Exhibit 99

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Contact: Bryna Butler, 446-2631, ext. 253, E-mail: bsbutler@ovbc.com


                              Howe Joins OVBC Board

GALLIPOLIS,  Ohio -- Harold A. Howe has been  elected  to the Ohio  Valley  Banc
Corp. [Nasdaq: OVBC] Board of Directors.

     Howe joined the Ohio Valley  Banc Corp.  family in 1998 with the  company's
purchase of Jackson  Savings Bank of Jackson,  Ohio.  He is now the president of
Ohio Valley Financial  Services,  a life insurance agency subsidiary of OVBC. In
addition, he serves on the Ohio Valley Bank Board of Directors.

     Howe will be  finishing  the  unexpired  term of Jim  Dailey on the  Board.
Dailey  retired from the Corp.  Board in January 2005,  but is still Chairman of
the Board of Ohio Valley Bank, the largest subsidiary of Ohio Valley Banc Corp.

     A native of Jackson,  Howe is a graduate  of Jackson  High  School,  Urbana
University,  and Xavier  University  Graduate  School.  He is  President  of the
Jackson  Community  Improvement  Corporation,  Director of the Jackson YMCA, and
serves on the Jackson  Metropolitan Housing Board. He is also a member of Rotary
(past president), Jaycees, Elks, and Moose. He and wife, Kay, reside in Jackson.

     Ohio Valley Banc Corp. stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the
symbol OVBC.  The company  owns three  subsidiaries:  Ohio Valley Bank,  with 16
offices  throughout Ohio and West Virginia;  Loan Central,  with five offices in
Ohio; and Ohio Valley Financial Services, a life insurance agency based in
Jackson, Ohio.