Exhibit 99.1
                        Press Release dated May 20, 1999

                                                        NEWS RELEASE
                                                        FOR RELEASE
                                                        IMMEDIATELY
                                                        Contact:  Jere A. Young
                                                        215-735-4422

Schermerhorn appointed Exec VP/Chief Lending Officer at First Republic Bank

     Philadelphia,  PA., May 20, 1999 -  (NASDAQ:FRBK).  Effective May 24, 1999,
James V.  Schermerhorn,  who has over 25 years of banking experience with Mellon
Bank ranging  from First VP of Business  Banking to Manager,  National  Business
Banking will become  Executive  Vice  President/Chief  Lending  Officer at First
Republic Bank, announced President and Chief Executive Officer Robert D. Davis.

     Schermerhorn is known in the  Philadelphia  region for creating and growing
new divisions such as the Business Banking Department at Mellon, which grew from
$35 million to over $350 million.  He said he is joining First Republic  because
of the  "unprecedented  opportunities  that exist today for community banks as a
result of the consolidation in the financial services industry."

     While Schermerhorn's immediate focus will be to create strong relationships
with  businesses and  professionals  in the  Philadelphia  region,  his national
expertise   "will  allow  us  to  evaluate   opportunities   to  become  a  more
regional/national  player  through  e-commerce  and other  alternative  delivery
systems," said Davis.





     The  appointment  of  Schermerhorn,  according  to Davis,  is part of First
Republic's  new  growth  strategy  to "bring in  experienced  talent to meet the
objective  of  greater  diversification  to  our  commercial  portfolio  through
creating strong relationships with our community bank customers."

     First  Republic  Bank,  Philadelphia,  is a  full-service,  state-chartered
commercial  bank,  a member of the Federal  Reserve  System and its deposits are
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance  Corporation  (FDIC). The Bank provides
diversified  financial  products  through its eight offices located in Abington,
Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, East Norriton and Philadelphia.



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