OLD KENT
N e w s   R e l e a s e	Old Kent Financial Corporation 111 Lyon Street NW Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2406

Old Kent Reports First Quarter Earnings
- Operating EPS increased 17.3% to $0.61 per share - 
- Net income per share, inclusive of merger related charges, of $0.47 -

     Grand Rapids, Michigan        --        Old Kent reported its operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2000. David Wagner, Chairman, President and CEO said "In view of the challenging interest rate environment, we are pleased with our results for the quarter."

     As discussed below, during the quarter, Old Kent completed its acquisition of Merchants Bancorp, Inc. ("Merchants") as a "pooling-of-interests" transaction. Accordingly, prior period amounts reported in this release have been adjusted to reflect the inclusion of Merchants on a comparable basis.

First Quarter 2000 Financial Highlights:
     Excluding $17.5 million (or $0.14 per share) of after-tax merger related charges:

	•	Operating earnings per share was $0.61 for the first quarter of 2000, a 17.3% increase over 1999.
	•	Operating earnings were $74.5 million, or 13.7% better than the first quarter of 1999.
	•	Total (taxable-equivalent) revenues increased 3.8% with no increase in operating expenses.
	•	Non-interest revenues grew 6.7% and represented 37.9% of total revenues, up from 36.8% last year.
	•	Operating return on average total equity was 22.76% compared to 19.30% for the first quarter of 1999.
	•	Operating return on average total assets was 1.56% versus 1.37% for the preceding year's first quarter.
	•	Commercial loans increased to $7.7 billion at March 31, 2000, up 22% over last year.
	•	Consumer loans totaled $4 billion at March 31, 2000, an increase of 37%.
	•	Credit quality remained strong -- net loan losses were $6.1 million and included $2 million of loan charge-offs recognized to conform the credit evaluation practices of Merchants to those of Old Kent.

Revenues:
     Total taxable equivalent revenues, exclusive of security transactions, were $289.7 million for the first quarter of 2000, a 3.8% increase over last year's first quarter. This improvement includes a higher level of net interest income attributable to the growth in commercial and consumer loans and improved non-interest revenues.

     Net interest income increased 2% to $175.1 million despite the effects of margin compression associated with higher interest rates. An improved mix of interest-earning assets, more heavily weighted in loans, along with growth in total interest-earning assets contributed to the increase. At March 31, 2000, total loans were $13.6 billion, 20.4% more than the total one year earlier, and interest-earning assets were $18 billion, 5.4% more than last year. The net interest margin for the first quarter of 2000 was 4.14% compared to 4.04% for the first three months of 1999.

     Non-interest revenues, excluding security transactions, increased by 6.7% to $109.8 million. Mortgage banking revenues decreased as expected, by 5.4% to $42.7 million. Investment management and trust revenues were $20.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, a 10.4% increase over last year's first quarter. Deposit account revenues grew 10.2% over the comparable 1999 period. Total non-interest revenues were 37.9% of total taxable-equivalent revenues for the first three months of 2000 compared to 36.8% for the same period of 1999.

Expenses:
     Total non-interest expenses were $169.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, unchanged from the prior year's first quarter and accompanied by a 3.8% increase in total revenues. This favorable result reflected efficiencies attained by the Corporation from its acquisitions of banking franchises over the past few quarters. It also reflects the successful efforts of Old Kent Mortgage Company in reducing its production capacity to align resources with demand levels in a higher interest rate environment. The efficiency ratio expresses how much of each revenue dollar is used to pay operating expenses and was 58.5% for the first quarter of 2000, comparing favorably to 60.7% for the year ago quarter.

Asset Quality:
     The Corporation's provision for credit losses, excluding the special merge-related provision, was $6.4 million for the first quarter of 2000, compared to $7.3 million for the same period in 1999. Net loan losses for the three months ended March 31, 2000, exclusive of those related to conforming Merchants credit evaluation practices,  were $4.1 million in comparison to $6.3 million for last year's first quarter. The decrease in net loan losses is the direct result of Old Kent's ongoing emphasis on strong underwriting. At March 31, 2000, the allowance for credit losses was 1.46% of total loans compared to 1.68% at March 31, 1999. Nonperforming assets were $74.2 million at March 31, 2000, or 0.38% of total assets, compared to $77.5 million, or 0.41% of total assets one year earlier.

Acquisitions:
     Effective February 11, 2000, Old Kent completed its acquisition of Merchants Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, in a "pooling-of-interests" transaction. When acquired, Merchants had total assets of $1 billion and deposits of $0.7 billion. As a result of this acquisition, Old Kent now enjoys the #1 deposit market share in Illinois' prosperous Kane County. In connection with this acquisition, Old Kent recognized approximately $17.5 million, or $0.14 per share, of after tax charges related to this merger. Management has identified the following charges (on a pre-tax basis) as such: a special loan loss provision of $4 million to conform Merchants asset quality measurements with Old Kent's more conservative practices; security losses of $6.1 million resulting from the sale of $266 million of securities to realign the balance sheet composition of the newly combined companies to Old Kent's profile; and $16 million of costs associated with completion of the transaction, elimination of redundant operations, asset obsolescence and other nonrecurring costs. Old Kent anticipates realizing approximately $9 million of annual pre-tax cost savings beginning in April 2000.

     Effective April 1, 2000, subsequent to the March 31, 2000 "as of" date for this release, Old Kent acquired Grand Premier Financial, Inc. ("Grand Premier"), a bank holding company headquartered in Wauconda, Illinois, in a "pooling-of-interests" transaction. When acquired, Grand Premier had total assets of $1.7 billion and deposits of $1.3 billion and a sizable presence in growing communities located in Lake and McHenry Counties, north and northwest of Chicago.

Stock Repurchase Program:
     As of March 31, 2000, the Corporation had completed the repurchase of 2.25 million shares of its common stock under a June 1999 authorization allowing for the repurchase of 3 million shares of its common stock within the ensuing year. As in past programs, shares are to be acquired ratably on a quarterly basis for use in future stock dividends and for issuances related to the Corporation's direct stock purchase plan, OK Invest Direct, and to employee stock plans.

Conference Call:
     Old Kent's management will host a conference call to discuss the operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on April 14, 2000. The conference may be accessed by dialing 800-491-4331 ("listen only" mode) just prior to the scheduled start time. A replay of the call will be available through April 21, 2000, by dialing 800-696-1588 (passcode: 686815). The call, on a "live" or replay basis, may also be accessed through Old Kent's website, www.oldkent.com. 

Websites:
     During February, 2000, Old Kent launched its internet banking distribution channel. To date, about 8,000 new and existing customers have elected to take advantage of this new capability.

     Information about Old Kent and its products and services, including the OK Cafe and OK Invest Direct, is available through its website, www.oldkent.com, and through related sites: www.oldkentfinadvisors.com; www.kentfunds.com; www.oldkentinsurance.com; and www.oldkentmortgage.com.

Description of Old Kent:
     Old Kent is a financial services company headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a 41 year history of consecutive increases in annual per share earnings and dividends. It operates nearly 300 banking offices in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, as well as a nationwide mortgage lending franchise. At March 31, 2000, Old Kent had total assets of approximately $20 billion.

				Percentage
EARNINGS SUMMARY:	2000	1999 (a) (b)		Change
Quarter ended March 31:
Before merger-related charges:
Basic Earnings per Share	$0.61	$0.53		15.1%
Diluted Earnings per Share	$0.61	$0.52		17.3%
Net Income	$74,502,000	$65,531,000		13.7%
After merger-related charges:
Basic Earnings per Share	$0.47	$0.53		-11.3%
Diluted Earnings per Share	$0.47	$0.52		-9.6%
Net Income	$56,996,000	$65,531,000		-13.0%
Balance Sheet Data at March 31:
Commercial Loans	$7,678,262,000	$6,298,543,000		21.9%
Consumer Loans	4,003,434,000	2,919,704,000		37.1%
Residential Mortgage Loans	1,877,828,000	2,045,959,000		-8.2%
Total Loans	13,559,524,000	11,264,206,000		20.4%
Total Interest-earning Assets	17,988,295,000	17,059,061,000		5.4%
Core Deposits	13,274,930,000	13,288,387,000		-0.1%
Total Deposits	14,572,987,000	14,683,371,000		-0.8%
Total Assets	19,664,874,000	18,722,161,000		5.0%
Shareholders' Equity	1,314,125,000	1,352,444,000		-2.8%

(a)	adjusted to reflect a five percent stock dividend paid July 17, 1999.
(b)	restated to include CFSB Bancorp, Inc. and Pinnacle Banc Group, Inc. acquired during the third quarter of 1999 and to include Merchants Bancorp, Inc. acquired February 11, 2000 , in "pooling-of-interests" transactions.

Forward Looking Statement    This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities   Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include expressions such as "expects," "intends,"   "believes," and "should," which are necessarily statements of belief as to the expected outcomes of future events.   Actual results could materially differ from those presented. Internal and external factors that might cause such a   difference include, but are not limited to, the possibility that anticipated cost savings from mergers and other initiatives   may not be fully realized within the expected time frames. Actual results could materially differ from those contained   in, or implied by such statements. Old Kent undertakes no obligation to release revisions to these forward looking    statements or reflect events or conditions after the date of this release.

(a)	Restated to include "pooling-of-interests" transactions: Merchants Bancorp, Inc., acquired February 11, 2000; CFSB Bancorp, Inc., acquired July 9, 1999; and Pinnacle Banc Group, Inc., acquired September 3 , 1999.
(b)	Cash basis earnings per share excludes the effect of amortization of intangibles.
(c)	Excludes non-recurring items.

OLD KENT
            Financial Corporation

OLD KENT
            Financial Corporation

OLD KENT
            Financial Corporation

OLD KENT
            Financial Corporation

          Credit Loss Reserve Summary