EXHIBIT 99







                  FloridaFirst Bancorp Announces Cash Dividend
                       and Completion of Stock Repurchase


Lakeland, FL, March 6, 2000 (Nasdaq NMS "FFBK"). Gregory C. Wilkes, President of
FloridaFirst Bancorp (the "Company"),  the stock holding company of FloridaFirst
Bank, Lakeland, Florida (the "Bank"), announced the Company's Board of Directors
declared  a  quarterly  cash  dividend  of $.04  per  share.  This is the  third
quarterly  dividend  declared by the Company  since the issuance of its stock on
April 6, 1999.  The cash dividend will be paid to  stockholders  of record as of
March 15,  2000 on or about April 1, 2000.  FloridaFirst  Bancorp MHC will waive
the receipt of its cash dividends.

FloridaFirst  Bancorp  announced  that on February 28, 2000 it had completed the
acquisition  of 15% of its common stock held by persons other than  FloridaFirst
Bancorp  MHC  pursuant  to a  repurchase  plan  approved by the Office of Thrift
Supervision ("OTS"). The 405,578 shares acquired pursuant to the plan were at an
average price of $8.89 per share.

FloridaFirst  Bank has also  received  approval from OTS to acquire up to 4%, or
108,154 of the publicly held shares of FloridaFirst Bancorp for the FloridaFirst
Bank Restricted Stock Plan ("RSP").  Any shares acquired by the RSP will be held
by the RSP Trust until RSP  participants  are vested in the shares.  The vesting
rate  is  20%  per  year.  Therefore,  21,631  shares  will  be  earned  by  the
participants each October for the next five years. The Company will amortize the
cost of such shares over a five-year period.

The Bank is a community-oriented  bank offering a full range of banking services
to businesses and individuals. The Bank operates through nine offices located in
Polk and Manatee Counties in Florida. At December 31, 1999 the Company had total
assets and stockholders'  equity of $523 million and $59 million,  respectively.
The  Company's  common stock is traded on the Nasdaq  National  Market under the
symbol "FFBK."

For further information,  contact Kerry P. Charlet at (863) 688-6811,  Extension
1004.