Business Wire
September 30, 2005 09:00 AM US Eastern Timezone

Interchange Financial Services Corporation Receives Regulatory and Franklin Bank
Shareholder Approval of Acquisition

SADDLE BROOK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2005--Interchange Financial
Services Corporation, (NASDAQ: IFCJ), the holding company for Interchange Bank
("Interchange"), announced that it received approval from federal and state
regulatory authorities and Franklin Bank shareholders to acquire the Nutley, New
Jersey bank.

The transaction had previously been approved by the Boards of Directors of both
companies and is expected to be completed after the requisite waiting period.
Upon completion of the transaction, Interchange will operate 30 banking offices
and will have approximately $1.6 billion in assets.

Commenting on the action, Anthony S. Abbate, president and chief executive
officer of Interchange said, "This acquisition allows us to spring-board into
Essex County and we are pleased to receive these necessary approvals. Franklin's
loyal customer and employee base, along with the Essex County Advisory Board
will assist us in growing our franchise in Nutley and adjacent markets."

AboutInterchange Bank

Headquartered in Saddle Brook, NJ, Interchange Bank is one of Bergen County's
largest independent commercial banks and a wholly owned subsidiary of
Interchange Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:IFCJ). With $1.5 billion in assets
and 29 branches throughout Bergen County, Interchange Bank offers services
specifically designed for businesses, including: Small Business Checking with
lower minimum balances; Rapid Response loans up to $250,000 and approvals within
48 hours; Business Class Banking with an automatic sweep feature; cash
management services; equipment leasing; escrow management; corporate Visa
account; a business check card, featuring interest-free business purchases;
merchant credit card services and free wire transfers. Interchange is an SBA
Preferred Lender, financing many local small businesses that otherwise might not
qualify under standard credit requirements. All business banking can be
accomplished online via Interbanking, which provides 24/7 access to accounts.
For additional information, please visit the company's Web site at
www.interchangebank.com.

About Franklin Bank

Franklin is a New Jersey state bank which conducts traditional commercial
banking business, accepting deposits from the general public, including
individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and governmental units.
Franklin originates commercial loans, consumer loans and both residential and
commercial real estate loans. As of June 30, 2005, Franklin Bank had total
assets of approximately $91.9 million. Franklin is headquartered in Nutley,
Essex County, New Jersey.

Forward Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but
are not limited to, (i) statements about the benefits of the acquisition of
Franklin by Interchange, including future financial and operating results, cost
savings, enhanced revenues, and accretion to reported earnings that may be
realized from the merger; (ii) statements with respect to Interchange's and
Franklin's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements
that are not historical facts; and (iii) other statements identified by words
such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans,"
"targets," "projects" and similar expressions. These statements are based upon
the current beliefs and expectations of Interchange's and Franklin's management
and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may
differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ
materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the
forward-looking statements: (1) the risk that the businesses of Interchange and
Franklin will not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more
difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; (2) expected revenue
synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized
within the expected time frame; (3) revenues following the merger may be lower
than expected; (4) deposit attrition, operating costs, customer loss and
business disruption following the merger, including, without limitation,
difficulties in maintaining relationships with employees, may be greater than
expected; (5) competitive pressures among depository and other financial
institutions may increase significantly and have an effect on pricing, spending,
third-party relationships and revenues; (6) the strength of the United States
economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which the combined
company will conduct operations may be different than expected resulting in,
among other things, a deterioration in credit quality or a reduced demand for
credit, including the resultant effect on the combined company's loan portfolio
and allowance for loan losses; (7) changes in the U.S. and foreign legal and
regulatory framework; and (8) adverse conditions in the stock market, the public
debt market and other capital markets (including changes in interest rate
conditions) and the impact of such conditions on the combined company's capital
markets and asset management activities. Additional factors that could cause
Interchange's results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in Interchange's (such as the SEC
registration statement form S-4 proxy statement of Franklin and prospectus of
Interchange, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
Current Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). All subsequent
written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the proposed transaction
or other matters attributable to Interchange or Franklin or any person acting on
their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary
statements above. Interchange and Franklin 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.

Contacts
Keating & Co.
Meghan  Flanagan  /  Vicki  Banner,  973-966-1100
mflanagan@keatingco.com
vbanner@keatingco.com