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MILTON FEDERAL FINANCIAL CORPORATION
EXHIBIT NO. 99.2
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SAFE HARBOR UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
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The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") provides a
"safe harbor" for forward-looking statements to encourage companies to provide
prospective information about their companies, so long as those statements are
identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the statement. Milton Federal
Financial Corporation ("MFFC") desires to take advantage of the "safe harbor"
provisions of the Act. Certain information, particularly information regarding
future economic performance and finances and plans and objectives of management,
contained or incorporated by reference in MFFC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
fiscal year 1996 is forward-looking. In some cases, information regarding
certain important factors that could cause actual results of operations or
outcomes of other events to differ materially from any such forward-looking
statement appear together with such statement. In addition, forward-looking
statements are subject to other risks and uncertainties affecting the financial
institutions industry, including, but not limited to, the following:
Interest Rate Risk
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MFFC's operating results are dependent to a significant degree on its net
interest income, which is the difference between interest income from loans,
investments and other interest-earning assets and interest expense on deposits,
borrowings and other interest-bearing liabilities. The interest income and
interest expense of MFFC change as the interest rates on interest-earning assets
and interest-bearing liabilities change. Interest rates may change because of
general economic conditions, the policies of various regulatory authorities and
other factors beyond MFFC's control. In a rising interest rate environment,
loans tend to prepay slowly and new loans at higher rates increase slowly, while
interest paid on deposits increases rapidly because the terms to maturity of
deposits tend to be shorter than the terms to maturity or prepayment of loans.
Such differences in the adjustment of interest rates on assets and liabilities
may negatively affect MFFC's income.
Possible Inadequacy of the Allowance for Loan Losses
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MFFC maintains an allowance for loan losses based upon a number of relevant
factors, including, but not limited to, trends in the level of nonperforming
assets and classified loans, current and anticipated economic conditions in the
primary lending area, past loss experience, possible losses arising from
specific problem loans and changes in the composition of the loan portfolio.
While the Board of Directors of MFFC believes that it uses the best information
available to determine the allowance for loan losses, unforeseen market
conditions could result in material adjustments, and net earnings could be
significantly adversely affected if circumstances differ substantially from the
assumptions used in making the final determination.
Loans not secured by one- to four-family residential real estate are
generally considered to involve greater risk of loss than loans secured by one-
to four-family residential real estate due, in part, to the effects of general
economic conditions. The repayment of multifamily residential and nonresidential
real estate loans generally depends upon the cash flow from the operation of the
property, which may be negatively affected by national and local economic
conditions. Construction loans may also be negatively affected by such economic
conditions, particularly loans made to developers who do not have a buyer for a
property before the loan is made. The risk of default on consumer loans
increases during periods of recession, high unemployment and other adverse
economic conditions. When consumers have trouble paying their bills, they are
more likely to pay mortgage loans than consumer loans. In addition, the
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collateral securing such loans, if any, may decrease in value more rapidly than
the outstanding balance of the loan.
Competition
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Milton Federal Savings Association ("Milton Federal") competes for deposits with
other savings associations, commercial banks and credit unions and issuers of
commercial paper and other securities, such as shares in money market mutual
funds. The primary factors in competing for deposits are interest rates and
convenience of office location. In making loans, Milton Federal competes with
other savings associations, commercial banks, consumer finance companies, credit
unions, leasing companies, mortgage companies and other lenders. Competition is
affected by, among other things, the general availability of lendable funds,
general and local economic conditions, current interest rate levels and other
factors which are not readily predictable. The size of financial institutions
competing with Milton Federal is likely to increase as a result of changes in
statutes and regulations eliminating various restrictions on interstate and
inter-industry branching and acquisitions. Such increased competition may have
an adverse effect upon MFFC.
Legislation and Regulation that may Adversely Affect MFFC's Earnings
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Milton Federal is subject to extensive regulation by the Office of Thrift
Supervision (the "OTS") and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the
"FDIC") and is periodically examined by such regulatory agencies to test
compliance with various regulatory requirements. As a savings and loan holding
company, MFFC is also subject to regulation and examination by the OTS. Such
supervision and regulation of Milton Federal and MFFC are intended primarily for
the protection of depositors and not for the maximization of shareholder value
and may affect the ability of the company to engage in various business
activities. The assessments, filing fees and other costs associated with
reports, examinations and other regulatory matters are significant and may have
an adverse effect on the Company's net earnings.
The FDIC is authorized to establish separate annual assessment rates for
deposit insurance of members of the Bank Insurance fund (the "BIF") and the
Savings Association Insurance Fund (the "SAIF"). The FDIC has established a
risk-based assessment system for both SAIF and BIF members. Under such system,
assessments may vary depending on the risk the institution poses to its deposit
insurance fund. Such risk level is determined by reference to the institution's
capital level and the FDIC's level of supervisory concern about the institution.
The recapitalization plan also provides for the merger of the SAIF and BIF
effective January 1, 1999, assuming there are no savings associations under
federal law. Under separate proposed legislation, Congress is considering the
elimination of the federal thrift charter and the separate federal regulation of
thrifts. As a result, Milton Federal would have to convert to a different
financial institution charter. In addition, Milton Federal would be regulated
under federal law as a bank and would, therefore, become subject to the more
restrictive activity limitations imposed on national banks. Moreover, MFFC might
become subject to more restrictive holding company requirements, including
activity limits and capital requirements similar to those imposed on Milton
Federal. MFFC cannot predict the impact of the conversion of Milton Federal to,
or regulation of Milton Federal as, a bank until the legislation requiring such
change is enacted.
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