INDIANA, Pa., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Commonwealth
Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF) announced that it will not apply for funds
through the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), which is part of the federal
government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030416/FIRSTLOGO )
"After a thorough review, we have made a business decision not to apply
for capital through the CPP," stated John J. Dolan, President and CEO of First
Commonwealth. "Although we support the federal government's efforts to
increase the flow of credit by injecting capital into the banking industry, we
believe that participation in the government program would only be appropriate
for First Commonwealth if we were unable to raise capital in any other
acceptable manner." Dolan added, "We recently raised over $100 million through
a successful public offering of common stock and believe that we have
sufficient capital to continue to meet the credit needs of businesses and
consumers in our communities for the foreseeable future."
About First Commonwealth Financial Corporation
First Commonwealth Financial Corporation is a $6.2 billion bank holding
company headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania. It operates 113 retail branch
offices in 15 counties in western and central Pennsylvania through First
Commonwealth Bank, a Pennsylvania chartered bank and trust company. Financial
services and insurance products are also provided through First Commonwealth
Insurance Agency and First Commonwealth Financial Advisors, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements
concerning capital adequacy and expected future growth. These forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties, many
of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results, performance or
achievements to differ materially from the results, performance or
achievements contemplated by the forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties include, among others, (1) adverse changes in economic or
business conditions, (2) declines in the market value of investment
securities, (3) increases in defaults by borrowers and delinquencies, (4)
fluctuations in interest rates, (5) changes in legislative or regulatory
requirements applicable to the banking or financial industry, and (6) other
risks and uncertainties that are described in the reports that we file with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent annual
report on Form 10-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they
are made. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the
forward-looking statements are made.
SOURCE First Commonwealth Financial Corporation
Contact: Edward J. Lipkus III, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, +1-724-349-7220