EXHIBIT 99.1
                                                                    ------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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For:     MAF Bancorp, Inc.                Contact:     Jerry Weberling, EVP and
         55th Street & Holmes Avenue                     Chief Financial Officer
         Clarendon Hills, IL 60514                     Michael J. Janssen
                                                          Senior Vice President
                                                       (630) 325-7300


                       MAF BANCORP ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF
                     ST. FRANCIS CAPITAL CORPORATION MERGER

Clarendon Hills, Illinois, December 1, 2003 - MAF Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAFB)
announced that it has completed its acquisition of St. Francis Capital
Corporation today. As a result of the transaction, which was announced on May
21, 2003, St. Francis Capital Corporation has been merged into MAF Bancorp, and
St. Francis Bank, the wholly-owned banking subsidiary of St. Francis Capital,
has been merged into Mid America Bank, the wholly-owned banking subsidiary of
MAF Bancorp. MAF intends to operate its Milwaukee area offices using the name
"St. Francis Bank, a division of Mid America Bank, fsb," for the foreseeable
future.

Each share of St. Francis common stock was converted into the right to receive
0.79 shares of MAF Bancorp common stock resulting in the issuance of
approximately 7.5 million shares. The aggregate transaction value, including
stock options, totaled approximately $357.7 million, based on the MAF closing
stock price on December 1, 2003.

Following the St. Francis merger, MAF, which is headquartered in Clarendon
Hills, Illinois, has total assets of approximately $9.0 billion and total
deposits of approximately $5.6 billion. The acquisition of St. Francis provides
Mid America with 23 branch locations in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. In total,
Mid America operates a network of 66 retail banking offices throughout Chicago
and Milwaukee and their surrounding areas. MAF's common stock is traded on the
Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol MAFB.