GCBS Greene County Bancshares (MM)

Greene County Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM: GCBS) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, payable on December 16, 2005, to shareholders of record as of December 2, 2005. Additionally, the Board has declared a special year-end dividend of $0.14 per share, representing a 7.7% increase in the special dividend versus last year's rate of $0.13 per share. The record and pay dates for the special dividend coincide with those of the regular dividend. Greeneville, Tennessee-based Greene County Bancshares, Inc., with total assets of approximately $1.6 billion, is the holding company for Greene County Bank and is the second largest bank holding company headquartered in the state of Tennessee. Greene County Bank, founded in 1890, now has 47 branches throughout East and Middle Tennessee, one branch in Bristol, Virginia, one branch in western North Carolina, and a trust services office in Lebanon, Tennessee. Greene County Bank does business in Washington County, Tennessee as Washington County Bank; in Blount County and Knox County, Tennessee as American Fidelity Bank; in Montgomery County, Tennessee as Clarksville Community Bank; in Sumner County, Tennessee as First Independent Bank; in Rutherford County, Tennessee as Rutherford Bank and Trust; in Sullivan County, Tennessee as Sullivan County Bank and First Bristol Bank; in Hamblen County, Tennessee as Hamblen County Bank; in McMinn County, Tennessee as Bank of Athens and Bank of Niota; in Hawkins County, Tennessee as Hawkins County Bank and Bank of Bulls Gap; in Lawrence County, Tennessee as Bank of Lawrence County; in Cocke County, Tennessee as Cocke County Bank; in Loudon County, Tennessee as Community Bank of Loudon County; in Monroe County, Tennessee as Community Trust Bank; in the City of Bristol, Virginia as First Bristol Bank; in Davidson County and Williamson County, Tennessee as Middle Tennessee Bank & Trust; and in Wilson County, Tennessee as President's Trust. In addition, Greene County Bank also conducts separate businesses through three wholly owned subsidiaries: Superior Financial Services, Inc., a consumer finance company; GCB Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company specializing in subprime automobile lending; and Fairway Title Co., a title insurance company. This news release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Greene County Bancshares, Inc., as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and actual results could differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. A discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements is included in the Greene County Bancshares, Inc. filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.