Rurban Announces Columbus Loan Production Office and Closing of a Branch Office


DEFIANCE, Ohio, Dec. 4, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Rurban Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:RBNF), a leading provider of full-service banking, investment management, trust services, bank data and item processing, today announced the opening of The State Bank and Trust Company Loan Production Office in Columbus, Ohio.

Kenneth A. Joyce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rurban Financial Corp., commented, "We are excited with our expansion into the Columbus market and the opportunities it affords us. The office will be managed by David Homoelle, Regional President with 15 years in the financial services industry."

Mark A. Klein, President and Chief Executive Officer of The State Bank and Trust Company added, "We look forward to building an enhanced awareness of State Bank in the Columbus and surrounding Franklin County area. The initial focus of the office will be loan production from the business sector and mortgage lending. Commercial real estate, equipment finance, working capital loans and government programs will be the principal business lending offerings. Further expansion will include retail business and deposit products at a later date."

The office is located at 75 South High Street, Dublin, Ohio 43017. David Homoelle can be contacted at (614) 595-3991, or via email at David.Homoelle@thebank-sbt.com.

Rurban also announced that it will be consolidating its Defiance East Side office with its other locations in Defiance, Ohio. The closing will be effective on March 1, 2008 following the required notification periods. There should be minimal disruption to customers, as The State Bank and Trust Company has four office locations in Defiance. The Office consolidation is one of the actions being taken to reduce operating expenses in the last quarter of 2007 and first quarter of 2008.

About Rurban Financial Corp.

Rurban Financial Corp. is a publicly-held financial services holding company based in Defiance, Ohio. Rurban's wholly-owned subsidiaries are The State Bank and Trust Company, including Reliance Financial Services; Rurbanc Data Services, Inc. (RDSI); and DCM. The State Bank and Trust Company offers financial services through its 18 branches in Allen, Defiance, Fulton, Lucas, Paulding and Wood Counties, Ohio and Allen County, Indiana. Reliance Financial Services, a division of the Bank, offers a diversified array of trust and financial services to customers throughout the Midwest. RDSI and DCM provide data and item processing services to community banks in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Rurban's common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol RBNF. The Company currently has 10,000,000 shares of stock authorized and 4,982,933 shares outstanding. The Company's website is http://www.rurbanfinancial.net.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements within this document, which are not statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties inherent in the national and regional banking, insurance and mortgage industries, competitive factors specific to markets in which Rurban and its subsidiaries operate, future interest rate levels, legislative and regulatory actions, capital market conditions, general economic conditions, geopolitical events, the loss of key personnel and other factors.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Rurban undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Rurban or any person acting on our behalf are qualified by these cautionary statements.



            

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