[AMERIANA BANCORP LETTERHEAD]





        AMERIANA BANCORP PLACES $10 MILLION IN TRUST PREFERRED SECURITIES


NEW CASTLE, Ind. (March 8, 2006) - Ameriana Bancorp (NASDAQ: ASBI) today
announced it has completed a private placement of $10 million in trust preferred
securities. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the issuance of the
trust preferred securities for general corporate purposes and to increase the
regulatory capital of its subsidiary bank. "This offering will strengthen our
balance sheet and provide us further leverage to grow Ameriana Bank and Trust,
SB," said Jerome J. Gassen, President and Chief Executive Officer. The trust
preferred securities will bear a rate equal to the average of 6.71% and the
three-month London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus 150 basis points for
the first five years following the offering. After the first five years, the
securities will bear a rate equal to 150 basis points over the three-month
LIBOR.

The securities were issued by a statutory business trust formed by Ameriana
Bancorp and were sold in a private placement pursuant to an applicable exemption
from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Ameriana Bancorp is a bank holding company. Through its wholly owned subsidiary,
Ameriana Bank and Trust SB, the Company offers an extensive line of banking
services and provides a range of investments and securities products through
banking centers in the central Indiana area. As its name implies, Ameriana Bank
and Trust SB also offers trust and investment management services. The Bank has
interests in Family Financial Holdings, Inc. and Indiana Title Insurance
Company, and owns Ameriana Insurance Agency, a full-service insurance agency.

Statements contained in this news release contain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of management as well
as the assumptions made using information currently available to management.
Since these statements reflect the views of management concerning future events,
these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These risks and
uncertainties include among others, changes in market interest rates and general
and regional economic conditions, changes in government regulations, changes in
accounting principles and the quality or composition of the loan and investment
portfolios and other factors that may be described in the Company's quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q and in its annual report on Form 10-K, each filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the Securities and
Exchange Commission's internet website (www.sec.gov) and to which reference is
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hereby made. Therefore, actual future results may differ significantly from
results discussed in the forward-looking statements.




Contact:

Ameriana Bancorp
Jerome J. Gassen, 765-529-2230