First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. Announces: Strong Operating Performance Driven by Record Sales; Rigorous Pursuit of Credit Remediation Priorities in Tandem With the Execution of Long Term Capital Management Plan

First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: FMBI)

2nd Quarter Highlights:

-- Fully diluted earnings per share for second quarter 2008 were $0.56
   versus $0.52 for first quarter 2008. Return on average assets of 1.33%
   versus 1.25% and return on average equity of 14.57% versus 13.75% were
   achieved for the same periods.

-- Loan growth in targeted commercial and industrial, agricultural, and
   commercial real estate categories was 14% annualized for second quarter
   2008 versus first quarter 2008.

-- Nonperforming assets plus 90 day past due loans increased from first
   quarter 2008 levels by $10.7 million and stand at 1.35% of loans at
   quarter end. In the first half of 2008, $4.3 million was added to the
   reserve for loan losses above and beyond charge offs in anticipation of
   future developments. Numerous administrative enhancements to the credit
   remediation process embracing oversight, staffing, and reporting were
   put in place.

-- Long term capital management plans embraced: scheduled payment of
   regular quarterly dividends, continued deferral of share repurchases,
   maintenance of "well capitalized" regulatory capital levels, disciplined
   balance sheet planning.

Financial Performance

First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company" or "First Midwest") (NASDAQ: FMBI), the holding company of First Midwest Bank, today reported results of operations and financial condition for second quarter 2008. Fully diluted earnings per share were $0.56 compared with $0.52 for first quarter 2008, a 7.7% increase. Excluding offsetting noncore transactions, the comparison was $0.51 for second quarter 2008 versus $0.41 for first quarter 2008, a 24.4% increase. The noncore items consisted of the write off of approximately $6.0 million in remaining book value of certain asset backed securities, which was offset by a $1.4 million gain on the sale of a security previously written off and the reversal of tax reserves of $4.9 million due to favorable second quarter events affecting certain tax positions. Return on average assets was 1.33% for second quarter 2008 versus 1.25% for first quarter 2008 while the return on average equity was 14.57% versus 13.75% for the same periods. Net interest margin expanded in the second quarter to 3.58% from 3.53% for first quarter 2008 as a result of higher loan balances and opportunistic funding strategies. Margins should stabilize in this area as volumes of higher priced loans are offset by lagged higher repricing on twelve to eighteen month retail deposits. Efficiency ratios should track to recent trends which saw this measure at 51.67% for second quarter 2008.

Sales Performance

Loans outstanding increased at a rate which had not been reached for more than seven years. Virtually every category of business lending was up on a linked quarter annualized basis: commercial and industrial 14.9%, agriculture 13.6%, and commercial real estate 14.0%. Retail lending growth, though modest, also contributed to the overall annualized increase of 10.8%. Depository activity was mixed but with the seasonal influx in public deposits averaged 14.9% growth quarter over quarter. Assets under trust department management grew by 9.1% in the face of the broader equity markets retreating twenty percent during the first two quarters.

Capital Management

All regulatory mandated ratios for characterization as "well capitalized" were achieved as of June 30, 2008:

                                            Minimum "Well-
                              6/30/08    Capitalized" Level
                             --------    ------------------
Tier 1 Risk Based               9.42%           6.00%

Total Risk Based               12.03%          10.00%

Tier 1 Leverage                 7.56%           5.00%

Tangible equity to tangible assets ratio (exclusive of other comprehensive income) stood at 5.90% as of June 30, 2008 and is on pace to exceed 6.00% by December 31, 2008.

The Company's dividend policy remained on track paying $0.31 per share on July 15, 2008 and represented the 102nd consecutive quarterly dividend since the founding of the Company in 1983. Contrariwise, the Company's share repurchase program, which has operated episodically in recent years, is anticipated to be informally suspended throughout the balance of 2008. Leverage within the balance sheet is carefully managed through the operations of our Asset Liability Committee.

Credit Remediation

As anticipated, nonperforming assets plus 90 day past due loans aggregated $70.0 million at June 30, 2008, compared with $59.3 million at March 31, 2008. Such increase is related primarily to loans to home builders and developers, substantially all of whom are in the greater Chicagoland area. In response to this trend, the Company has enhanced its credit remediation staff and accelerated executive management review. The evolution of the trend in these loans from performing to nonperforming and, in some instances, to other real estate owned is evident in the new reporting metrics set forth on page 10 (attached) as are charge offs by subcategory of credit. The subcategory of loans as a percentage of total loans is set forth on new page 9 (attached).