Exhibit 99
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NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2003 For Further Information Contact:
Paul M. Limbert
President & CEO
or
Robert H. Young
Executive VP & CFO
(304) 234-9000
NASDAQ Trading Symbol: WSBC
Website: www.wesbanco.com
WesBanco Announces Resignation of Chairman
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Wheeling, WV. Paul M. Limbert, President & CEO of WesBanco, Inc., a
Wheeling, West Virginia based multi-state bank holding company, today
announced that WesBanco's Chairman of the Board, James C. Gardill, submitted
his resignation as Chairman and member of WesBanco, Inc.'s Board of
Directors, as well as a member of various subsidiary boards of WesBanco
effective August 31, 2003. Mr. Gardill will continue to represent WesBanco
as its outside legal counsel.
Mr. Limbert stated "WesBanco has been extremely well served by Jim's
leadership as a member of our board for over 23 years and as chairman for
the past 13 years. While we regret Jim's decision to resign from our boards,
we expect to continue seeking his advice and counsel on an ongoing basis as
our general counsel. Jim's knowledge of bank regulatory matters, as well as
his corporate law expertise have uniquely benefited our boards, senior
management and shareholders for many years, and that service will continue.
On behalf of WesBanco's Board of Directors, we wish Jim well in his personal
and business pursuits, and thank him for his energy, countless hours of
service, leadership, and his counsel over the past quarter century."
Mr. Gardill stated "I have enjoyed tremendously my tenure with WesBanco. As
I noted in my letter of resignation, the current litigation environment
coupled with a very risk averse insurance market for malpractice insurance
in West Virginia, has made it impossible to maintain malpractice insurance
coverage for my law firm and continue my other capacities with WesBanco.
Even though such dual role is not prohibited by any law, rule, regulation or
ethics rule, my law firm has been advised that its coverage will not
continue unless I resign from my other capacities."
Mr. Gardill was elected as a non-employee Chairman by the Board of Directors
in 1990 when WesBanco separated the position of chief executive officer and
Chairman for corporate governance purposes. It is anticipated that the
Board of Directors will consider the continuation of the position and the
designation of a successor at its next regularly scheduled meeting in October.
WesBanco is a multi-state bank holding company presently operating through
72 banking offices and 105 ATM machines in West Virginia, Central and Eastern
Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. WesBanco is the second largest bank holding
company headquartered in West Virginia with the third overall deposit market
share. Its banking subsidiary is WesBanco Bank, Inc., headquartered in
Wheeling, West Virginia. In addition, WesBanco operates an insurance
brokerage company, WesBanco Insurance Services, Inc. and a full service
broker/dealer, WesBanco Securities, Inc. that also operates Mountaineer
Securities, WesBanco's discount brokerage operation.
Forward-looking statements in this press release relating to WesBanco's
plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions and adequacy of
resources, are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information contained in
this press release should be read in conjunction with the company's most
recent annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, as well as Form 10-Q for
the prior quarter ended June 30, 2003 which are available at the SEC's
website (www.sec.gov) or at WesBanco's website (www.wesbanco.com).
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements, which are not
historical fact, involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements are
subject to important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by such statements, including without
limitation, the effect of changing regional and national economic
conditions; changes in interest rates, spreads on earning assets and
interest-bearing liabilities, and associated interest rate sensitivity;
sources of liquidity available to the parent company and its related
subsidiary operations; potential future credit losses and the credit
risk of commercial, real estate, and consumer loan customers and their
borrowing activities; actions of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation; potential legislative and federal and state
regulatory actions and reform; competitive conditions in the financial
services industry; rapidly changing technology affecting financial
services, and/or other external developments materially impacting WesBanco's
operational and financial performance. WesBanco does not assume any duty to
update forward-looking statements.
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