Sterling Bancshares Declares Quarterly Dividend

HOUSTON, July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sterling Bancshares, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SBIB), announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly
cash dividend of $0.055 per share of common stock at the meeting held on July
28, 2008. The dividend is payable August 22, 2008 to shareholders of record
on August 8, 2008.
Sterling Bancshares, Inc. is a Houston-based bank holding company with
total assets of $4.9 billion, which operates 59 banking centers in the greater
metropolitan areas of Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. The
Company's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ Global Select Market under
the symbol "SBIB". For more information on Sterling Bancshares, please visit
the Company's web site at http://www.banksterling.com.
For More Information Contact:
J. Downey Bridgwater, Chairman, President
& Chief Executive Officer, (713) 507-2670
Zach L. Wasson, Executive Vice President
& Chief Financial Officer, (713) 507-1297

SOURCE Sterling Bancshares, Inc.

J. Downey Bridgwater, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer,
+1-713-507-2670, or Zach L. Wasson, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial
Officer, +1-713-507-1297, both of Sterling Bancshares, Inc.