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) February 3, 1998
Sterling Financial Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Pennsylvania 0-16276 23-2449551
(State or other jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer
of incorporation) Identification No.)
101 North Pointe Boulevard, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601-4133
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's Telephone number, including area code (717) 581-6030
N/A
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
ITEM 5 - OTHER EVENTS
On February 3, 1998, Bank of Lancaster County, N.A.., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Sterling Financial Corporation, issued a press release
announcing jointly with CoreStates Bank, N.A. its plans to
purchase the accounts of the Leola branch of Corestates Bank, which
press release is attached as Exhibit 99 hereto incorporated herein by
reference.
ITEM 7 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
(c) Exhibits:
99 Press Release, of Bank of Lancaster County, dated February 3, 1998,
re: Bank of Lancaster County to Purchase Leola Branch Accounts from
CoreStates
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 hereunto duly authorized.
Sterling Financial Corporation
By:
John E. Stefan, Chairman of the Board,
President and Chief Executive Officer
DATE: February 3, 1998
EXHIBIT INDEX
Page Number in
Manually Signed
Exhibit Original
99 Press Release, dated February 3, 1998,
of Bank of Lancaster County re: Bank of Lancaster
County to Purchase Leola Branch Accounts
from Corestates 5
EXHIBIT 99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: February 3, 1998
Contact Person: John E. Stefan, Chairman and
President
(717) 581-6030
Bank of Lancaster County to Purchase
Leola Branch Accounts from CoreStates
Bank of Lancaster County, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Sterling Financial Corporation, announced jointly today with
CoreStates Bank, N.A. its plans to purchase the accounts of the
Leola branch of CoreStates Bank. The transaction is unrelated to
CoreStates Financial Corp's pending merger with First Union
Corporation.
The branch office is located at 161 Newport Road, Leola and
was formerly owned by Meridian Bank, which was merged into
CoreStates in 1996. In December 1995, Bank of Lancaster County
acquired two other branch offices from CoreStates Bank: one located
at 16 East Main Street, Leola and the other located 280 North
Reading Road, Ephrata. While the December 1995 acquisition included
real estate and customer accounts, this purchase agreement consists
exclusively of customer accounts. The transaction is considered a
branch relocation, since the accounts will be transferred to Bank of
Lancaster County's existing branch office, located less than a mile
away at 16 East Main Street, Leola. Employment elsewhere in the
CoreStates organization will be offered to the three part-time
employees of the branch.
Chairman and President, John E. Stefan, emphatically stated,
"This transaction strengthens our commitment to the Leola community.
Bank of Lancaster County has been interested in purchasing this
particular office for some time now and is pleased to bring this
transaction to fruition."
Bank of Lancaster County currently operates thirty branch
offices, in addition to the bank's wholly owned subsidiary, Town and
Country Leasing, Inc. The bank's Web site is located at
www.blcnet.com.
Sterling Financial Corporation, the holding company for Bank
of Lancaster County, N.A., began trading its common stock in the
NASDAQ National Market on January 29, 1998 using the trading symbol
SLFI. Sterling Financial Corporation, headquartered in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, will report year-end assets of approximately $845
million.
CoreStates Financial Corp is a Philadelphia-based holding
company with assets of approximately $48.5 billion. The company
markets broadly diversified financial products and services in the
Middle Atlantic region and selected products and services worldwide.
Its home page address is http://www.corestates.com.
On November 18, 1997, First Union and CoreStates announced an
agreement to merge. The merger is expected to be consummated by
April 30, 1998, pending CoreStates and First Union shareholder
approval, regulatory approvals and other customary conditions of
closing.
