Monroe Bancorp Announces $0.01 Dividend and Update on Merger (MROE)

Monroe Bancorp MROE announced that its Board of Directors recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share on the Company's Common Stock. The dividend is payable on Friday, December 31, 2010 to shareholders of record as of Friday, December 17, 2010. This dividend is unchanged from the $0.01 per share paid in the third quarter of 2010. The Company also provided an update on its merger transaction with Old National Bancorp ("Old National"). As previously announced, under the terms of the merger agreement, if the merger is completed shareholders of the Company will receive 1.275 shares of Old National common stock for each share of the Company's common stock held by them. The exchange ratio is subject to certain adjustments if, among other things, the Company's loan delinquencies exceed specified amounts set forth in the merger agreement, or if the Company's consolidated shareholders' equity (as computed in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement) is below the amount as of June 30, 2010. If such computations were made as of November 30, 2010, no adjustments to the exchange ratio would be required as a result of the delinquent loans or shareholders' equity provisions of the merger agreement. In addition, the exchange ratio will adjust if the price of Old National common stock as quoted on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") during the ten trading days preceding the fifth calendar day preceding the effective time of the merger exceeds $10.98 per share. In such an event, the Company's shareholders will receive $14.00 of Old National common stock for each share of the Company's common stock held by them. The closing price of Old National's common stock on December 9, 2010, as quoted on the NYSE, was $11.20 per share. As previously disclosed, the merger is expected to be completed on January 1, 2011, or as soon as possible thereafter in the first quarter of 2011. Monroe Bancorp, headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, is an Indiana bank holding company with Monroe Bank as its wholly owned subsidiary. Monroe Bank was established in Bloomington in 1892 and offers a full range of financial, trust and investment services through its locations in Central and South Central Indiana. The Company's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Stock Market under the symbol MROE.