Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT

Kristine D. Brenner

Director of Investor Relations

(810) 257-2506

kristine.brenner@citizensbanking.com

Citizens Republic Bancorp Reports Solid Fourth Quarter Earnings

FLINT, MICHIGAN, January 26, 2012 -— Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBC) announced net income attributable to common shareholders of $12.3 million, or $0.31 per diluted share for the three months ended December 31, 2011, compared to $27.2 million, or $0.68 per diluted share for last quarter. For the year ended December 31, 2011, Citizens recorded a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $16.3 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $314.6 million, or $7.99 per diluted share for the prior year.

“2011 was a pivotal year for Citizens. We successfully executed on our strategies and returned to sustained profitability. We significantly improved the risk profile of the bank by reducing problem assets and improving all of our credit metrics while strengthening our capital levels,” commented Cathleen Nash, president and chief executive officer.

“Our strategic focus for 2012 is to continue to provide top tier client service, prudently rebuild our loan portfolio, mitigate net interest margin pressure, ensure reserve levels reflect our improved risk profile and support loan growth, and continue to report consistent profits,” added Ms. Nash.

Balance Sheet

Total assets at December 31, 2011 were $9.5 billion, a decrease of $137.3 million or 1% from last quarter largely due to planned reductions in adversely classified loans. The modest increase in our C&I portfolio was offset by declines in all other portfolios compared to last quarter.

Total assets decreased $502.8 million compared to last year, as increases in our C&I and Indirect portfolios were more than offset by anticipated decreases in all other loan portfolios.

Core deposits were up $319.5 million or 7% over December 31 of last year and essentially flat from last quarter, reflecting our focus on generating and growing core deposit relationships. Time deposits at December 31, 2011 decreased $119.4 million, or 5% from last quarter and $651.4 million or 23% from December 31 of last year as we continue to strategically reduce high cost single service and brokered time deposits.

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Other interest-bearing liabilities, which include federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase, other short-term borrowings, and long-term debt, totaled $894.3 million at December 31, 2011, essentially unchanged from the end of last quarter and a decrease of $180.7 million or 17% from December 31 of last year, as the result of retiring maturing long-term debt.

Capital

Citizens continues to grow capital organically through earnings and maintain a strong capital position.

Net Interest Income and Margin

Net interest margin was 3.62% in the fourth quarter of 2011, consistent with last quarter and an increase of 20 basis points from the fourth quarter of last year. For the year ended December 31, 2011, net interest margin was 3.58%, compared with 3.31% for the prior year. These increases were due to declining deposit costs, reductions in high-cost funding, lower levels of non-performing assets, and a planned reduction in excess cash and money market investments, partially offset by lower investment securities yields.

Net interest income was $78.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, a decrease of $0.8 million from last quarter largely due to a reduction in average earning assets. Net interest income decreases from the fourth quarter of last year and year over year reflect the reduction in average earning assets which was partially offset by the higher net interest margin.

Credit Quality

Citizens’ credit trends showed continued improvement this quarter and significant improvement compared to last year end. Credit quality continues to benefit from the emphasis we have placed on improving the risk characteristics in our portfolios.

Noninterest Income and Expense

Noninterest income was $24.4 million for the fourth quarter 2011, unchanged from last quarter and the fourth quarter of 2010. For 2011, noninterest income was $95.3 million, up slightly from last year.

Noninterest expense was $66.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of $1.2 million or 2% from last quarter, and a decrease of $10.6 million or 14% from the fourth quarter of last year. For the full year 2011, noninterest expense was $283.2 million, a decrease of $23.9 million or 8% from 2010. The increase compared to last quarter was primarily a result of higher salaries and benefits expense, other real estate expense, state taxes and miscellaneous losses, partially offset by lower advertising and public relations. The decreases compared to last year reflect Citizens’ continued focus on improving efficiencies through better vendor management, as well as reductions in credit costs, salaries expense, and FDIC insurance.

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The income tax expense for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $2.5 million, compared with a benefit of $12.6 million for the third quarter of 2011 and a tax expense of $3.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. For the full year 2011, the income tax benefit was $20.3 million, compared with a tax expense of $12.9 million for 2010. The variances were the result of Citizens recording a receivable due to the revocation of a tax election in the third quarter of 2011 and changes in other comprehensive income that are included in the calculation of the 2011 tax provision.

Conference Call

Citizens’ senior management will review the quarter’s results in a conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, January 27, 2012. A live audio webcast is available on Citizens’ investor relations page at www.citizensbanking.com or by calling (800) 862-9098 (conference ID: Citizens Republic). To listen to the conference call, please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled conference time.

A recording will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the conference call at www.citizensbanking.com, where it will be archived for 90 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), this release includes non-GAAP financial measures such as tangible equity to tangible assets ratio, tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio, Tier 1 common equity ratio, pre-tax pre-provision profit, net interest margin, and the efficiency ratio. Citizens believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information that is useful to investors in understanding the underlying performance of Citizens, its business, and performance trends and such measures help facilitate performance comparisons with others in the banking industry. Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. Readers should be aware of these limitations and should be cautious as to their use of such measures. To mitigate these limitations, Citizens has procedures in place to ensure that these measures are calculated using the appropriate GAAP or regulatory components in their entirety to ensure that Citizens’ performance is properly reflected to facilitate consistent period-to-period comparisons. Although Citizens believes the above non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release enhance investors’ understanding of its business and performance, these non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for GAAP basis financial measures. See our related Form 8-K for further discussion regarding these non-GAAP financial measures.

Corporate Profile

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. is a diversified financial services company providing a wide range of commercial, consumer, mortgage banking, trust and financial planning services to a broad client base. Citizens serves communities in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin with 219 offices and 248 ATMs. Citizens is the largest bank holding company headquartered in Michigan with roots dating back to 1871 and is the 57^th largest bank holding company headquartered in the United States. More information about Citizens is available at www.citizensbanking.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Discussions and statements in this release that are not statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements that include terms such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” and “plan,” and statements regarding Citizens’ future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Citizens’ control or are subject to change. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and actual results could differ materially.

Factors that could cause or contribute to actual results differing materially from Citizens’ expectations include the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Citizens’ annual and quarterly filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s web site www.sec.gov. Other factors not currently anticipated may also materially and adversely affect Citizens’ results of operations, cash flows, financial position and prospects. There can be no assurance that future results will meet expectations. While Citizens believes that the forward-looking statements in this release are reasonable, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-

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looking statement. In addition, these statements speak only as of the date made. Citizens does not undertake, and expressly disclaims, any obligation to update or alter any statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Discontinued Operations

As a result of the sale of Citizens’ wholly-owned subsidiary, F&M Bank—Iowa, during the second quarter of 2010, the financial condition and operating results for this subsidiary have been segregated from the financial condition and operating results of Citizens’ continuing operations throughout this release and, as such, are presented as a discontinued operation. While all prior periods have been revised retrospectively to align with this treatment, these changes do not affect Citizens’ reported consolidated financial condition or net income for any of the prior periods.

Reverse Stock Split Adjustment

All prior year shares outstanding and per share calculations have been adjusted to reflect the 1-for-10 reverse stock split that became effective July 1, 2011.

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Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.

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Selected Quarterly Information (Unaudited)

Citizens Republic Bancorp and Subsidiaries

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Loan Portfolios