Exhibit 99(a)
Press Released issued on December 14, 2000
<PAGE>
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Michael B. High, CFO/Executive Vice President
(610) 941-4804
Dorothy Jaworski, Director of Investor Relations
(484) 322-4822
For immediate release:
Progress Financial Corporation to Repurchase
Up To 285,000 Shares of Common Stock
Blue Bell, PA, December 14, 2000 -- Progress Financial Corporation (the
"Company") announced today that it has completed the repurchase of 280,000
shares of common stock under its previously announced stock repurchase program
and that the Company's Board of Directors has authorized a new repurchase
program for the repurchase of up to 285,000 shares, or five percent, of the
Company's outstanding common stock.
Repurchases are authorized to be made by the Company from time to time
in open-market transactions as, in the opinion of management, market conditions
warrant. The repurchased shares will be held as treasury stock and may be
reserved for issuance pursuant to the Company's stock benefit plans.
W. Kirk Wycoff, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company,
stated, "The repurchase program reflects management's belief that the current
price of the Company's common stock does not adequately reflect the Company's
long-term business and earnings prospects. The use of our capital must continue
to be balanced with other internal and external investment opportunities while
maximizing the use of existing assets and resources to generate shareholder
value. The Company is fortunate to have the financial flexibility that allows it
to demonstrate its commitment to and confidence in its future prospects."
Progress Financial Corporation is a unitary thrift holding company
headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. The business of the Company consists
primarily of the operation of Progress Bank, which serves businesses and
consumers through sixteen full service offices. The Company also offers a
diversified array of financial services including equipment leasing through
Progress Leasing Company, with offices in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and Timonium,
Maryland, and financial planning services and investments through Progress
Financial Resources, Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
asset based lending through Progress Business Credit. In addition, the Company
also conducts commercial mortgage banking and brokerage services through
Progress Realty Advisors, Inc. with locations in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania;
Richmond and Chesapeake, Virginia; Woodbridge, New Jersey; and Raleigh, North
Carolina. The Company also receives fees for the construction and development of
assisted living communities through Progress Development Corporation; venture
capital activities managed by Progress Capital Management, Inc.; and financial
and operational management consulting services for commercial clients through
KMR Management, Inc. located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. The Company's common
stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, National Market under the Symbol
"PFNC".
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