PENNROCK FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP
1060 MAIN STREET
BLUE BALL, PENNSYLVANIA 17560
DATE: January 11, 2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cathy Farmer
717 393-9776
PENNROCK FINANCIAL SERVICES ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION
BLUE BALL, Pa. - PennRock Financial Services Corp. (Nasdaq:
PRFS), owner of Blue Ball National Bank, announced today that it
has signed a definitive agreement to acquire The National
Advisory Group, Dresher, Pa. This acquisition broadens
PennRock's involvement in asset management, retirement plan
administration, and financial planning services.
The National Advisory Group will retain its name and will
operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of PennRock Financial
Services Corp. The purchase price for the acquisition was not
disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the first
quarter of 2001, subject to the receipt of all regulatory
approvals and other conditions.
"In recent years, asset management has become an
increasingly important part of the services offered by banks
like ours," said Melvin Pankuch, executive vice president and
chief executive officer of PennRock. "With The National
Advisory Group as part of our financial management team, we will
be in a position to offer our clients and banking customers
greatly expanded services, not only in asset management, but
also in the administration of retirement plans, financial
planning, and banking in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and Delaware. The acquisition of The National Advisory Group is
an important step towards our goal of becoming a fully
integrated financial services company."
Assets under management at Blue Ball National Bank have
grown by more than 100 percent during the past three years,
reaching about $280 million as of the end of 2000. Pankuch
stated, "To this expanding side of our banking business, The
National Advisory Group will bring an additional $150 million in
assets under management. In addition, The National Advisory
Group provides retirement plan administration services to more
than 500 corporate programs."
Pankuch added, "For clients of The National Advisory Group,
the acquisition will provide convenient access to traditional
banking services and products offered by Blue Ball National
Bank. We are enthusiastic about this affiliation between two
successful and growing entities because we see so many ways in
which the new joint effort can make a broader range of services
available to the clients of each organization. And, of course,
we also expect that this will lead to expanded opportunities for
PennRock as a whole, especially through the generation of
increased fee income." At Blue Ball National Bank, he
explained, fees for trust and management services reached a
record $1.41 million in 2000, an 18 percent increase over those
of 1999.
Established in 1984 and located at Dresher in Montgomery
County, Pa., The National Advisory Group is the closely held
parent company for four corporations: National Actuarial
Consultants, Ltd., which provides consulting, actuarial, and
administrative services to numerous retirement and employee
benefit plans throughout the mid-Atlantic region; National
Financial Advisors, Inc., which offers investment, advisory, and
asset management services to retirement plan sponsors and
participants and to high-net-worth investors, and also serves as
an investment advisor to The Dresher Family of Funds; NFA
Brokerage Services, Inc., which is a mutual-funds-only broker
dealer; and National Shareholder Services, Inc., which provides
transfer agency services for The Dresher Family of Funds. The
Dresher Family of Funds is an open-end diversified management
investment company (i.e., a mutual fund), which presently
consists of two portfolios: The Dresher Comprehensive Growth
Fund and The Dresher Classic Retirement Fund.
The acquiring company, PennRock Financial Services Corp.,
is a bank holding company with assets of more than $900 million.
Its shares, traded on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol
PRFS, are owned by more than 2,600 shareholders across the
United States. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Ball National
Bank, founded in 1906, delivers financial and related services
through its 15 offices situated in Lancaster, Berks, and Chester
counties in Pennsylvania. (Additional information on the
organization is available at the Web site www.bbnb.com.) The
bank recently opened a branch in East Hempfield Township,
Lancaster County, and plans on opening two new branches in its
marketing area during the next several months.
"Through the years we at Blue Ball National Bank have
worked to develop a reputation as a friendly neighborhood bank,"
Pankuch said. "We tell our clients and prospective clients,
'Keep your eye on the ball,' because we want them to grow with
us into the future. The acquisition of The National Advisory
Group should enable us to move even further in this direction."
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
that are based upon PennRock Financial Services Corp.'s current
expectations, estimates, and projections about future events and
financial trends affecting the financial condition of its
business. Such statements are not historical facts or
guarantees of future performance, events, or results. Such
statements involve potentially significant risks and
uncertainties. Accordingly, actual results may differ
materially from those discussed in such forward-looking
statements. Factors which might cause such a difference
include, but are not limited to, possible changes in legislation
or regulations and changes in economic, competitive, and
technological conditions which could affect PennRock Financial
Services Corp.'s operations, pricing, products, and services.
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