EXHIBIT 99.1
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: December 17, 2004
COMPANY: Central Federal Corporation and CFBank
2923 Smith Road
Fairlawn, Ohio 44333
CONTACT: David C. Vernon
Chairman, President and CEO
PHONE: 330.666.7979 Fax: 330.666.7959
MARK S. ALLIO NAMED VICE CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CENTRAL FEDERAL
CORPORATION AND VICE CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF CFBANK.
Fairlawn, Ohio - December 17, 2004 - Central Federal Corporation (Nasdaq: GCFC)
announced that Mark S. Allio has been named Vice Chairman, President and CEO of
Central Federal Corporation and Vice Chairman and CEO of CFBank effective
February 1, 2005. David C. Vernon, current Chairman, President and CEO of
Central Federal Corporation and Chairman and CEO of CFBank, will remain Chairman
of the Board of the Corporation and CFBank for another year, until December 31,
2005, at which time he will become Vice Chairman of the Corporation and Bank,
and Mr. Allio will assume the position of Chairman. Mr. Vernon will remain Vice
Chairman until his expected retirement date in February 2008. At that time Mr.
Vernon will be named Chairman Emeritus and remain a Director of the Corporation
and CFBank.
"This is a significant step in strengthening the management of Central Federal
Corporation and CFBank. It is rare for a company our size to be able to attract
the management talent we have been able to bring to this Company, and adding Mr.
Allio to the management team brings us to the launch point as we complete the
process of positioning Central Federal Corporation and CFBank for growth and
increased profitability," said David C. Vernon.
"I have wanted to be part of this effort since the day Dave Vernon and I first
met. It was obvious from the beginning that we shared a vision about the kind of
outstanding financial services company we wanted to build together," added
Allio.
Akron business leader William Downing, who is a Director for both Central
Federal Corporation and CFBank, stated, "The employees of CFBank and the
communities served by the Bank are indebted to Dave Vernon for his
service-oriented approach to the banking business. We are fortunate that Dave
will remain with the Corporation and the Bank in a capacity that will insure the
same high level of
personal service will continue and to foster a seamless transition to the
next generation of management."
ABOUT MARK S. ALLIO
Mr. Allio is an Akron native who attended Hoban High School and Baldwin Wallace
College. He worked in public accounting with the firms of Arthur Andersen and
KPMG for 12 years. His focus was in tax law and planning. In 1988 he joined
Third Federal Savings, in Cleveland, Ohio as their chief financial officer and
worked with a team to grow the business from $1.5 billion to $8.5 billion in
assets, becoming the largest federal mutual savings and loan in the country and
the largest residential lender in Cuyahoga, Summit, Franklin and Hamilton
Counties in Ohio. In 2000, he was promoted to President of Third Federal's
holding company and assisted in the growth of additional investments and
business activities. Mr. Allio left Third Federal in 2002 to pursue an
opportunity to obtain a charter and build a bank for Quicken Loans in Livonia,
Michigan. Mr. Allio joined the board of CFBank in June of 2003 and will begin
his management duties on February 1, 2005.
Mr. Allio resides in Bath, Ohio with his wife, Michele. Mark and Michele have
three children. They are members of St Hilary's Church and support many
non-profit organizations focusing on housing, hunger centers, elderly housing
and education.
ABOUT CENTRAL FEDERAL CORPORATION AND CFBANK
Central Federal Corporation (Nasdaq: GCFC), the holding company for CFBank, was
organized as a Delaware corporation in September 1998 in connection with the
bank's conversion from a mutual to stock organization, which was completed on
December 30, 1998. CFBank is a community-oriented financial services company
founded in 1892. Its home office is in Fairlawn, Ohio. It operates two
additional offices in Columbiana County, Ohio, and one in Columbus, Ohio.
Reserve Mortgage Services, Inc., an Ohio corporation, became a wholly owned
subsidiary of CFBank in October 2004.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend these
forward-looking statements to be subject to the safe harbor created by that
provision. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future events and our
plans, goals and objectives. Our actual results may differ materially from these
statements. Although we believe the assumptions underlying the assumptions are
reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, we
can give no assurances that the results contemplated in these forward-looking
statements will be realized. The inclusion of this forward-looking information
should not be regarded as a representation by our company or by any person that
the future events, plans or expectations contemplated by our company will be
chieved. Furthermore, past performance in operations and share price is not
necessarily predictive of future performance.