BANGOR – Edwin N. Clift, president and chief executive officer of Merrill Merchants Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: MERB), the parent company of Merrill Merchants Bank, reported a net income for the company of $824,000 for the quarter that ended June 30, an increase of 25 percent over the same period in 2000. The company’s net income for the first six months of 2001 totaled $1.5 million.

The company’s total assets were more than $254 million at the end of the quarter, an increase of 10 percent from the same date a year ago. Comparing June 30, 2000, and June 30, 2001, net loans grew $22.1 million or 15 percent and deposits increased $10.1 million or 5 percent.

The company’s subsidiaries, Merrill Merchants Bank and Maine Acceptance Corp., are headquartered in Bangor. Merrill Merchants Bank provides consumer, commercial and trust and investment services through its 10 branches in central and eastern Maine. The bank is a “preferred lender’ of the Small Business Administration. Maine Acceptance Corp., a finance company, provides indirect auto and recreational vehicle lending as well as other types of direct consumer loans.