EXHIBIT 99.1
Contacts: Kermit K. Houser Marshall J. Alexander
President and CEO Executive VP and CFO
(541) 882-3444 X7133 (541) 882-3444 X7120
News Release
Klamath First Bancorp, Inc. Announces Shareholder Approval
of Merger with Sterling Financial Corporation
and Final Quarterly Cash Dividend
KLAMATH FALLS, OR, December 11, 2003 - Klamath First Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq KFBI)
today announced that its shareholders had approved the Agreement and Plan of
Merger dated July 14, 2003, which provides for the merger of Klamath First
Bancorp with and into Sterling Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: STSA) at a special
meeting of its shareholders held earlier today.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, shareholders of Klamath First Bancorp
will be entitled to receive for each share of Klamath First Bancorp common stock
0.77 shares of Sterling common stock and cash in lieu of any fractional shares.
The merger has been structured as a tax-free reorganization within the meaning
of Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and will be
accounted for as a "purchase." The Boards of Directors of Klamath First Bancorp
and Sterling unanimously approved the merger.
The parties currently anticipate that the proposed merger will be completed in
early January 2004, which date will be the last day of trading for Klamath First
Bancorp's stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
In connection with today's shareholder approval, Klamath First Bancorp also
announced that its Board of Directors declared a final quarterly cash dividend
of $0.13 per share of common stock. The dividend will be paid on December 31,
2003 to shareholders of record on December 19, 2003, just prior to the expected
closing date of the Klamath/Sterling merger. This will be the 33rd consecutive
and final cash dividend declared by Klamath First Bancorp.
ABOUT KLAMATH
Klamath First Bancorp is the holding company for Klamath First Federal Savings
and Loan Association (Klamath First Federal), organized in 1934. Klamath First
Federal is a progressive, community-oriented financial institution that focuses
on serving customers within its primary market area. Accordingly, Klamath First
Federal is primarily engaged in attracting deposits from the general public
through its offices and using those and other available sources of funds to
originate permanent residential one- to four-family real estate loans within its
market area, as well as commercial real estate and multi-family residential
loans, loans to consumers and loans for commercial purposes. Klamath First
Federal currently operates 59 branches, with 57 branches located in 26 of
Oregon's 36 counties and has two in-store branches in the State of Washington.
ABOUT STERLING
Sterling Financial Corporation of Spokane, Washington, is a unitary savings and
loan holding company, which owns Sterling Savings Bank. Sterling Savings Bank is
a Washington State-chartered, federally insured stock savings association, which
opened in April 1983. Sterling Savings Bank, based in Spokane, Washington, has
branches throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon and western Montana. Through
Sterling's wholly owned subsidiaries Action Mortgage Company and
INTERVEST-Mortgage Investment Company, it operates loan production offices in
Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. Sterling's subsidiary Harbor
Financial Services provides non-bank investments, including mutual funds,
variable annuities, and tax-deferred annuities, through regional representatives
throughout Sterling Savings Bank's branch network.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements about (i) the proposed
merger between Sterling Financial Corporation and Klamath First Bancorp, Inc.;
(ii) Klamath First Bancorp's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and
other statements contained in this presentation that are not historical facts;
and (iii) other statements identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates,"
"intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," or words of similar
meaning generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations
of the management of Klamath First Bancorp and are inherently subject to
significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies,
many of which are beyond our control. In addition, these forward-looking
statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies
and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ materially
from the anticipated results discussed in these forward-looking statements
because of numerous possible uncertainties.
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) adverse regulatory conditions may be imposed in
connection with governmental approvals of the merger; (2) changes in interest
rates; (3) changes in tax laws; (4) changes in general economic conditions or
(5) changes in the securities markets. Additional factors, that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
statements are discussed in Sterling's and Klamath First Bancorp's reports (such
as 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, which
are available on its Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Klamath First Bancorp
disclaims any obligation to publicly announce future events or developments that
may affect the forward-looking statements herein.
# # #
Note: Transmitted on BusinessWire at 1:30 pm PDT, December 11, 2003.