EXHIBIT 99

NEWS RELEASE
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE         Contact:   Larry Holdren
- ---------------------                    President, Retail and Banking Division
July 1, 1999                             (740) 373-3155


                         PEOPLES BANKING AND TRUST OPENS
                      SALES OFFICE IN VIENNA WAL*MART STORE
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     Marietta,  Ohio - The Peoples Banking and Trust Company ("Peoples Bank"), a
subsidiary of Peoples Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:  PEBO),  today announced its opening
of the newest financial services facility in Wood County, West Virginia.
         Peoples  Bank's  sales  office is  located  at the  recently  renovated
Wal*Mart supercenter located at 701 Grand Central Avenue, Vienna, West Virginia.
The new banking  facility offers extended  evening and weekend hours  (including
Sundays) and provides a wide array of financial products and services.
         "Providing financial services in Wal*Mart's supercenter  environment is
an exciting opportunity for Peoples Bank as we increase our presence in the Wood
County market,"  commented Larry E. Holdren,  President of Peoples Bank's Retail
and Banking Division.
         The  Vienna  Wal*Mart   banking  center   complements   Peoples  Bank's
full-service  office  on  Pike  Street  in  South  Parkersburg  and  adds to the
Company's  existing  network  of  community  banking  offices  in Ohio  and West
Virginia. Holdren continued, "Our new banking office in the Vienna Wal*Mart fits
well with Peoples Bank's focus on customer service and product delivery."
     The  Vienna  banking  office is the  second  sales  facility  in a Wal*Mart
supercenter that Peoples Bank has opened in 1999. Earlier this year, the Company
opened a similar sales office in the recently opened Wal*Mart supercenter in New
Martinsville, West Virginia.
         Holdren  added,  "Early  results in our existing  Wal*Mart sales office
have  exceeded  expectations.  We have  established  our  sales  team  to  serve
customers  in the Vienna  Wal*Mart  and hope to build on our initial  success in
this new sales environment."
         In late 1999,  Peoples Bank also plans to open a third banking facility
in a to-be-constructed Wal*Mart supercenter in South Parkersburg, West Virginia.
         Peoples Bank is a subsidiary  of Peoples  Bancorp  Inc., a  diversified
financial  services bank holding company  headquartered  in Marietta,  Ohio. The
Company, which is Y2K ready, has approximately $1 billion in assets, operates 36
financial service locations in the states of Ohio, West Virginia,  and Kentucky.
Peoples Bancorp's banking subsidiaries include Peoples Bank with offices in Ohio
and West Virginia;  The First National Bank of Southeastern Ohio with three Ohio
offices;  and  Peoples  Bank  FSB,  with  four  Kentucky  offices.  Through  its
subsidiaries,  Peoples  Bancorp  offers  complete  banking  services  and  makes
available other financial services,  such as trust services,  and investment and
insurance products.  Peoples Bancorp's common stock is traded through the Nasdaq
National Market System under the symbol "PEBO". Learn more about Peoples Bancorp
at www.peoplesbancorp.com.

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