FLC Flaherty and Crumrine Total Return Fund Inc

The Board of Directors of Flaherty & Crumrine/Claymore Total Return Fund Incorporated (NYSE: FLC) announced the payment of the September dividend of $0.1365 per share payable to stockholders of record on September 23, 2008 and the declaration of a dividend of $0.1225 per share for the month of October. The terms of the Fund�s Articles Supplementary Establishing and Fixing the Rights and Preferences of the Auction Market Preferred Stock required the Fund to delay the payment of its September common stock dividend because certain asset coverage requirements were not met. Those requirements have now been met for both the payment of the September dividend and the declaration of the October dividend. The reduction in the Fund�s asset coverage had been the result of declining market values for the Fund�s assets, which consist primarily of preferred securities. The market values of preferred securities, along with most other fixed income securities, have been experiencing substantial declines as a result of the ongoing financial crisis. Last week�s uncertainty of a U.S. government rescue plan further severely disrupted the securities markets and the valuations of the financial companies which are the primary issuers of preferred securities. The Fund expects to continue to work towards meeting asset coverage requirements on an ongoing basis so that dividends can be paid and declared. However, there can be no guarantee that the Fund will be able to meet such asset coverage requirements. The October dividend is expected to be paid on October 31, 2008 to holders of record of each Fund�s Common Stock on October 24, 2008. The expected ex-dividend date is October 22, 2008. The Fund has reduced the amount of the dividend from earlier levels as a result of its recent de-leveraging in response to declining market values for the Fund�s assets. FLC was organized in 2003 as a closed-end, diversified investment company. FLC invests primarily in preferred and other income-producing securities with a primary investment objective of high current income and a secondary objective of capital appreciation. FLC is managed by Flaherty & Crumrine Incorporated, an independent investment adviser which was founded in 1983 to specialize in the management of portfolios of preferred and related securities. Website: www.fcclaymore.com