National Bankshares, Inc. Reports Increased Net Income For the First Three Quarters of 2012

BLACKSBURG, VA, October 18, 2012:  Today, National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ Capital Market: NKSH) announced net income of approximately $13.06 million through September 30, 2012, up $313 thousand, or 2.46%, above the total reported for the first nine months of 2011.  Basic earnings per share were $1.88, which compares with $1.84 reported at September 30, 2011.  At September 30, 2012, the Company had total assets of $1.08 billion, an increase of 3.73% in total assets since the end of September 2011.

National Bankshares’ Chairman, President & CEO James G. Rakes commented, “While economic factors combined with increased regulatory burden and political uncertainty continue to challenge our market area and the financial industry, our consistent focus on providing our customers the best services and products available continues to bring successful results to our stockholders.”

National Bankshares, Inc., headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, is the parent company of National Bank of Blacksburg, which does business as National Bank, and of National Bankshares Financial Services, Inc.  National Bank is a community bank operating from 25 offices throughout Southwest Virginia.  National Bankshares Financial Services, Inc. is an investment and insurance subsidiary in the same trade area.  The Company’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “NKSH.”  Additional information is available at www.nationalbankshares.com.

Certain statements in this press release may be “forward-looking statements.”  Forward-looking statements are statements that include projections, predictions, expectations or beliefs about future events or results that are not statements of historical fact and that involve significant risks and uncertainties.  Although the Company believes that its expectations with regard to forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its existing knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual Company results will not differ materially from any future results implied by the forward-looking statements.  Actual results may be materially different from past or anticipated results because of many factors, some of which may include changes in economic conditions, the interest rate environment, legislative and regulatory requirements, new products, competition, changes in the stock and bond markets and technology.  The Company does not update any forward-looking statements that it may make.