SUFFOLK, Va., May 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hampton Roads based TowneBank (Nasdaq:TOWN) announced today that its Board of Directors on May 30, 2012 declared its second-quarter shareholder cash dividend of $0.08 per common share payable on July 12, 2012 to shareholders of record on June 29, 2012.

Also on May 30, 2012 the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $5.71 per share on its Series C Fixed-Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock. This preferred dividend is payable on July 2, 2012, to the shareholder of record as of June 15, 2012.  This is the third quarterly dividend payment to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the shareholder of record, on the preferred stock issued to it by TowneBank under the Small Business Lending Fund Program.

The amount and declaration of future cash dividends are subject to Board of Directors' approval in addition to regulatory restrictions.

As one of the top community banks in Virginia and North Carolina, TowneBank operates 26 banking offices serving Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, James City County and York County in Virginia along with Moyock, Grandy, Camden, Southern Shores, Corolla and Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. Towne also offers a full range of financial services through its controlled divisions and subsidiaries that include Towne Investment Group, Towne Insurance Agency, TFA Benefits, TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Prudential Towne Realty, Towne 1031 Exchange, LLC, and Corolla Classic Vacations. Through its strategic partnership with William E. Wood and Associates, the bank also offers mortgage services in all of their offices in Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina. Local decision-making is a hallmark of its hometown banking strategy that is delivered through the leadership of each group's President and Board of Directors. With total assets of $4.14 billion as of March 31, 2012, TowneBank is one of the largest banks headquartered in Virginia.

CONTACT: G. Robert Aston
         Chairman and CEO
         (757) 638-6780
         
         Clyde E. McFarland, Jr.
         Senior Executive Vice President and CFO
         (757) 638-6801