EXHIBIT 99.1
NEWS RELEASE
Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFS)
First Sentinel Bancorp, Inc (Nasdaq: FSLA)
Contact:
Kenneth J. Wagner Ann C. Clancy
Senior Vice President Executive Vice President
Investor Relations Investor Relations
Provident Financial Services, Inc. First Sentinel Bancorp, Inc.
830 Bergen Avenue 1000 Woodbridge Center Drive
Jersey City, NJ 07306 Woodbridge, NJ 07095
201-915-5344 732-726-9700 x5514
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 8, 2004
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PROVIDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. AND FIRST SENTINEL
BANCORP, INC. OBTAIN FDIC APPROVAL OF THE FIRST SENTINEL
MERGER
JERSEY CITY, N.J. & WOODBRIDGE, N.J.-- Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:
PFS) ("Provident") and First Sentinel Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLA) ("First
Sentinel") have received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
to complete the merger of First Savings Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of
First Sentinel, with and into The Provident Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of
Provident. The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance also has approved
the merger.
The merger of First Sentinel with and into Provident remains subject to
the approval of the stockholders of both Provident and First Sentinel.
Stockholders' meetings are scheduled for both companies on June 23, 2004. A
Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus dated May 7, 2004 has been mailed to
stockholders of record of both Provident and First Sentinel as of April 30,
2004, respectively. The transaction also remains subject to the non-objection of
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Provident has provided the requisite
notice of the transaction to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Assuming the
non-objection of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and receipt of stockholder
approvals, it is anticipated that the transaction will be consummated in
mid-July.
First Sentinel stockholders have the option to elect to receive $22.25
in cash, 1.092 shares of Provident common stock or a combination thereof for
each of their shares of First Sentinel common stock, subject to the allocation
and proration requirements of the Merger Agreement. Election materials will be
mailed to First Sentinel stockholders on or about June 9, 2004. First Sentinel
stockholders will have until 5:00 p.m. on June 30, 2004 to submit completed
election form(s) and related materials indicating their preference. This
deadline may be extended
by Provident and First Sentinel under certain circumstances described in the
election materials and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus. Questions regarding
the election procedures should be directed to First Sentinel's information
agent, Georgeson Shareholder Communications, Inc., at 1-800-368-9818.
Provident and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Provident Bank, reported
assets of $4.26 billion and deposits of $2.69 billion as of March 31, 2004. The
Provident Bank is a full-service, community-oriented bank that provides
financial services to individuals, families and businesses through 54
full-service banking offices in northern and central New Jersey. First Sentinel
and its wholly owned subsidiary, First Savings Bank, reported assets of $2.18
billion and deposits of $1.35 billion as of March 31, 2004. First Savings Bank
is a full-service, community-oriented bank that provides financial services to
individuals, families and businesses through 22 full-service banking offices in
central New Jersey.
This release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy
common stock. The offer is made only by the prospectus. The shares of common
stock are not savings accounts, may lose value and are not insured by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any government agency.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements about the proposed
merger of Provident Financial Services, Inc. and First Sentinel Bancorp, Inc.
These statements include statements regarding the anticipated closing date of
the transaction. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that
they include words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and
"intend" or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should,"
"could," or "may." Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from expected results include delays in completing the merger,
legislative and regulatory changes and other factors disclosed by Provident
Financial Services, Inc. and First Sentinel Bancorp, Inc. in their periodic
filings with the SEC. Provident Financial Services, Inc. and First Sentinel
Bancorp, Inc. do not undertake, and specifically disclaim, any obligation to
publicly release the results of any revisions that may be made to any
forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or
unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
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