Quarterly Dividend at Peoples Heritage 9% Over Same Quarter a Year Ago

Portland, Maine, October 26, 1999 -- Peoples Heritage Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PHBK) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share based on earnings for the third quarter ended September 30, 1999.
The dividend represents a 9 percent increase over the dividend paid for the same quarter a year ago and is even with the dividend paid for the previous quarter.

The dividend will be paid on November 16, 1999 to shareholders of record on November 5, 1999. The company recently reported record quarterly income of $42.6 million, or 41 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 1999.

Peoples Heritage Financial Group is a multi-state banking and financial services holding company with total assets of $13.9 billion. The Company owns Peoples Heritage Bank with the leading market share in Maine, Bank of New Hampshire with the leading market share in that state, Family/SIS Bank in Massachusetts and Glastonbury Bank & Trust in Connecticut. On June 2, 1999, the Company announce that it had reached agreement to acquire Banknorth Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), a $4.4 billion bank holding company with banks in Vermont, Massachusetts, upstate New York and New Hampshire. The acquisition, pending all required regulatory and shareholder approvals, is expected to close in early 2000.