Provident Financial Group, Inc. Announces Shareholder Approval of Merger with National City Corporation

Provident Financial Group, Inc. Announces Shareholder Approval of
Merger with National City Corporation 


CINCINNATI, May 20  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Provident Financial Group, Inc.
announced today that its shareholders have voted to approve the company's
previously announced merger with National City Corporation.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030424/PFGLOGO )

The merger was approved by 99.05 percent of the shares voting, representing
83.97 percent of Provident's outstanding shares. 0.86 percent of the shares,
representing 0.73 percent of Provident's outstanding shares, voted against the
merger.

The merger also requires approval by the Federal Reserve Board, and is expected
to close near the end of the second quarter or at the beginning of the third
quarter of 2004.

About Provident Financial Group, Inc.

Provident Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFGI) is a bank holding company located
in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its main subsidiary, The Provident Bank, provides a
diverse line of banking and financial products, services and solutions through
retail banking offices located in Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky, and
through commercial lending offices located throughout Ohio and surrounding
states. At March 31, 2004, Provident Financial Group had $16.7 billion in
assets.

About National City Corporation

National City Corporation (NYSE:NCC), headquartered in Cleveland Ohio, operates
an extensive banking network primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania, and also serves customers in selected
markets nationally. Its core businesses include commercial and retail banking,
consumer finance, asset management, mortgage financing and servicing, and
payment processing. At March 31, 2004, National City Corporation had $111.7
billion in assets.

   For further information, please contact

   Media
   Chris Kemper
   Public Relations Manager
   513-579-2248
   

   Investors
   Patricia Forsythe
   Investor Relations
   513-345-7102 or 800-851-9521
   

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030424/PFGLOGO

http://photoarchive.ap.org/

DATASOURCE: Provident Financial Group, Inc.



CONTACT:  Media, Chris Kemper, Public Relations Manager, [phone],

or  , or Investors, Patricia Forsythe,

Investor Relations, [phone], or [phone], or

 , both of Provident Financial Group, Inc.



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



Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/721925.html 

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