Greene County Bancshares Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.12 Per Share and Increases Special Year-end Dividend to $0.14

Greene County Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM: GCBS) today
announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly
dividend of $0.12 per share, payable on December 16, 2005, to
shareholders of record as of December 2, 2005.
   Additionally, the Board has declared a special year-end dividend
of $0.14 per share, representing a 7.7% increase in the special
dividend versus last year's rate of $0.13 per share. The record and
pay dates for the special dividend coincide with those of the regular
dividend.
   Greeneville, Tennessee-based Greene County Bancshares, Inc., with
total assets of approximately $1.6 billion, is the holding company for
Greene County Bank and is the second largest bank holding company
headquartered in the state of Tennessee.
   Greene County Bank, founded in 1890, now has 47 branches
throughout East and Middle Tennessee, one branch in Bristol, Virginia,
one branch in western North Carolina, and a trust services office in
Lebanon, Tennessee. Greene County Bank does business in Washington
County, Tennessee as Washington County Bank; in Blount County and Knox
County, Tennessee as American Fidelity Bank; in Montgomery County,
Tennessee as Clarksville Community Bank; in Sumner County, Tennessee
as First Independent Bank; in Rutherford County, Tennessee as
Rutherford Bank and Trust; in Sullivan County, Tennessee as Sullivan
County Bank and First Bristol Bank; in Hamblen County, Tennessee as
Hamblen County Bank; in McMinn County, Tennessee as Bank of Athens and
Bank of Niota; in Hawkins County, Tennessee as Hawkins County Bank and
Bank of Bulls Gap; in Lawrence County, Tennessee as Bank of Lawrence
County; in Cocke County, Tennessee as Cocke County Bank; in Loudon
County, Tennessee as Community Bank of Loudon County; in Monroe
County, Tennessee as Community Trust Bank; in the City of Bristol,
Virginia as First Bristol Bank; in Davidson County and Williamson
County, Tennessee as Middle Tennessee Bank & Trust; and in Wilson
County, Tennessee as President's Trust. In addition, Greene County
Bank also conducts separate businesses through three wholly owned
subsidiaries: Superior Financial Services, Inc., a consumer finance
company; GCB Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company
specializing in subprime automobile lending; and Fairway Title Co., a
title insurance company.

   This news release may contain forward-looking statements regarding
Greene County Bancshares, Inc., as defined in Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements
involve risk and uncertainty and actual results could differ
materially from the anticipated results or other expectations
expressed in the forward-looking statements. A discussion of factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements is included in the Greene
County Bancshares, Inc. filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.