LEWISTON, Idaho, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstBank Corp. (Nasdaq: FBNW),
the holding company for FirstBank Northwest, today announced the Bank has
received approval for its conversion from a federally chartered stock savings
bank to a Washington State-chartered savings bank, effective immediately.
Plans for the conversion were first announced when FirstBank Corp. converted
from the mutual form to the stock form of ownership in July 1997.
    "Our Board believes conversion to a Washington-chartered savings bank is
in the best interest of the Bank, its shareholders, customers, and the
communities it serves," said Clyde E. Conklin, Chief Executive Officer.  "With
offices in Washington and Idaho, we now have the flexibility to expand in
those states and other states that have reciprocal interstate banking
agreements with Washington.  We intend to explore branch acquisitions, opening
new branches, or acquiring other institutions.  Our conversion to stock
ownership last July provided FirstBank with $19 million, and we intend to put
these funds to work profitably and in a sound manner."
    With the conversion to the Washington State charter, FirstBank Northwest
has designated its Clarkston, WA, location at 733 Fifth Street as its main
office.  Clarkston is directly across the Snake River from Lewiston.
FirstBank Corp.'s administrative offices will remain in Lewiston and retain
their current address and telephone number.  FirstBank Northwest's other
branches are located in Lewiston, Orchards, Moscow, Grangeville, and Coeur
d'Alene, Idaho.
    FirstBank's deposits will continue to be insured by the Savings
Association Insurance Fund (SAIF), a part of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).  Under the Washington State charter, FirstBank will be
regulated and supervised by the Washington State Department of Financial
Institutions and the FDIC, rather than by the Office of Thrift Supervision.
FirstBank Northwest will remain a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of
Seattle.
    "While the federal thrift charter permitted nationwide branching, the
possible elimination of the federal thrift charter in favor of a common
charter for federal thrifts and banks could have limited FirstBank's branching
authority in the future," Conklin noted.  "Furthermore, the Washington savings
bank charter will better enable us to pursue our community banking strategy."
    "During the past six months, we have expanded our products and services
with the goal of improving FirstBank's market share and increasing the average
yield of our interest-earnings assets," said Larry K. Moxley, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer.  "We have put on credit card/debit card
systems and implemented a 24-hour voice response system.  We also announced
plans to offer state-of-the-art online banking services to our customers by
Fall of this year.  Online banking services will offer customers in our rather
remote Central Idaho/Eastern Washington market area the ability to pay bills
and conduct nearly all banking transactions from their homes or offices via
PC, touch-tone telephone, a private network or the Internet, or via a
ScreenPhone.
    "Our agricultural real estate and commercial real estate lending
activities already have increased substantially," he noted.  "We also have
expanded our non-mortgage lending activities by increasing our emphasis on
originating agricultural operating loans and commercial business loans.
    "While we anticipate that FirstBank will incur increased expenses
connected with the Clarkston office and as various programs are implemented,
we expect to benefit as income from the new programs and services increase
sufficiently to cover the additional expenses," Moxley added.
    FirstBank Corp. is the parent of FirstBank Northwest, which is
headquartered in Lewiston, Idaho at the northern end of Hell's Canyon.  Assets
grew 33% to $183.1 million at December 31, 1997 (the end of its third fiscal
quarter), from $137.7 million at fiscal year end, March 31, 1997.  The Bank,
founded in 1920, was formed as an Idaho mutual savings and loan association.
It converted to a federal mutual savings and loan association in 1935 and
adopted the federal mutual savings bank charter in 1990.  In April 1997, in
anticipation of the charter conversion, the Bank changed its name from First
Federal Bank of Idaho, a Federal Savings Bank, to FirstBank Northwest.
FirstBank currently operates six branch locations along the Idaho/Eastern
Washington border, plus two residential loan centers located in Lewiston and
Coeur d'Alene, ID.  The Bank is known as the "hometown bank," offering its
customers highly personalized service in the many communities it serves.
    NOTE:  Statements concerning future developments or events, including
expansion plans and new product offerings, as well as any other guidance on
future periods, constitute forward-looking statements which are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties including expansion opportunities, economic
conditions in Idaho and Eastern Washington, product acceptance, competitive
services, market response, and government and regulatory actions which might
cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations.

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