Banknorth Announces 16 Cent Per Share Quarterly Dividend

Up 10% Over Year-Ago Period

Portland, Maine, April 22, 2003 - Banknorth Group, Inc. (NYSE: BNK) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of 16 cents per share based on earnings for the first quarter ended March 31, 2003. The dividend is 10% higher than the quarterly dividend paid following the first quarter a year ago and the same as the dividend paid following the fourth quarter of 2002.

The dividend will be paid on May 12, 2003 to shareholders of record on May 2, 2003.

At its Annual Meeting of Shareholders, also held today, the Company:

• Elected to its Board of Directors Gary G. Bahre, President and Chief Executive Officer of New Hampshire International Speedway; Robert G. Clarke, Chancellor, Vermont State Colleges; Steven T. Martin, Principal, Martin Associates; Malcolm W. Philbrook, President, Crockett, Philbrook and Crouch, P.A.; Gerry S. Weidema, CPA and CFA, Weidema & Lavin, CPA, PA; and Paul R Shea, Chairman, Manchester Intown Management, Inc. All but Mr. Shea elected to three-year terms. Mr. Shea elected to a one-year term.
  
• Approved the Company's 2003 Equity Incentive Plan.
  
• Ratified the appointment of KPMG LLP as independent auditors for 2003.

Banknorth Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, is a $26.3 billion banking and financial services holding company. The Company's banking subsidiary, Banknorth, N.A. operates banking divisions in Maine (Peoples Heritage Bank), New Hampshire (Bank of New Hampshire), Massachusetts (Banknorth Massachusetts), Connecticut (Banknorth Connecticut), Vermont (Banknorth Vermont), and Upstate New York (Evergreen Bank). The Company also operates subsidiaries and divisions in insurance, investment planning, money management, leasing, merchant services, mortgage banking, government banking and other financial services.