Announcement caps trifecta of positive notices

CANFIELD, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) will join the Russell Microcap® Index when Russell Investments reconstitutes its family of U.S. indexes on June 25, according to a preliminary list of additions posted on www.russell.com.

Membership in the Russell Microcap Index, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

“This announcement is great news on two fronts,” says Farmers President and CEO John S. Gulas. “First, positive recognition such as this will surely be a value to our current shareholders. Second, investors from all over the country will now be introduced to the Farmers story, through Russell and see the benefits in joining our shareholder ranks. Either way, it’s gratifying to see our company’s growth plans achieve success.”

Today’s Russell announcement comes just weeks after Farmers was named one of 200 best community banks in America by American Banker Magazine(www.americanbanker.com) and notice from PrimeVest—Farmers’ financial services partner for investment services—that Farmers is its number two producer of investment services in the US for banks its size.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. In the institutional marketplace, an industry-leading $3.9 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them. Russell calculates more than 80,000 benchmarks daily covering approximately 98 percent of the investable market globally, 83 countries and more than 10,000 securities.

Annual reconstitution of Russell Indexes captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of the end of May, ranking them by total market capitalization to create the Russell 3000 Index and Russell Microcap Index. 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.

Total returns data for the Russell Microcap and other Russell Indexes is available at http://www.russell.com/indexes/data/US_Equity/Russell_US_Index_returns.asp.

About Farmers National Bank

Farmers National Bank is Mahoning Valley’s leading community bank with more than $1 billion in Banking assets and $1 billion in Trust assets. With 19 banking locations and two trust offices throughout Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana and Stark counties, Farmers also has a full array of financial services to include Farmers National Investments, Farmers Trust Company and Farmers National Insurance.

Founded in 1887, the bank has been community-minded and committed to the Valley for 125 years.Throughout the recent financial crisis, Farmers has shown great strength by continuing rock-solid business and lending practices that help the individuals and businesses in our communities thrive and survive.

For years to come, Farmers National Bank will continue to strive for innovative solutions for our customers, associates, shareholders and the community.

About Russell

Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offers actively managed, multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Working with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals, Russell’s core capabilities extend across capital markets insights, manager research, Indexes, portfolio implementation and portfolio construction.

Russell has approximately $155 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/2012) and works with 2,400 institutional clients, more than 580 independent distribution partners and advisors, and individual investors globally. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Farmers National Banc Corp.
Jennifer Everett, Marketing Coordinator, 330-702-7241 (office)
330-360-1561 (mobile)

Source: Farmers National Banc Corp.