• Earnings per share increases 15% to $0.23 per share
• Delinquencies decrease to historical lows
• Medallion prices reach an all time high
• Net interest margin remains high at 4.53%
• Dividend of $0.19 per share declared

Medallion Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: TAXI), a specialty finance company with a leading position servicing the taxicab industry and other niche markets, announced that earnings, or net increase in net assets resulting from operations increased 14% to $4,118,000, or $0.23 per diluted common share in the 2008 third quarter, up from $3,602,000 or $0.20 per diluted common share in the 2007 third quarter. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations increased 7% to $12,416,000, or $0.70 per diluted common share for the 2008 nine months, up from $11,655,000, or $0.66 per diluted common share for the 2007 nine months.

Net investment income after taxes increased to $3,425,000 or $0.19 per diluted common share for the 2008 third quarter, up from $1,555,000 or $0.09 per diluted common share for the 2007 third quarter. Net interest margin was 4.53% in the quarter, up from 3.30% a year ago, and was 5.57%, up from 4.11% a year ago on a combined basis with Medallion Bank.

Medallion’s on-balance sheet taxicab medallion loan portfolio decreased 18% to $411,693,000 from $502,523,000 a year ago. The decrease resulted from the Company’s ability to participate these high-quality loans to other financial institutions which desire safe and profitable loan growth, and which enables Medallion to earn a servicing fee for managing the loans. The on-balance sheet commercial loan portfolio increased 1% to $94,830,000, up from $93,788,000 a year ago. Including Medallion Bank, the Company’s unconsolidated wholly-owned portfolio investment, and net loans serviced for or by third parties, the managed medallion loan portfolio decreased 4% to $568,972,000, from $594,515,000 a year ago.

The net managed commercial loan portfolio increased 6% to $178,721,000, up from $168,823,000 a year ago. In addition, Medallion Bank’s consumer loan portfolio increased 34% to $184,159,000, up from $137,413,000 a year ago. Total assets under management increased 5% to $1,048,705,000, up from $1,002,491,000 a year ago.

Andrew Murstein, President of Medallion, said, “We are very pleased with our third quarter results. In this environment, there are not many financial institutions such as ours that can state that their earnings are increasing and that their delinquencies are decreasing. Medallion prices, which typically thrive in a down market, have continued to increase and now exceed $700,000 per corporate medallion in New York City. Our loan to value ratio on our medallion loan portfolio is now below 50%. Medallion Bank, the bank that we established 5 years ago for times exactly like this, provides us with a dependable low-cost funding source.”

“We are well positioned to not only continue to grow our company, but to take advantage of opportunities that exist in today’s marketplace,” Mr. Murstein continued. He noted that Medallion Bank recently purchased substantially all of Ameritrans’ medallion portfolio at par, for approximately $25,884,000, “an acquisition that provides Medallion Bank a strong portfolio with yields in excess of 8%, and also provides Medallion Bank and the Company access to the Miami market.”

Mr. Murstein continued, “With our strong balance sheet and continued conservative underwriting standards, we believe investors will appreciate the strength of this portfolio and consider a flight to quality when evaluating our Company. The current yield on our stock, based upon the last 12 months of dividends and our most recent closing price, is about 9.4%. In addition to this current income, and in an effort to also increase our return on equity in this area, we have previously made, and continue to explore making, loans in the medallion area whereby we receive part of the appreciation if and when the underlying medallions increase in value. We have also experienced strong unrealized gains in the quarter relating to our 167 owned Chicago taxicab medallions. Chicago medallion prices have tripled over the past several years to over $140,000, up from $45,000.”

“Credit quality also remained outstanding,” said Larry Hall, Medallion’s Chief Financial Officer. “On a managed basis, including Medallion Bank, delinquent loans 90 days or more past due decreased during the year to 0.3%, down from 1.1% a year ago. These are the lowest levels they have been in the history of the Company.”

The Company also announced that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.19 per share on its common stock for the 2008 third quarter. The dividend is payable on December 12, 2008 to shareholders of record on November 21, 2008. Since the Company’s initial public offering in 1996, the Company has paid out over $128,000,000 in dividends, or $8.34 per share.

About Medallion Financial

Medallion Financial Corp. is a specialty finance company with a leading position in the origination and servicing of loans financing the purchase of taxicab medallions and related assets. The Company also originates and services loans in other commercial industries and its wholly-owned portfolio company Medallion Bank also originates and services consumer loans. The Company and its subsidiaries have lent over $3 billion to the taxicab industry and other small businesses.

Please note that this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to business performance, cash flow, costs, sales, net investment income, earnings, and growth. Medallion's actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors," in Medallion’s 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Medallion Financial Corp.
Andrew Murstein, President
Larry D. Hall, CFO
212-328-2100 or 1-877-Medallion
or
Zlokower Company Public Relations
Harry Zlokower
David Closs
212-447-9292