Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. Raises the 2023 Fourth Quarter Cash Dividend by 4.8% Year-over-Year to $0.22 per share

ARCHBOLD, Ohio, Dec. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc., (Nasdaq: FMAO) the holding company of F&M Bank, with total assets of $3.235 billion at September 30, 2023, today announced that it has approved a 4.8% year-over-year increase in the Company’s quarterly cash dividend.

The new cash dividend has been raised to $0.22 per share from the previous dividend of $0.21 per share for the same period last year. This represents the 29^th consecutive annual increase in the Company’s regular dividend payment since 1994. The fourth-quarter dividend is payable on January 20, 2024, to shareholders of record as of December 29, 2023.

Lars B. Eller, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “F&M is committed to returning capital back to shareholders through its long-standing dividend program, which is a testament to our strong financial results and the value we provide our communities. With 29 consecutive years of annual dividend increases, I am proud that F&M has established one of the longest track records of consecutive dividend increases for publicly traded banks.”

About Farmers & Merchants State Bank:
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMAO) is the holding company of F&M Bank, a local independent community bank that has been serving its communities since 1897. F&M Bank provides commercial banking, retail banking and other financial services. Our locations are in Butler, Champaign, Fulton, Defiance, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Shelby, Williams, and Wood counties in Ohio. In Northeast Indiana, we have offices located in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Jay, Steuben and Wells counties. The Michigan footprint includes Oakland County, and F&M has Loan Production Offices in West Bloomfield, Michigan; Muncie, Indiana; and Bryan, Ohio

Safe harbor statement
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (“F&M”) wishes to take advantage of the Safe Harbor provisions included in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements by F&M, including management’s expectations and comments, may not be based on historical facts and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties inherent in general and local banking conditions, competitive factors specific to markets in which F&M and its subsidiaries operate, future interest rate levels, legislative and regulatory decisions, capital market conditions, or the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impacts on our credit quality and business operations, as well as its impact on general economic and financial market conditions. F&M assumes no responsibility to update this information. For more details, please refer to F&M’s SEC filing, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Such filings can be viewed at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov or through F&M’s website www.fm.bank.