Merchants Bancshares Announces $0.28 Dividend

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. MBVT, the parent company of Merchants Bank, announced that its Board of Directors declared today, January 17, 2013, a dividend of 28 cents per share, payable February 14, 2013, to shareholders of record as of January 31, 2013. This quarter represents our 65th consecutive quarterly dividend payment and our 29th consecutive quarter at the current payout level. Merchants also announced the extension, through January 2014, of its stock buyback program, originally adopted in January 2007. Under the program, Merchants may repurchase up to 200,000 shares of its common stock on the open market from time to time, and has purchased 143,475 shares to date. Although Merchants did not repurchase any of its shares during 2012, Merchants would like to continue to preserve its capital management flexibility with an active buyback program.