CFX: Appoints Rasmussen as CIO


News from CFX Corp. (AMEX: CFX)

                                                     MAY 22, 1997

For further information, contact: Cindy Zett, Public Relations
603-355-8663


           Rasmussen appointed CIO at CFX Corporation

David N. Rasmussen has been appointed Chief Information Officer
at CFX Corporation. He will oversee the Data Processing and
Operations functions of the Company and its subsidiaries and will
chair the Corporation's Technology Steering Committee. He is
responsible for assessing the technological needs of the Company
and for providing leadership in the use of technology as a
competitive advantage. In addition, he is responsible for the
Company's central information and operations systems.

Rasmussen is a seasoned information technology executive with
skills in general management, strategic planning, product
development, and marketing. He has over thirty years' experience
in software development, international sales and service, program
management, and systems engineering.

Prior to joining CFX, Rasmussen was second vice president and
strategic systems officer at ReliaStar Financial Corporation in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was responsible for the
direction of information technology, including architecture,
enabling technologies, project methodology, and data strategies.
Among many accomplishments at ReliaStar, he chaired the senior
information systems management team, managed multi-million-dollar
contract negotiations with software vendors, directed the
company's Internet/Intranet project, and was responsible for
implementing a rapid applications development capability for
client/server applications.

Rasmussen was employed for 18 years at Digital Equipment
Corporation in Merrimack, New Hampshire, where he held several
positions including director of information systems, sales, and
marketing; and group business manager of
Digital's Computer Special Systems group.

Additionally, Rasmussen has business experience in the Pacific
Basin and Europe, having spent seven years with various computer
and software companies headquartered in Hong Kong, Singapore,
Australia, and South Vietnam.

Rasmussen holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the
University of Denver, pursued graduate studies at Texas A&M
University, and completed the Advanced International Management
Seminar program at INSEAD in France.

Rasmussen is a past member of the board of trustees of the Nashua
(New Hampshire) Center for the Arts.

A resident of New Hampshire since 1976, Rasmussen lives in Nashua
with his family.

CFX Corporation is a mulit-bank holding company with total assets
of $1.74 billion as of March 31, 1997. The Company's three
banking subsidiaries are CFX Bank, headquartered in Keene, New
Hampshire; Orange Savings Bank, headquartered in Orange,
Massachusetts; and Safety Fund National Bank, headquartered in
Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Upon completion of CFX's pending
acquisition of Portsmouth Bank Shares, Inc., headquartered in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Community Bankshares, Inc.,
headquartered in Concord, New Hampshire (both expected in the
third quarter of 1997), and planned increases in the balance
sheet leverage associated with the Portsmouth transaction, it is
anticipated that CFX will have approximately $2.7 billion in
assets, 57 full-service banking offices, two loan production
offices and 88 automated teller and remote service banking
locations in New Hampshire.



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