FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Lauren T. Barnett, President and CEO                                        
Tel:(518) 842-7200
Fax:(518) 842-7500
Harold A. Baylor, Jr.,  Vice Pres., CFO, and Treas.
Tel:(518) 842-7200
Fax:(518) 842-1688


              Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. Announces Earnings for the
                       Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 1998

     Amsterdam, N.Y., August 19, 1998 -- Lauren T. Barnett, President and CEO of
Ambanc  Holding Co.,  Inc.  (Nasdaq  National  Market  under the symbol  "AHCI")
announced  that net income for the three and six months ended June 30, 1998,  as
compared  to the  corresponding  period in 1997,  had  declined  due to non-core
charges against earnings.

     Mr.  Barnett  stated that the  Company's  core income  after  taxes,  which
excludes  gains/losses on securities  transactions  and certain other items, had
increased for the quarter ended June 30, 1998 from the  comparable  1997 quarter
to  approximately  $499,000 from  $465,000.  He also  indicated that core income
after  taxes for the six months  ended June 30, 1998  declined to  approximately
$945,000 from $1.1 million in 1997.

     Net income for the three months  ended June 30, 1998 was $97,000,  or $0.03
per diluted share, and $543,000,  or $0.14 per diluted share, for the six months
ended June 30, 1998.  In the  corresponding  1997  periods,  the Company had net
income of $572,000,  or $0.14 per diluted share, and $1.2 million,  or $0.30 per
diluted share, respectively.

     Mr. Barnett  attributed the earnings  declines for the three and six months
ended June 30, 1998, compared to 1997, primarily to the items excluded from core
income after taxes.  During the quarter ended June 30, 1998,  the Company took a
charge against  operating  results of $399,000  related to the  termination  and
consulting  agreements  entered  into  with  the  former  President  and CEO and
$159,000 in legal fees  incurred by the Company to defend  against legal actions
initiated by a  shareholder.  Also  contributing  to the earnings  declines were
losses on securities  transactions  of $112,000 and $105,000 for the quarter and
six months ended June 30, 1998,  respectively,  compared to gains on  securities
transactions of $178,000 and $177,000 in the corresponding periods of 1997.

     Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. is a unitary savings and loan holding company. The
Company's primary  subsidiary,  Amsterdam  Savings Bank, F.S.B.  operates twelve
banking offices in Montgomery (4),  Saratoga (4), Albany (2),  Schenectady  (1),
and Fulton (1) counties in the Capital Region of upstate New York.

                                 
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