EASTON, Md., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Shore Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHBI) is set to join the broad-market Russell 3000(R) Index when Russell Investments reconstitutes its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 27, according to a preliminary list of additions posted last Friday on www.russell.com. Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization.

Separately, according to the Independent Community Bankers of America's annual yearend performance ranking of its membership, The Talbot Bank (the largest subsidiary of SHBI) has been ranked 13th out of the top 20 performers in terms of Return on Assets among ICBA members with total assets of more than $500 million. With a 1.81% ROA for 2007, The Talbot Bank was the only East Coast bank in its category to make the top 20 list.

"We are pleased that Shore Bancshares will be added as a member of the nationally-recognized Russell Indices. This is an indication of our company's sustained growth and should help enhance our visibility with the investment community," said W. Moorhead Vermilye, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Further, the Talbot Bank's inclusion among the ICBA's top 20 ROA performers in its large-bank category is evidence of the financial strength of our organization's lead subsidiary. These are encouraging news developments for our company, especially during a challenging operating environment for our industry."

About Russell

Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000(R) Index or small-cap Russell 2000(R) Index as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An industry-leading $4.4 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America represents 5,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types throughout the United States with more than 18,000 locations nationwide and employing over 268,000 Americans. ICBA members hold more than $908 billion in assets, $726 billion in deposits, and more than $619 billion in loans to consumers, small businesses and the agricultural community.

About Shore Bancshares, Inc.

Shore Bancshares, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Easton, Maryland and is the largest independent bank holding company located on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It is the parent company of three banks, The Talbot Bank of Easton, Maryland, The Centreville National Bank of Maryland, and The Felton Bank; three insurance producer firms, The Avon-Dixon Agency, LLC, Elliott Wilson Insurance, LLC and Jack Martin and Associates, Inc; a wholesale insurance company, TSGIA, Inc; two insurance premium finance companies, Mubell Finance, LLC and ESFS, Inc; a registered investment adviser firm, Wye Financial Services, LLC; and a mortgage broker subsidiary, Wye Mortgage Group, LLC.

SOURCE Shore Bancshares, Inc.