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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 (d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)
May 3, 1999
FIRST PLACE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
New Mexico 0-25956 85-0317365
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(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S Employer
incorporation or organization) file number) Identification No.)
100 East Broadway, Farmington, New Mexico 87401
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Address of principal executive offices Zip Code
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (505) 324-9500
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
Shareholder letter dated May 3, 1999, announcing first quarter 1999
earnings and quarterly dividend.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(c) EXHIBITS
99.1 Shareholder letter dated May 3, 1999.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
FIRST PLACE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
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(Registrant)
Date: May 3, 1999 /s/ James D. Rose
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President and Chief Operating Officer
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FIRST PLACE
[LOGO] FINANCIAL
CORPORATION
May 3, 1999
Dear Shareholder:
We are pleased to report that at their last meeting, the Board of
Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $.37 per share, payable
May 3, 1999, to shareholders of record as of April 19, 1999.
We are also pleased to report that net income for the first quarter of
1999 was $3,021,000, up $1,336,000, or 79.3%, compared to the first quarter
of 1998. Although the primary factor contributing to this increase was the
$1,174,000 pre-tax decrease in the provision for loan losses during the
quarter, it is significant that pre-tax operating income was $468,000 higher
than the year earlier period.
Total assets at March 31, 1999 were $923,022,000, up 2.3% from December
31, 1998 and down .5% compared to March 31, 1998. Investment securities were
up 5.8% compared to year-end and up 25.8% versus last year.
Even though total loans were down $39,548,000, or 8.3%, versus first
quarter 1998, net interest income was up $205,000, or 2.8%, primarily as the
result of diligent efforts to reduce our cost of funds. It is also gratifying
to report that non-interest income for the quarter was 32.6% higher than last
year while non-interest expense was up only 1.8%, despite the fact that we
operated three more banking offices in first quarter 1999 than in 1998.
One of the new offices is Capital Bank, which opened last October in
Albuquerque. Capital Bank recently surpassed $20,000,000 in total assets and
we are very encouraged by the recent surge in loan activity. We remain
confident that this investment will make significant contributions to future
long-term growth and profitability.
The other two offices opened during the past year were the Kirtland and
Furr's Supermarket branches of First National Bank of Farmington. Western
Bank, Gallup is scheduled to open a branch in the new Wal-Mart superstore on
May 19, 1999. At that point, the Company will be operating 17 banking offices.
In summary, we believe the steps taken over the past two years to update
our technology and expand our banking offices is starting to pay off and will
position us well for the future.
Although most bank stocks, especially "small cap" bank stocks, have
been depressed over the past few months, we are pleased to report that recent
trades of First Place stock (symbol FPLF) have been in the mid- to high-$50
range.
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As a shareholder, you can help increase the value of your investment by
being a customer of one of the company's subsidiary banks and by recommending
us to your friends and colleagues. Word of mouth recommendations by satisfied
customers are the best marketing efforts we can have.
/s/ Richard I. Ledbetter /s/ James D. Rose
Richard I. Ledbetter James D. Rose
Chairman of the Board and President and
Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer
