CONTACT:
Dennis E. Nixon
Chairman & CEO
International Bancshares Corporation
(956) 722-7611

Katie Brickman or
Stephanie Jersig
Taylor West Advertising
(210) 826-8899

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 INTERNATIONAL BANCSHARES CORPORATION EXPANDS STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

Laredo, Texas-- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- (July 16, 1999)--International Bancshares
Corporation (NASDAQ:IBOC) announced that its board of directors expanded its
stock repurchase program. The Company is now authorized to repurchase up to
$22.5 million of its common stock through June 2000, compared to the prior
authorization of $9 million through June 2000. Stock repurchases may be made
from time to time, on the open market or through private transactions. Shares
repurchased in this program will be held in treasury for reissue for various
corporate purposes, including employee stock option plans. The Company currently
has approximately $29 million invested in treasury shares, which have been
accumulated since the inception of the Company.

IBC is a $5 billion multi-bank holding company headquartered in Laredo, Texas,
with over 90 facilities and 164 ATM's serving 28 communities including Houston,
San Antonio, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Brownsville, Port Lavaca, Zapata and
throughout the Rio Grande Valley and the Texas Gulf Coast.

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts
contain forward looking information with respect to plans, projections or future
performance of IBC and its subsidiaries, the occurrence of which involve certain
risks and uncertainties detailed in IBC's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.

Copies of IBC's SEC filings and Annual Report (as an exhibit to the 10-K) may be
downloaded from the Internet at no charge from FreeEDGAR, a real-time access to
SEC filings site located at HTTP://WWW.FREEEDGAR.COM.



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