LEWISTON, Idaho, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstBank Corp. (Nasdaq: FBNW),
the holding company for FirstBank Northwest, today announced it will
repurchase an additional 4%, or approximately 79,350, of its common shares on
the open market. The repurchase has been approved by the Office of Thrift
Supervision and will begin immediately. FirstBank recently completed the
repurchase of 5%, or 99,187, of its shares.
"Our conversion to public ownership last year provided FirstBank with
abundant capital, which we intend to use prudently to build shareholder value
and grow our bank," said Clyde E. Conklin, President and Chief Executive
Officer. "We are very confident of our ability to expand our highly
successful community bank franchise in the central Idaho/ eastern Washington
region. Following the recent stock market decline, we believe FBNW shares are
substantially undervalued at the current price of $16.13." At June 30, 1998,
FirstBank's book value equaled $16.53 per share.
FirstBank Corp.'s assets advanced 26% to $194.4 million at June 30, 1998,
from $154.1 million one year ago. Net income doubled to $451,000, or $.25 per
share in the June 30 quarter, from $225,000 in the year-ago period.
Reflecting the $19 million raised in its conversion to stock form of
ownership, shareholder equity was $30.4 million compared to $11.3 million at
June 30, 1997. FirstBank's equity to asset ratio more than doubled to
15.6% at June 30, 1998. The company's September quarter results will be
available in late October.
"Total loan originations in the June quarter were 41% above year ago
levels," Conklin noted. "Commercial loans have shown exceptional growth with
commercial real estate loans triple last year's and commercial non-real estate
loans up more than seven-fold from the June quarter of 1997. At the same
time, non-performing assets declined to just 0.35% of total assets, attesting
to our team's lending experience and the care we have given to ensuring high
loan quality. Performance results to date are meeting our strategic
objectives."
FirstBank Corp. is the parent of FirstBank Northwest, headquartered in
Lewiston, Idaho at the northern end of Hell's Canyon. Founded in 1920, the
Bank converted from its charter as a federal stock savings bank to a
Washington State savings bank charter February 2, 1998. FirstBank currently
operates six branch locations along the Idaho/Eastern Washington border.
FirstBank also has two residential loan centers located in Lewiston and
Coeur d'Alene. The Bank is known as the local community bank, offering its
customers highly personalized service in the many communities it serves.
Statements concerning future performance, developments or events, and any
other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements, which
are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include regional
economic conditions, success in making acquisitions and/or expanding
internally, and government and regulatory actions, which might cause actual
results to differ materially from stated expectations.
SOURCE FirstBank Corp.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.firstbanknw.com
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com or
fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 124037
CONTACT:
Larry K. Moxley, Chief Financial Officer of
FirstBank Corp., 208-746-9610
|
