BTO John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

BOSTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At an adjourned session of their annual meeting on May 18, 2009, shareholders of John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund (NYSE:BTO), elected Deborah C. Jackson, Charles L. Ladner, Stanley Martin, John A. Moore, Gregory A. Russo and John G. Vrysen to serve as Trustees of the fund. Ms. Jackson will serve as a Trustee of the fund until the next annual shareholder meeting in 2010; Mr. Russo will serve until the annual shareholder meeting in 2011; and each of Messrs. Ladner, Martin, Moore and Vrysen will serve until the annual shareholder meeting in 2012. Shareholders of the fund also approved a new form of investment advisory agreement with the fund's adviser, John Hancock Advisers, LLC. The new form of investment advisory agreement will not result in any change in the fund's advisory fee rate or the level or quality of advisory services provided to the fund. About John Hancock Funds The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds manages more than $35.8 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at March 31, 2009. About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation (the Company), a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$405 billion (US$322 billion) at March 31, 2009. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at http://www.manulife.com/. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at http://www.johnhancock.com/. DATASOURCE: John Hancock Bank and Thrift Opportunity Fund CONTACT: Media, Kelly Stevens of John Hancock Financial, +1-617-663-2422, Investors, +1-800-843-0090 Web Site: http://www.johnhancock.com/

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