LEWISTON, Idaho, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstBank Corp. (Nasdaq: FBNW),
the holding company for FirstBank Northwest, today announced it has received
FDIC regulatory approval to begin construction of a new branch office in
Liberty Lake, Washington. Liberty Lake is a fast-growing bedroom community
midway between Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
"This new Liberty Lake branch represents FirstBank's initial move to
improve our retail branch network in the fast-growing Coeur d'Alene, Post
Falls and East Spokane Valley corridor markets," said Clyde E. Conklin,
President and Chief Executive Officer. "We intend to grow our retail branch
network as we expand the Bank throughout northern Idaho and eastern
Washington." Liberty Lake will be FirstBank Northwest's seventh retail
branch. Of its current six branches, five are located in Idaho (including one
in Coeur d'Alene). FirstBank's main office is in Clarkston, WA.
FirstBank will break ground on the Appleway Blvd./Liberty Lake Drive site
later this fall. The 2,700 square-foot full service branch, located at the
main intersection in Liberty Lake, is expected to open during summer 1999 and
will employ six.
"Based on demographics, we believe Liberty Lake potentially could be a
$100 million deposit market by the year 2001. Our goal is to achieve deposits
of approximately $15 million by the end of 2001, and perhaps double that by
2005," Conklin said. "We are building a facility that can accommodate this
anticipated growth. Our conversion to public ownership last year has provided
ample capital for this expansion and we are very confident of our ability to
expand our highly successful community bank franchise along the
Washington/Idaho border region.
"The employment base around Liberty Lake is very strong and growing _ with
employers such as the Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HWP); Egghead.com
(Nasdaq: EGGS); and Olivetti, a subsidiary of Olivetti & Cei.
(ADRs OTC: OLIVY) leading the pack," Conklin added. "We expect the employer
base to approach 250 by the year 2001 and the employee base to approach 4,000
by that year."
FirstBank Corp. had assets of $194.4 million at June 30, 1998. Reflecting
FirstBank's conversion to the stock form of ownership last year, shareholder
equity was $30.4 million, book value equaled $16.53 per share, and the equity
to asset ratio more than doubled to 15.6% at June 30, 1998. Net income
doubled to $451,000, or $.25 per share in the June 30, 1998 quarter. The
company's September quarter results will be available in late October.
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.
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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
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