Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT

Kristine D. Brenner

Director of Investor Relations

(810) 257-2506

kristine.brenner@citizensbanking.com

Citizens Republic Bancorp Reports Third Quarter Earnings

FLINT, MICHIGAN, October 27, 2011 — Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBC) announced net income attributable to common shareholders of $27.2 million, or $0.68 per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2011, compared to $18.5 million, or $0.46 per diluted share for last quarter. Citizens recorded a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $67.9 million, or $1.72 per diluted share for the third quarter of last year. For the first nine months of this year, Citizens recorded a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $28.7 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, compared to $202.9 million, or $5.15 per diluted share for the same period of 2010. All prior year shares outstanding and per share calculations have been adjusted to reflect the 1 for 10 reverse stock split that became effective July 1, 2011.

“We are very pleased to report another quarter of solid profitability. Our profits this quarter were driven by loan growth, maintaining fee income, continued expense management and margin expansion. Results over the past two quarters reflect our continued success in executing our strategies,” commented Cathleen Nash, president and chief executive officer.

Balance Sheet

Total assets at September 30, 2011 were $9.6 billion, an increase of $104.6 million or 1% from last quarter. Total portfolio loans were $5.7 billion, a modest increase over last quarter. Portfolio loan growth outpaced runoff for the first quarter in three years.

Core deposits, which exclude all time deposits, totaled $5.2 billion at September 30, 2011, an increase of $222.5 million or 4% from last quarter, primarily a result of seasonal increases in public funds deposits. Core deposits were up $269.9 million or 5% over September 30 of last year, reflecting our focus on generating and growing core deposit relationships. Time deposits decreased $127.3 million, or 5% from last quarter and $830.9 million or 26% from September 30 of last year, continuing the trend following our strategic focus on reducing high cost single service and brokered time deposits.

Other interest-bearing liabilities, which include federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase, other short-term borrowings, and long-term debt, totaled $896.9 million at September 30, 2011, a decrease of $28.1 million or 3% from the end of last quarter and a decrease of $331.5 million or 27% from September 30 of last year, as the result of a reduction in wholesale funding.

Capital

Citizens continues to maintain a strong capital position, and its regulatory capital ratios are above “well-capitalized” standards, as evidenced by the following key capital ratios.

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Capital Ratios

Net Interest Income and Margin

Net interest margin increased to 3.63% in the third quarter, up 7 basis points from last quarter and 31 basis points from the third quarter of last year. These increases were due to declining deposit costs, reductions in high-cost funding, lower levels of non-performing assets, and a reduction in excess cash and money market investments. Year to date, net interest margin increased 30 basis points over last year as a result of the same factors.

Net interest income was $78.8 million for the third quarter, an increase of $1.2 million from last quarter due to the higher net interest margin. Net interest income decreased $2.7 million from the third quarter of last year due to a reduction in average earning assets, which was partially offset by higher net interest margin.

Credit Quality

Citizens’ positive credit trends continued this quarter. Credit quality continues to benefit from the emphasis we have placed on improving the risk characteristics in our portfolios.

Noninterest Income and Expense

Noninterest income was $24.4 million for the third quarter, an increase of $1.1 million or 5% from last quarter. The increase over the second quarter benefited primarily from a seasonal increase in service charges and gains from investment securities and loans held for sale. Compared to the third quarter last year, noninterest income decreased $1.5 million or 6% primarily due to credit and market valuation adjustments recorded in other income partially offset by gains on loans held for sale.

Noninterest expense was $65.4 million for the third quarter, a decrease of $4.0 million or 6% from last quarter. The decrease was primarily a result of lower than expected third quarter FDIC premiums, lower salary expense and credit costs. Compared to the third quarter of last year, noninterest expense decreased $9.3 million or 12%, reflecting Citizens’ continued focus on improving efficiencies through better vendor management, and reductions in credit costs, salaries expense, and FDIC insurance.

The income tax benefit for the third quarter of 2011 was $12.6 million, compared with a benefit of $10.3 million for the second quarter of 2011 and a tax expense of $5.6 million for the third quarter of 2010. The income tax benefit in the third quarter of 2011 was largely due to Citizens recording a receivable as a result of a revocation of a tax election.

Conference Call

Citizens’ senior management will review the quarter’s results in a conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, October 28, 2011. A live audio webcast is available on Citizens’ investor relations page at www.citizensbanking.com or by calling (800) 862-9098 (conference ID: Citizens Republic). To listen to the conference call, please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled conference time.

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A recording will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the conference call at www.citizensbanking.com, where it will be archived for 90 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), this release includes non-GAAP financial measures such as tangible equity to tangible assets ratio, tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio, Tier 1 common equity ratio, pre-tax pre-provision profit, net interest margin, and the efficiency ratio. Citizens believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information that is useful to investors in understanding the underlying performance of Citizens, its business, and performance trends and such measures help facilitate performance comparisons with others in the banking industry. Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. Readers should be aware of these limitations and should be cautious as to their use of such measures. To mitigate these limitations, Citizens has procedures in place to ensure that these measures are calculated using the appropriate GAAP or regulatory components in their entirety to ensure that Citizens’ performance is properly reflected to facilitate consistent period-to-period comparisons. Although Citizens believes the above non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release enhance investors’ understanding of its business and performance, these non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for GAAP basis financial measures. See our related Form 8-K for further discussion regarding these non-GAAP financial measures.

Corporate Profile

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. is a diversified financial services company providing a wide range of commercial, consumer, mortgage banking, trust and financial planning services to a broad client base. Citizens serves communities in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin with 219 offices and 249 ATMs. Citizens is the largest bank holding company headquartered in Michigan with roots dating back to 1871 and is the 57^th largest bank holding company headquartered in the United States. More information about Citizens is available at www.citizensbanking.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Discussions and statements in this release that are not statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements that include terms such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” and “plan,” and statements regarding Citizens’ future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Citizens’ control or are subject to change. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and actual results could differ materially.

Factors that could cause or contribute to actual results differing materially from Citizens’ expectations include the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Citizens’ annual and quarterly filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s web site www.sec.gov. Other factors not currently anticipated may also materially and adversely affect Citizens’ results of operations, cash flows, financial position and prospects. There can be no assurance that future results will meet expectations. While Citizens believes that the forward-looking statements in this release are reasonable, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. In addition, these statements speak only as of the date made. Citizens does not undertake, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to update or alter any statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Discontinued Operations

As a result of the sale of Citizens’ wholly-owned subsidiary, F&M Bank - Iowa, during the second quarter of 2010, the financial condition and operating results for this subsidiary have been segregated from the financial condition and operating results of Citizens’ continuing operations throughout this release and, as such, are presented as a discontinued operation. While all prior periods have been revised retrospectively to align with this treatment, these changes do not affect Citizens’ reported consolidated financial condition or net income for any of the prior periods.

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Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.

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Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.

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Selected Quarterly Information (Unaudited)

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Loan Portfolios