Monroe Bancorp (NASDAQ:MROE) announced today that its Board of Directors recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company's Common Stock. The dividend is payable December 31, 2003 to shareholders of record on December 18, 2003.
This quarterly dividend represents an 8.3% increase over the $0.12 per share dividend paid in the fourth quarter of 2002, as well as an 8.3% increase over the dividends paid in each of the first three quarters of 2003. This brings the year-to-date cash dividend up to $0.49 per share, increased from $0.48 per share for 2002.

“We have increased our annual dividend for each of the past 15 years,” said Mark D. Bradford, President and Chief Executive Officer. “With our 2003 dividend of $0.49, we are providing our shareholders with another year of attractive yields.”

Monroe Bancorp is an independently owned holding company headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, with Monroe Bank as its wholly owned subsidiary. Established in 1892, Monroe Bank offers a full range of financial, trust and investment services through banking centers located in Monroe, Lawrence, Jackson and Hendricks counties in Indiana. The Bank serves more than 20,000 retail and commercial customers. Monroe Bancorp stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market System under the ticker symbol MROE.