Park National Corporation and First Federal Bancorp, Inc. Announce Plan to Sell Roseville Office to Peoples National Bank

Park National Corporation and First Federal Bancorp, Inc.
Announce Plan to Sell Roseville Office to Peoples National Bank


NEWARK, Ohio, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ Park National Corporation
(AMEX:PRK) (Park) and First Federal Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFBZ) (First Federal)
jointly announced today their intent to sell the Roseville office of First
Federal Savings Bank of Eastern Ohio (FFSB, the banking subsidiary of First
Federal) to The Peoples National Bank (Peoples), which is headquartered in New
Lexington, Ohio. The sale would take place following the acquisition of First
Federal by Park. The Roseville office is in Muskingum County and holds
approximately $13 million in deposits and $6 million in loans.

FFSB has signed an agreement to sell the Roseville office to Peoples, but the
sale is contingent upon the prior acquisition of First Federal by Park. In
August, Park and First Federal jointly announced the signing of a merger
agreement which will result in Park's acquisition of First Federal and the
merger of FFSB with Park subsidiary Century National Bank. Century National
Bank and First Federal are both headquartered in Muskingum County, Ohio.

The merger transactions require the approval of banking regulatory authorities,
and are expected to be complete on December 30. The sale of the Roseville
office is anticipated to conclude in the weeks following the approved and
official merger.

According to Park President C. Daniel DeLawder, the sale is a necessary result
of discussions with The Federal Reserve Board, which had concerns about the
level of banking competition in Muskingum County after FFSB merges with Century
National Bank. The Federal Reserve Board encouraged the sale of one banking
office to a bank that did not already have a physical presence in Muskingum
County, to help ensure healthy competition in that area. Park has filed a
letter with the Federal Reserve Board indicating its commitment to do so.

First Federal President Bill Plummer said, "The mergers with Park and Century
are the right thing to do for our customers, associates, and shareholders, and
we're excited to be one step closer to bringing our customers more convenience
and a broader menu of banking and trust services. Our skilled and dedicated
associates in the Roseville office will continue to serve their customers and
community. And the residents of Roseville can still do their banking in their
hometown with the people they've trusted and relied upon for years."

All of the FFSB accounts at the Roseville office will be transitioned to
Peoples, and account owners will be considered Peoples customers.

"We are very happy to open an office in Muskingum County. We've been serving
customers in New Lexington and Perry County since 1932, and we welcome the
opportunity to extend services to our neighbors in Roseville," said G. Courtney
Haning, president of Peoples.

About Park National Corporation:

Headquartered in Newark, Ohio, Park National Corporation is an Ohio-based bank
holding company with approximately $5.1 billion in assets at year-end 2003. Its
significant subsidiaries include The Park National Bank, Fairfield National
Division, The Richland Trust Company, Century National Bank, The First-Knox
National Bank, Farmers and Savings Division, United Bank, N.A., Second National
Bank, The Security National Bank and Trust Co., Unity National Division, The
Citizens National Bank of Urbana, Scope Aircraft Finance, and Guardian Finance.

Operating in twenty-six Ohio counties, Park and its subsidiaries have $5.1
billion in total consolidated assets, 119 financial service offices and a
network of more than 100 automatic teller machines. For more information, visit
http://www.parknationalcorp.com/ .

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the historical and present factual information contained in this
press release, the matters discussed in this press release, including
statements identified by words such as "intends," "is anticipated," "is
expected," "plans," "will result" and similar expressions are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, including
the following: the ability to obtain regulatory approvals of the First Federal
acquisition and the sale of the Roseville office to Peoples on the proposed
terms and schedule; the possibility that costs or difficulties related to the
integration of the businesses of First Federal and FFSB with the businesses of
Park and Century will be greater than expected or that the cost savings and any
revenue synergies of the combined entities following the First Federal
acquisition may be lower or take longer to realize than expected; disruptions
from the First Federal acquisition and the sale of the Roseville office making
it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or
suppliers; the impact of competition; changes in economic conditions in Park's
market area; changes in policies by regulatory agencies; fluctuations in
interest rates; demand for loans in Park's market area; and other risk factors
relating to our industry as detailed from time to time in Park's reports filed
with the SEC.  Park wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on
any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Park
does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to publicly
release the result of any revisions that may be made to any forward- looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements
or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. 

DATASOURCE: Park National Corporation



CONTACT:  Bethany White, Comm. Specialist, [phone], or C. Daniel

DeLawder, President, [phone], both of Park National Corporation; or

Bill Plummer, President of First Federal Bancorp, Inc., [phone]; or G.

Courtney Haning, President of Peoples National Bank, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.parknationalcorp.com/ 

Copyright