlement.  Offsetting these changes in income was an increase in legal and accounting fees in 2015 of $695,000 compared to fees in 2014.

Capital Ratios

The Company remains in excess of all regulatory standards to be considered a well-capitalized bank.

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS

Bernard H. Clineburg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said:

“I am very pleased with how our Company performed in 2015.  We reported record earnings and ended the year above $4.0 billion in total assets, growing 19% from the end of 2014.  Our commercial banking segment’s 2015 net income improved 14%.  Our business development efforts and commitment to the local markets continued to drive new relationships. Annual loan growth was $475 million, representing an 18% increase, and continues to illustrate the quality of our banking team and their persistence in achieving goals. Credit metrics remained pristine, and our banking offices successfully executed upon our deposit campaigns to increase our core customer balances by 18%.

“The mortgage banking division also had a strong year with operating earnings of $6.8 million. Approximately 74% of volume continues to be purchase money mortgages, providing stability in diverse economic conditions. George Mason continues to be the premier mortgage banking firm in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

“Looking forward, we will continue to concentrate on gaining profitable market share, either through de novo expansion or acquisition, with the goal of increasing our franchise value.  We remain committed to maintaining and growing a strong financial services company for our employees, clients, the communities we serve, and especially our shareholders.”

CAUTION ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements contain information related to matters such as the Company’s intent, belief or expectation with regard to such matters as financial and operational performance, credit quality and branch expansion. Such statements are necessarily based on management’s assumptions and estimates and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties concerning the Company’s operations and business environment, which are difficult to predict and beyond the control of the Company. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results of the Company to differ materially from those matters expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. For an explanation of some of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and other reports filed with and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company has no obligation and does not undertake to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release, or after the respective dates on which such statements otherwise are made.

About Cardinal Financial Corporation: Cardinal Financial Corporation, a financial holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia with assets of $4.03 billion at December 31, 2015, serves the Washington Metropolitan region through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cardinal Bank. Cardinal also operates several other subsidiaries: George Mason Mortgage, LLC, a residential mortgage lending company based in Fairfax, Virginia and Cardinal Wealth Services, Inc., a wealth management services company. The Company’s stock is traded on NASDAQ (CFNL). For additional information please visit our Web site at www.cardinalbank.com or call (703) 584-3400.

Table 1.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Summary Statements of Condition

(Dollars in thousands)

Table 2.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Summary Income Statements

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

Table 3.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Selected Financial Information

(Dollars in thousands, except per share data and ratios)

(Unaudited)

(1) The average yields for loans receivable and investment securities available-for-sale are reported on a fully taxable-equivalent basis at a rate of 34% for 2015 and 33% for 2014.

(2) Efficiency ratio is calculated as total non-interest expense divided by the total of net interest income and non-interest income.

(3) Realized gains are those gains recognized on the date the loan is sold and do not include the unrealized gains recognized at the loan commitment date.

(4) Net realized gains are gains net of loan origination expense recognized on the date the loan is sold and do not include the unrealized gains recognized at the loan commitment date.

(5) Tangible book value is calculated as total shareholders’ equity less goodwill and other intangible assets, divided by common shares outstanding.

Table 4.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Mortgage Revenue Recognition Impact of SAB 109 (Written Loan Commitments Recorded at Fair Value Through Earnings)

 For the Three Months and Years Ended December 31, 2015 and 2014

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share data)

(Unaudited)

**

Per the accounting guidance set forth by SEC Staff Accounting Bulleting (SAB) 109 regarding mortgage lending activities, the fair value of a “locked” commitment, or an unrealized gain, is recognized in income on the day of the locked commitment (LC).  As a result of this revenue recognition, the unrealized gains then become part of the basis of the ensuing loan held for sale (LHFS) when the loan is closed. When the loan is sold to investors, the “price” received is equal to the basis of the loan held for sale, and there is no gain or loss recognized. At any point in time (e.g. quarter end) the fair value of the LCs and the premium to the par value of LHFS represent unrealized gains that have been recognized in income, either in the current period or prior periods.  This accounting creates a mismatch between the income recognition on loan production and expense recognition for those same loans, which is discussed below.

In accordance with accounting rules (ASC 310-20, formerly FAS 91), direct (e.g. commissions) and indirect loan expenses associated with originating, underwriting and closing loans are deferred and amortized over the life of the loan.  In mortgage banking, this results in the mentioned expenses being recognized at the time of investor purchase of the loan (i.e. loan sale date) which often occurs in the quarter subsequent to the original LC and creates a mismatch in the timing of the revenue and expense.  These expenses are “netted” from the gain on sale from mortgage banking activities, which is included in non-interest income.

Table 5.

Cardinal Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries

Average Statements of Condition and Yields on Earning Assets and Interest-Bearing Liabilities

 For the Three Months and Years Ended December 31, 2015 and 2014

(Dollars in thousands)

(Unaudited)