EXHIBIT 99

INVESTOR CONTACT:  Valda Colbart, 419-784-2759, rfcinv@rurban.net

         Rurban Financial Corp. Announces Sale of Problem Loan Portfolio
                     Plans to Take $745,000 After-Tax Charge

DEFIANCE, OH, December 19, 2005 - Rurban Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: RBNF),
("Rurban"), a leading provider of full-service community banking, investment
management, trust services and bank data processing, announced that it has
completed the sale of approximately $8.4 million of troubled loans held in its
workout loan subsidiary, RFCBC, Inc. The loans were sold at 84.6 % of their book
value, resulting in a pre-tax loss of $1.45 million (including expenses incurred
with the sale). After adjusting for reserves associated with the loan sale, the
pre-tax loss for the transaction will be approximately $688,000 ($454,000
after-tax).

Following the sale of these loans, Rurban will have approximately $4.4 million
of non-performing loans on its books, in addition to a $2.0 million office
building that is under contract to close in the first quarter, subject to final
due diligence to be completed by January 4, 2006. This property, currently
classified as Other Real Estate Owned "OREO", has been written down to the
contract sale price.

The company plans to take an additional reserve of $440,000 ($291,000 after-tax)
against the remaining non-performing loans, which will bring consolidated
reserves to approximately $4.5 million. This additional reserve, together with
the loan sale, will result in an after-tax charge of about $745,000.

Kenneth Joyce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rurban Financial Corp.,
commented, "This loan sale is an important step in the ultimate resolution of
events that surfaced in 2002 and have been a drain on earnings since that time.
The recovery process has been longer and more difficult than anticipated and we
will be pleased to have a major portion of that chapter behind us."

ABOUT RURBAN FINANCIAL CORP.
Rurban Financial Corp. is a publicly-held financial services holding company
based in Defiance, Ohio. Rurban's wholly-owned subsidiaries are The State Bank
and Trust Company, Reliance Financial Services, N.A., Rurbanc Data Services,
Inc. (RDSI) and RFCBC, Inc. The bank offers a full range of financial services
through its 13 offices in Defiance, Paulding, Fulton and Allen Counties.
Reliance Financial Services offers a diversified array of trust and financial
services to customers throughout the Midwest. RDSI provides data processing
services to community banks in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.
Rurban's common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol
RBNF. The Company currently has 10,000,000 shares of stock authorized and
4,571,317 shares outstanding. The Company's website is
http://www.rurbanfinancial.net .

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.
Certain statements within this document, which are not statements of historical
fact, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from those
predicted by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties inherent in the
national and regional banking, insurance and mortgage industries, competitive
factors specific to markets in which Rurban and its subsidiaries operate, future
interest rate levels, legislative and regulatory actions, capital market
conditions, general economic conditions, geopolitical events, the loss of key
personnel and other factors.




Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and
Rurban undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to
Rurban or any person acting on our behalf are qualified by these cautionary
statements.