EXHIBIT 99.1

NEWS RELEASE

FIRSTAR CORPORATION                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                    CONTACT:    Steve Dale (Media)
                                                (414) 765-4455
                                                Joe Messinger     (Analysts)
                                                (414) 765-5235

FIRSTAR CORPORATION ANNOUNCES THREE-FOR-ONE STOCK SPLIT AND PLAN TO REPURCHASE 
FIVE MILLION SHARES

MILWAUKEE, WI., March 9, 1999. . .The board of directors of Firstar 
Corporation (NYSE: FSR) today approved both a three-for-one stock split and a 
plan to repurchase five million (pre-split) shares.  This announcement was 
made by Jerry A. Grundhofer, president and chief executive officer of Firstar 
Corporation, following the regularly scheduled board of directors meeting.

Grundhofer commented, "Firstar's three-for-one stock split should make the 
price of our stock more accessible and desirable to a broader range of 
investors.  We anticipate that the stock split will increase the liquidity and 
marketability of our stock and increase Firstar's total shareholder base.  The 
share repurchase authorization gives the corporation flexibility to maintain 
our strong capital position and return any excess capital to shareholders.

As a result of the stock split, shareholders of record on March 31, 1999 will 
receive an additional two shares of Firstar common stock for each share they 
currently own.  The payable date for the stock split is April 15, 1999.  
Following the stock split, the number of outstanding common shares of Firstar 
stock will triple to approximately 655 million shares with the company's stock 
price and per share earnings reflecting the expanded number of shares.  
Firstar Corporation's last stock split was announced December 10, 1996, when 
the company declared a three-for-one split.

Additionally, shareholders of record on March 31, 1999 will be paid a regular 
quarterly dividend of $0.30 per common share on April 15, 1999 based on pre-
split shares.

Firstar Corporation anticipates that the repurchases for the stock repurchase 
plan will be made periodically throughout the next two years.  The common 
shares may be repurchased in the open market or in privately negotiated 
transactions.  The reacquired common shares will be held as treasury shares 
for reissue for various corporate purposes, including employee stock option 
plans.  Firstar Corporation's closing stock price as of March 8, 1999 was 
$88.25.

Firstar Corporation is a $38.5 billion bank holding company with approximately 
720 full-service banking offices in Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois, 
Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee and Arizona.  Firstar offers a full 
complement of banking, trust, investment, insurance, securities brokerage and 
other financial services.  Firstar Corporation is the parent company of 
Firstar Finance, a consumer finance company and Firstar Investment Research & 
Management Company, LLC (FIRMCO), an investment advisory firm.  Visit Firstar 
on the web at www.firstar.com.  Firstar was founded in 1853.

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