National Penn Bancshares, Inc. Withdraws Bid for First Mariner Bank

National Penn Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: NPBC) announced today that it has withdrawn its bid to purchase the stock of First Mariner Bank, after the decision by the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland, to re-open the auction.

“We remain disciplined in our approach to mergers and acquisitions, while focused on continuing to build long term shareholder value,” said Scott Fainor, President and CEO of National Penn. “We are well-positioned to participate in the consolidation of the industry and will continue to evaluate opportunities consistent with our strategic objectives.”

About National Penn Bancshares, Inc.:

National Penn Bancshares, Inc., with approximately $8.6 billion in assets, is a bank holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. National Penn Bank operates 119 branch offices comprising 118 branches in Pennsylvania and one branch in Maryland.

National Penn’s financial services affiliates are National Penn Wealth Management, N.A., including its National Penn Investors Trust Company division; National Penn Capital Advisors, Inc.; Institutional Advisors LLC; and National Penn Insurance Services Group, Inc., including its Higgins Insurance and Caruso Benefits Group divisions.

National Penn Bancshares, Inc. common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “NPBC”. Please visit our Web site at www.nationalpennbancshares.com to see our regularly posted material information.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

This release contains forward-looking information about National Penn Bancshares, Inc. that is 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 statements that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “project,” ”could,” “plan,’’ “goal,” “potential,” “pro forma,” “seek,” “intend,” or “anticipate” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions of strategy, financial projections, guidance and estimates (including their underlying assumptions), statements regarding plans, objectives, expectations or consequences of announced transactions, and statements about the future performance, operations, products and services of National Penn and its subsidiaries. National Penn cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements.