Lake Sunapee Bank Group Added to Russell 2000 Index

NEWPORT, NH--(Marketwired - Jul 5, 2016) - Lake Sunapee Bank Group ("we," "us," "our" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: LSBG), the holding company for Lake Sunapee Bank, fsb (the "Bank"), announced today that the company was added to the small-cap Russell 2000 Index and the broad US market Russell 3000 Index as part of Russell Investments' annual reconstitution of its stock indexes, effective with the opening of US markets on Monday, June 27, 2016.

Russell US Indexes are the leading US equity benchmarks for institutional investors. This broad range of US indexes allow investors to track current and historical market performance by specific size, investment style and other market characteristics. The Russell 3000 Index, representing about 98% of the investable US equity market, is comprised of the US large cap Russell 1000 Index (the largest 1,000 US listed stocks by market capitalization) and the US small cap Russell 2000 Index (the next 2,000 largest US listed stocks by market capitalization). The annual reconstitution of the Russell 3000 Index captures the 3000 largest US stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization.

"We are very pleased to join the Russell 2000 Index," said Stephen Theroux, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our addition to the Russell 2000 Index, along with our recently announced merger with Bar Harbor Bankshares, reflects our continued positive momentum. On May 5, 2016, we announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Bar Harbor whereby the Company will merge with and into Bar Harbor. This merger creates value for the shareholders, customers and employees of both companies, while continuing to provide important contributions to the communities in which we operate. The compatible cultures of our two organizations make this partnership a natural fit."

Russell Indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both active and passive investment strategies. For more information on the Russell 2000 and 3000^® Indexes and the reconstitution of the Russell US Indexes, go to the "Russell Reconstitution" section on the FTSE Russell website.

About Lake Sunapee Bank Group

Lake Sunapee Bank Group is the holding company of Lake Sunapee Bank, a federally chartered savings bank that provides a wide range of life-cycle banking and financial services. Lake Sunapee Bank has four wholly owned subsidiaries: Lake Sunapee Financial Services Corp.; Lake Sunapee Group, Inc., which owns and maintains all buildings and investment properties; McCrillis & Eldredge Insurance, Inc., a full-line independent insurance agency; and Charter Holding Corp., which wholly owns Charter Trust Company, a trust services and wealth management company. Lake Sunapee Bank Group, through its direct and indirect subsidiaries, operates 30 offices in New Hampshire in Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack and Sullivan counties and 15 offices in Vermont in Orange, Rutland and Windsor counties.

Forward-Looking Statements

The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements contained in this press release, which speak only as of the date made. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and in subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this release. The Company and the Bank do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.