Contact Information: CONTACT: Provident Financial Services, Inc.: Kenneth J. Wagner SVP - Investor Relations (201) 915-5344 Email Contact First Morris Bank & Trust: William Keefe EVP / CFO (973) 656-2171 Email Contact
Provident Financial Services, Inc. and First Morris Bank & Trust Bank Receive Regulatory Approvals of Merger
| Source: First Morris Bank & Trust
JERSEY CITY, NJ and MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 15, 2007 --Provident Financial
Services, Inc. ("Provident") and First Morris Bank & Trust (OTCBB : FMJE )
("First Morris") have received approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance to
complete the merger of First Morris with and into Provident's bank
subsidiary, The Provident Bank.
The merger remains subject to the approval of First Morris' stockholders at
a special meeting to be held March 22. Assuming the receipt of stockholder
approval, it is anticipated that the transaction will be consummated in
early April.
About Provident
Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company for The Provident
Bank. Originally established in 1839, The Provident Bank is a New
Jersey-chartered capital stock savings bank headquartered in Jersey City,
New Jersey. The Bank operates 75 full-service branches in Hudson, Bergen,
Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Somerset and Union
counties. As of December 31, 2006, Provident had $5.7 billion of
consolidated assets and $1.0 billion of equity.
About First Morris
First Morris Bank & Trust was established in 1969. At December 31, 2006,
First Morris had total assets of $585 million and total stockholders'
equity of $42 million. It operates nine branch offices in Morris County
New Jersey.
This release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to
buy common stock. Provident has filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) a prospectus that will also serve as the proxy statement
for the vote of the stockholders of First Morris and other relevant
documents concerning the proposed transaction. Stockholders of First
Morris were urged to read the prospectus and any other relevant documents
filed with the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those
documents, because they contain important information. Investors can
obtain a free copy of the prospectus, as well as other filings containing
information about Provident at the SEC's Internet site
(http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the prospectus and the SEC filings that
are incorporated by reference in the prospectus can be obtained, without
charge, by directing a request to John F. Kuntz, General Counsel, Provident
Financial Services, Inc., 830 Bergen Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306-4599,
tel: (201) 333-1000.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements about the
proposed merger of First Morris with and into The Provident Bank. These
statements include statements regarding the anticipated closing date of the
transaction. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that
they include words like "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," and
"intend" or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should,"
"could," or "may." Certain factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expected results include delays in completing the
merger, legislative and regulatory changes and other factors disclosed by
Provident in its periodic filings with the SEC. Provident and First Morris
do not undertake, and specifically disclaim, any obligation to publicly
release the results of any revisions that may be made to any
forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or
unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.