Peoples Bancorp Inc. Declares Third Quarter 2009 Dividend

MARIETTA, Ohio, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of
Peoples Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: PEBO) today declared a cash dividend of $0.10
per common share payable October 1, 2009, to common shareholders of record on
September 15, 2009. The third quarter dividend represents a reduction from
the $0.23 per common share paid for the second quarter of 2009 and an
annualized dividend yield of 2.38% based on the closing stock price of
Peoples' common shares of $16.82 on August 26, 2009.

"Our decision to reduce the dividend was difficult considering our long
history of dividend growth, but it preserves capital and further strengthens
our balance sheet as we manage through challenging economic times," said Mark
F. Bradley, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe it is prudent
to maintain and build Peoples' strong capital position to drive future
earnings growth."

The third quarter dividend payment approximates $1.1 million based on 10.5
million common shares currently outstanding.

"The lower dividend balances the need to maintain a dividend payout consistent
with recent earnings levels and long-term capital needs, plus provide an
appropriate return on shareholder investment" continued Bradley. "Future
dividend payments will be determined each quarter based upon Peoples'
performance and be consistent with our long-term goal to be a strong
competitor in the markets we serve."

Peoples' capital continues to be significantly higher than regulatory minimums
needed to be considered "well-capitalized". At June 30, 2009, Peoples' Tier 1
Common, Total Tier 1 and Total Risk-Based Capital ratios were 10.24%, 14.85%
and 16.19%, compared to the well- capitalized minimum ratios of 4%, 6% and
10%, respectively.

Peoples Bancorp Inc. is a diversified financial products and services company
with $2.0 billion in assets, 47 locations and 39 ATMs in Ohio, West Virginia
and Kentucky. Peoples makes available a complete line of banking, investment,
insurance, and trust solutions through its financial service units - Peoples
Bank, National Association; Peoples Financial Advisors (a division of Peoples
Bank) and Peoples Insurance Agency, Inc., which includes the Putnam and
Barengo divisions. Peoples' common shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global
Select Market under the symbol "PEBO", and Peoples is a member of the Russell
3000 index of US publicly traded companies. Learn more about Peoples at
www.peoplesbancorp.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:
Certain statements made in this news release are "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are identified by the fact they are not historical facts and
include words such as "anticipate", "may", "feel", "expect", "believe",
"plan", and similar expressions.

These forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations
based on all information available and its knowledge of Peoples' business and
operations. Additionally, Peoples' financial condition, results of
operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business are subject to
risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially.
These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) continued deterioration in
the credit quality of Peoples' loan portfolio could occur due to a number of
factors, such as adverse changes in economic conditions that impair the
ability of borrowers to repay their loans, the underlying value of the
collateral could prove less valuable than otherwise assumed and assumed cash
flows may be less favorable than expected, which may adversely impact the
provision for loan losses; (2) competitive pressures among financial
institutions or from non-financial institutions, which may increase
significantly; (3) changes in the interest rate environment, which may
adversely impact interest margins; (4) changes in prepayment speeds, loan
originations, and charge-offs, which may be less favorable than expected and
adversely impact the amount of interest income generated; (5) general economic
conditions and weakening in the economy, specifically the real estate market,
either national or in the states in which Peoples does business, which may be
less favorable than expected; (6) political developments, wars or other
hostilities, which may disrupt or increase volatility in securities markets or
other economic conditions; (7) legislative or regulatory changes or actions,
which may adversely affect the business of Peoples and its subsidiaries; (8)
adverse changes in the conditions and trends in the financial markets, which
may adversely affect the fair value of securities within Peoples' investment
portfolio; (9) a delayed or incomplete resolution of regulatory issues that
could arise; (10) Peoples' ability to receive dividends from its subsidiaries;
(11) the impact of larger or similar financial institutions encountering
problems, which may adversely affect the banking industry and/or Peoples; (12)
changes in accounting standards, policies, estimates or procedures, which may
impact Peoples' reported financial condition or results of operations; (13)
Peoples' ability to maintain required capital levels and adequate sources of
funding and liquidity; (14) the impact of reputational risk created by these
developments on such matters as business generation and retention, funding and
liquidity; (15) the costs and effects of regulatory and legal developments,
including the outcome of regulatory or other governmental inquiries and legal
proceedings and results of regulatory examinations; and (16) other risk
factors relating to the banking industry or Peoples as detailed from time to
time in Peoples' reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC"), including those risk factors included in the disclosures under the
heading "ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS" of Peoples' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

Peoples encourages readers of this news release to understand forward-looking
statements to be strategic objectives rather than absolute targets of future
performance. Peoples undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news
release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as
required by applicable legal requirements. Copies of documents filed with the
SEC are available free of charge at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov
and/or from Peoples' website.

SOURCE Peoples Bancorp Inc.

Mark F. Bradley, President and Chief Executive Officer, +1-740-373-3155