Exhibit 99.1

Contact: Mark E. Secor

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: (219) 873-2611

Fax: (219) 874-9280

Date: March 23, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HORIZON BANCORP ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND INCREASE

Michigan City, Indiana –  Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ GM: HBNC) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in its quarterly dividend from 12 cents to 13 cents per share. This represents an 8.33 percent increase and a dividend yield of 2.96 percent based on the price per share of $17.59 as of the close of business on March 20, 2012, the date on which the Board approved the increase.  The dividend will be paid on April 20, 2012 to shareholders of record on April 6, 2012.

Horizon Bancorp is a locally owned, independent, commercial bank holding company serving Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.  Horizon also offers mortgage-banking services throughout the Midwest. Horizon Bancorp may be reached online at www.accesshorizon.com.  Its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol HBNC.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the financial performance, business prospects, growth and operating strategies of Horizon. For these statements, Horizon claims the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release should be considered in conjunction with the other information available about Horizon, including the information in the filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify such statements by using words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “will” and similar expressions in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include risk factors relating to the banking industry and the other factors detailed from time to time in Horizon’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described in Item 1A “Risk Factors” of Part I of Horizon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Horizon does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions that may be made to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the events or circumstances after the date on which the forward-looking statement is made, or reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except to the extent required by law.

Contact:	Horizon Bancorp
	Mark E. Secor
	Chief Financial Officer
	(219) 873-2611
	Fax: (219) 874-9280

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