EXHIBIT 99.1

April 27, 2020 - For immediate release

Contact:  Scott Shockey, CFO (740) 446-2631

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. Reports 1^st Quarter Earnings

GALLIPOLIS, Ohio - Ohio Valley Banc Corp. [Nasdaq: OVBC] (the “Company”) reported consolidated net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, of $1,002,000, a decrease of $191,000 from the same period the prior year.  Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2020 was $.21, compared to $.25 for the first quarter of 2019.  Return on average assets and return on average equity were .40 percent and 3.14 percent, respectively, for the first quarter of 2020, versus .47 percent and 4.08 percent, respectively, for the same period the prior year.

CEO Tom Wiseman commented, “No matter the circumstances, it is always disappointing to not report record earnings.  However, during this period of unprecedented challenge, it is the health, safety and welfare of our customers, employees and shareholders that is of utmost importance.  Our community bankers’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of heroic.  OVB staff came up with new ways to serve our customers without contact, closed out Christmas Savings for customers that needed funds early, and extended hours at two of our drive-thru locations to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.  As of last week, our lending teams worked day and night to arrange loan payment deferments for over 1,000 customers and helped local small businesses gain over $2.6 million from the SBA Paycheck Protection Program.  Loan Central tax professionals distributed 3,000 stimulus payments to their tax refund loan customers.  I’m proud to say we were early to respond and proactive in our approach to protecting the physical and economic wellbeing of all our stakeholders.”

For the first quarter of 2020, net interest income decreased $1,383,000, or 12.1 percent, from the same period last year.  Contributing to the lower net interest income was the decrease in loan fees, the net interest margin and average earning assets.  Starting in 2020, the Company changed its business model for Loan Central’s assessment of fees for tax refund advance loans from only assessing loan fees for the tax refund loan to primarily assessing a fee for preparing the tax return in combination with a reduced loan fee.  This fundamental change in the fee structure was imposed upon the Company in order to comply with new regulation.  As a result, tax refund advance loan fees for the first quarter of 2020 decreased $709,000 from the same period last year.  The fee income for tax preparation services was recorded as noninterest income and is discussed below.  For the quarter ended March 31, 2020, the net interest margin was 4.34 percent, compared to 4.89 percent for the same period the prior year.  The reduction in tax refund advance fees lowered the net interest margin 30 basis points for the first quarter of 2020.  The remaining decrease in the net interest margin was related to the decrease in market rates.  The Federal Reserve reduced interest rates by 75 basis points during the second half of 2019 and another 150 basis points in March of 2020, which contributed to a decrease in yield on earning assets.  However, the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities actually increased due to interest rates on deposits lagging the decrease in general market rates.  Furthermore, certain deposits were already at or near their interest rate floor, which limited the Company’s ability to reduce deposit costs to the same magnitude as experienced on earning assets.  For the three months ended March 31, 2020, average earning assets decreased $17 million from the same period the prior year, primarily attributable to commercial and installment loan segments of the loan portfolio.

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, the provision for loan loss expense totaled $3,846,000, an increase of $1,469,000 from the first quarter of 2019.  For the three months ended March, 31, 2020, the provision for loan loss expense incurred was primarily related to net loan charge-offs of $1,390,000 and to an increase in general reserves related to the establishment of an economic risk factor for the coronavirus pandemic.  Based on declining economic conditions and increasing unemployment levels, management increased general reserves $1,942,000 to reflect higher anticipated losses due to the expected financial impact of the coronavirus on customers.  In association with this higher risk factor, the allowance for loan losses increased to 1.13 percent of total loans at March 31, 2020, compared to .81 percent at December 31, 2019 and 1.03 percent at March 31, 2019.

For the first quarter of 2020, noninterest income totaled $4,442,000, an increase of $2,596,000 from the first quarter of 2019.  During the first quarter of 2020, the Bank entered into a settlement agreement relating to the previously disclosed litigation the Bank had filed against a third-party tax software product provider for early termination of its tax processing contract.  Under the settlement agreement, the third-party paid a $2,000,000 settlement payment.  Further contributing to the increase was the Company’s change in its business model for assessing fees on tax refund advance loans.  By primarily charging for the tax preparation services, the Company recorded $615,000 in tax preparation fee income during the first quarter of 2020.

Noninterest expense totaled $9,519,000 for the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of $49,000 from the same period last year.  The Company’s largest noninterest expense, salaries and employee benefits, decreased $81,000, or 1.5 percent, from the first quarter of 2019.  The decrease was primarily related to the expense savings associated with a lower number of employees from the sale of two branches in December 2019 and the voluntary severance program that was completed during the fourth quarter of 2019, which more than offset the expense increase associated with annual merit increases.  Further contributing to lower noninterest expense was professional fees and costs associated with foreclosed assets.  For the three months ended March 31, 2020, professional fees decreased $74,000 from the same period last year in relation to lower legal and accounting fees.  For the same period, foreclosed asset expense decreased $63,000.  Partially offsetting the expense reductions above was an increase in data processing, which increased $64,000 from the prior year first quarter primarily due to credit card processing and website maintenance costs.

Ohio Valley Banc Corp. common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol OVBC.  The holding company owns Ohio Valley Bank, with 16 offices in Ohio and West Virginia, and Loan Central, with six consumer finance offices in Ohio.  Learn more about Ohio Valley Banc Corp. at www.ovbc.com.

OHIO VALLEY BANC CORP - Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
		Three months ended
		March 31,
		2020				2019
PER SHARE DATA
Earnings per share		$	0.21			$	0.25
Dividends per share		$	0.21			$	0.21
Book value per share		$	27.26			$	25.29
Dividend payout ratio (a)			100.34	%			83.46	%
Weighted average shares outstanding			4,787,446				4,748,474
DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT (in 000's)
Dividends reinvested under
employee stock ownership plan (b)		$	154			$	179
Dividends reinvested under
dividend reinvestment plan (c)		$	372			$	351
PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average equity			3.14	%			4.08	%
Return on average assets			0.40	%			0.47	%
Net interest margin (d)			4.34	%			4.89	%
Efficiency ratio (e)			65.42	%			71.72	%
Average earning assets (in 000's)		$	936,008			$	953,335
(a) Total dividends paid as a percentage of net income.
(b) Shares may be purchased from OVBC and on secondary market.
(c) Shares may be purchased from OVBC and on secondary market.
(d) Fully tax-equivalent net interest income as a percentage of average earning assets.
(e) Noninterest expense as a percentage of fully tax-equivalent net interest income plus noninterest income.
OHIO VALLEY BANC CORP - Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)
		Three months ended
(in $000's)		March 31,
			2020				2019
Interest income:
Interest and fees on loans		$	10,873			$	11,912
Interest and dividends on securities			750				827
Interest on interest-bearing deposits with banks			162				319
Total interest income			11,785				13,058
Interest expense:
Deposits			1,509				1,342
Borrowings			272				329
Total interest expense			1,781				1,671
Net interest income			10,004				11,387
Provision for loan losses			3,846				2,377
Noninterest income:
Service charges on deposit accounts			493				503
Trust fees			68				64
Income from bank owned life insurance and
annuity assets			217				178
Mortgage banking income			90				69
Debit / credit card interchange income			943				914
Loss on other real estate owned			(101	)			----
Tax preparation fees			615				----
Litigation settlement			2,000				----
Other			117				118
Total noninterest income			4,442				1,846
Noninterest expense:
Salaries and employee benefits			5,455				5,536
Occupancy			432				453
Furniture and equipment			262				263
Professional fees			598				672
Marketing expense			268				270
FDIC insurance			----				3
Data processing			599				535
Software			381				411
Foreclosed assets			43				106
Amortization of intangibles			17				31
Other			1,464				1,288
Total noninterest expense			9,519				9,568
Income before income taxes			1,081				1,288
Income taxes			79				95
NET INCOME		$	1,002			$	1,193

OHIO VALLEY BANC CORP - Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
(in $000's, except share data)		March 31,				December 31
		2020				2019
ASSETS
Cash and noninterest-bearing deposits with banks		$	16,023			$	12,812
Interest-bearing deposits with banks			50,648				39,544
Total cash and cash equivalents			66,671				52,356
Certificates of deposit in financial institutions			2,360				2,360
Securities available for sale			112,191				105,318
Securities held to maturity (estimated fair value:  2020 - $12,115; 2019 - $12,404)			11,808				12,033
Restricted investments in bank stocks			7,506				7,506
Total loans			775,086				772,774
Less:  Allowance for loan losses			(8,729	)			(6,272	)
Net loans			766,357				766,502
Premises and equipment, net			20,970				19,217
Premises and equipment held for sale, net			649				653
Other real estate owned			325				540
Accrued interest receivable			2,650				2,564
Goodwill			7,319				7,319
Other intangible assets, net			157				174
Bank owned life insurance and annuity assets			30,813				30,596
Operating lease right-of-use asset, net			998				1,053
Other assets			5,067				5,081
Total assets		$	1,035,841			$	1,013,272
LIABILITIES
Noninterest-bearing deposits		$	213,262			$	222,607
Interest-bearing deposits			632,617				598,864
Total deposits			845,879				821,471
Other borrowed funds			32,459				33,991
Subordinated debentures			8,500				8,500
Operating lease liability			998				1,053
Accrued liabilities			17,509				20,078
Total liabilities			905,345				885,093
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock ($1.00 stated value per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized;
2020 - 5,447,185 shares issued; 2019 - 5,447,185 shares issued)			5,447				5,447
Additional paid-in capital			51,165				51,165
Retained earnings			86,748				86,751
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)			2,848				528
Treasury stock, at cost (659,739 shares)			(15,712	)			(15,712	)
Total shareholders' equity			130,496				128,179
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity		$	1,035,841			$	1,013,272