Town and Country Bank Continues Expansion in Metro-East Market

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Jan. 27, 2016 -- Town and Country Bank (“TCB”), a subsidiary of Town and Country Financial Corporation (“TCFC”) (OTC Pink:TWCF), and Centrue Bank (“Centrue”), a subsidiary of Centrue Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CFCB), are pleased to jointly announce the signing of a purchase and assumption agreement pursuant to which TCB will acquire the Centrue facility in Fairview Heights, Illinois.  The transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to close late in the second quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. 

Micah R. Bartlett, President and CEO of TCB, commented, “Town and Country Bank is extremely pleased with the opportunity to continue our expansion in the metro-east market of St. Louis.  This transaction compliments our pending acquisition of the Premier Bank of Jacksonville and The EDGEBank branch located in Edwardsville, Illinois.  It represents continued momentum in our strategic growth plans as we further position ourselves as a leading banking franchise in downstate Illinois.  We look forward to bringing our unique brand of banking to our new customers and markets.”

Kurt Stevenson, President and CEO of Centrue Bank, stated, “This transaction allows Centrue to focus our energies and resources in building our core banking markets, while transitioning our Fairview Heights customers and employees to an organization that shares similar values as Centrue.  We believe Town and Country will continue to serve our customers well and be a positive and progressive employer for our Fairview Heights employees.” 

David E. Kirschner, Executive Chairman of TCFC, added, “This acquisition is the 7^th in our company’s history.  We look forward to providing innovative products and services to our new customers in Fairview Heights, while also continuing to deliver increased value to our shareholders.”

About Town and Country Financial Corporation. Town and Country Financial Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Springfield, Illinois with in excess of $500 million in total assets as of September 30, 2015.  With its pending acquisition of Premier Bank of Jacksonville, the company anticipates total assets of approximately $700 million.  Its shares are quoted on OTC Pink under the symbol TWCF.  Its subsidiaries include Town and Country Bank and Town & Country Banc Mortgage Services, Inc. with nine offices in Buffalo, Decatur, Lincoln, Mt. Zion, Springfield, and Peoples Prosperity Bank (a division of Town and Country Bank) in Quincy, Illinois.  The company provides comprehensive lines of retail, commercial, agricultural, and mortgage banking, as well as trust and investment services to families, businesses and organizations.  For more information about TCFC, visit www.townandcountrybank.com

About Centrue Financial Corporation.  Centrue Financial Corporation is a regional financial services company headquartered in Ottawa, Illinois and devotes special attention to personal service.  Centrue serves a market area which extends from the far western and southern suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area across Central Illinois down to the metropolitan St. Louis area.  For more information about Centrue, visit www.centrue.com.

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The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. In addition to statements which are forward-looking by reason of context, the words "may", "will", "should", "expects", "plans", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "potential", or "continue" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

TCFC undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise.

CONTACTS:
Micah R. Bartlett, President & CEO			
[email protected]			
217-321-3402

Kurt R. Stevenson, President & CEO
[email protected]
815-431-2811