First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. Declares Third Quarter Dividend


ITASCA, IL--(Marketwire - August 26, 2008) - First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. ("First Midwest") (NASDAQ: FMBI) today announced the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.31 per share. The quarterly cash dividend will be payable on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Friday, September 26, 2008 and represents the 103rd consecutive quarterly dividend distribution since the Company's formation in 1983.

This dividend annualized, represents a dividend yield of approximately 5.7% given the current market price of First Midwest stock. First Midwest is included in the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which tracks the top 100 highest dividend paying U.S. companies derived from the Dow Jones U.S. Index, which covers roughly 95% of U.S. market capitalization.

First Midwest is the premier relationship-based banking franchise in the growing Chicagoland banking market. As one of the Chicago metropolitan area's largest independent bank holding companies, First Midwest provides the full range of both business and retail banking and trust and investment management services through 101 offices located in 63 communities, primarily in metropolitan Chicago. First Midwest was recently recognized by the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workforce Flexibility in the greater Chicago Area.

Contact Information: CONTACT: Greg Gorbatenko Investor Relations (630) 875-7533 www.firstmidwest.com