Mercantile Bank Corp (MBWM) will raise its quarterly dividend by 15.8 percent to $0.22 per share in the first quarter of 2018. In 2017 the company hiked its dividend by 11.8 percent.

The new dividend is payable on March 21, 2018, to holders of record as of March 9, 2018.  

"We are very pleased that our ongoing financial strength has positioned us to reward shareholders with an increased quarterly cash dividend," said Robert B. Kaminski, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercantile.  "The higher dividend reflects our desire to maintain the cash dividend payout between 35 percent and 40 percent of net income, exhibiting our commitment to provide a meaningful cash return to shareholders, and the confidence of our Board of Directors and executive management team in Mercantile's ability to produce strong operating results in future periods."

Mercantile Bank Corporation is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan.  The Bank provides commercial banking services primarily to small- to medium-sized businesses and retail banking services.