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[LOGO] WSFS Financial 834 Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801
Corporation
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen A. Fowle
April 6, 2005 (302) 571-6833
WSFS REFINANCES TRUST PREFERRED ISSUANCE
WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ/NMS: WSFS), the parent company of
Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, announced today that it had completed an
issuance of $65 million aggregate principal amount of Pooled Floating Rate
Capital Securities. These securities have a 30-year maturity and are redeemable
by the Company after five years. The securities pay a floating interest rate
based on three-month LIBOR plus 177 basis points and reprice quarterly.
The proceeds from this issuance were used to fund the redemption of
approximately $50 million of Floating Rate WSFS Capital Trust I Preferred
Securities ("WSFS Capital Trust I Securities) and will be used for general
corporate purposes including repurchases of the Company's common stock.
The change in rate, applied to the $50 million of WSFS Capital Trust I
Securities, will save the Company an expected $365,000 in annual, after-tax
interest savings, or $0.03 per share, for the life of the securities. In the
second quarter, and in connection with the redemption, the Company will
recognize a non-cash debt extinguishment charge from the write-down of the
unamortized debt issuance costs of the called securities. The Company estimates
that the write-down charge, net of taxes, will total approximately $728,000, or
$0.10 per share.
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[LOGO] WSFS Financial 834 Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801
Corporation
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The newly issued securities are not registered under the Securities Act
of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration
or an applicable exemption from registration.
Marvin N. Schoenhals, Chairman and President of WSFS said, "We are
pleased to be able to take advantage of the pooled trust preferred structure. It
provides the Company with an opportunity to realize meaningful interest savings
while reducing our capital costs."
WSFS Financial Corporation is a $2.5 billion financial services
company. At December 31, 2004, its principal subsidiary, Wilmington Savings Fund
Society, FSB, operated 24 retail banking offices in all three counties in
Delaware, as well as Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania. Other
continuing operating subsidiaries include: WSFS Investment Group, Inc.,
Montchanin Capital Management, Inc. and WSFS Reit, Inc. For more information,
please visit the Bank's website at www.wsfsbank.com.
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Statements contained in this news release, which are not historical
facts, are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which
include, but are not limited to, factors discussed in documents filed by WSFS
Financial Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to
time. The Corporation does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time or on
behalf of the Corporation.
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