Exhibit 99(a)
Press Released issued on December 21, 2000
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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Michael B. High, CFO/Executive Vice President
(610) 941-4804
Joseph R. Klinger. CEO, Progress Leasing Company
(610) 940-3971
For immediate release:
Progress Financial Corporation Announces Sale of Equipment Leasing Division
Blue Bell, PA, December 21, 2000 -- Progress Financial Corporation
("PFC" - NASDAQ: PFNC) announced it has reached an agreement to sell certain
assets of the Equipment Leasing Company (ELC) to Sandy Spring National Bank, a
subsidiary of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: SASR). ELC, located in Sparks,
Maryland is the Maryland Division of Progress Leasing Company, a wholly owned
subsidiary of PFC. The sale, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be
completed by January 31, 2001. The company expects to recognize a pre-tax profit
on the sale of approximately $1.7 million subject to adjustment based on the
portfolio at closing. The announcement was made today by W. Kirk Wycoff,
President and CEO of PFC.
According to Wycoff, the sale of ELC is part of PFC's strategy to
consolidate its leasing operations in Pennsylvania where there is synergy with
existing Progress Bank lending clients and also to keep PFC in compliance with
OTS regulatory limits on the level of leasing assets allowed for a federal
thrift.
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ELC has been in business for over twenty years originating and
brokering leases for small to medium sized businesses primarily in the
mid-Atlantic region. Their leases provide financing for essential business
equipment such as computers, network systems, office furniture and design
systems, and communications equipment. In the acquisition, Sandy Spring National
Bank expects to acquire approximately $30 million in lease receivables. The
Equipment Leasing Company will continue to be managed by its current president,
Dennis M. Horner and its 17 employees will join the bank's approximately 470
existing employees.
Wycoff also indicated that the Company will add an additional $1.2
million to its loan loss reserves during the fourth quarter of 2000. This
additional provision is due to market conditions which it believes may impact
the loan portfolio at its subsidiary Progress Bank. Although PFC has not
experienced a significant growth in non-accrual loans, it believes it is
appropriate to bolster its reserve ratios at this time. The combination of the
ELC sale and the additional provision for loan losses will increase PFC's ratio
of reserves to loans to in excess of 1.30%.
About Progress Financial Corporation (PFC)
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 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".
About Sandy Spring Bancorp
Sandy Spring Bancorp is the bank holding company for Sandy Spring
National Bank of Maryland, which currently has twenty-nine financial services
offices in Montgomery, Howard, Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties in
Maryland. At September 30, 2000, Sandy Spring Bancorp had consolidated assets of
approximately $1.7 billion, deposit of $1.2 billion, and stockholders' equity of
$115. Million.
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