RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFBI) today announced that it has been added to the Russell 2000® index, effective on June 24, 2016. The Russell 2000® is a leading equity benchmark of US-based companies widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and active investment strategies.

Shaza L. Andersen, CEO, said, “We are so pleased to have earned our place on the Russell 2000®. This achievement represents another step in our commitment to building the premier community banking organization in the region. We expect our inclusion in the Russell 2000® will result in increased liquidity in our stock, and broader interest from institutional investors, both of which are good for our company and good for our stockholders.”

The Russell 2000® is a subset of the Russell 3000® index, an annual index of the 3,000 largest companies in the U.S., measured by market capitalization. The 1,000 largest companies within this index are assigned to the large cap Russell 1000®, with the remaining 2,000 making up the small cap Russell 2000®. The indexes are totally reconstituted each year, generally in May. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider.

About The Company

WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc., headquartered in Reston, Virginia, is the holding company for WashingtonFirst Bank, which operates 19 full-service banking offices throughout the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. In addition, the Company provides wealth management services through its subsidiary, 1st Portfolio Wealth Advisors, and mortgage banking services through the Bank's subsidiary, WashingtonFirst Mortgage Corporation. The Company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the quotation symbol "WFBI" and is included in the ABA NASDAQ Community Bank Index. For more information about the Company, please visit: www.wfbi.com.