Newly Appointed Corporate Executive Vice
President, Chief Credit Officer Announced
Nasdaq Determination Letter Received
First Place Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:FPFC) (the "Company") today
reported that it has received a determination letter from the
Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff (the "Staff") advising that the
Company remains noncompliant with the filing requirements for
continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). The
determination letter, which the Company expected, was issued in
accordance with standard Nasdaq procedures regarding the delayed
filing of the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the
quarters ended September 30, 2010, December 31, 2010, and March 31,
2011 (the "Periodic Reports"), with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC"). As a result of the delayed filings, the
determination letter indicates that the Company's common stock is
subject to delisting from Nasdaq unless the Company requests a
hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel (the
"Panel").
The Company intends to timely request a hearing before the Panel
which, if granted, will automatically stay any delisting action
through at least June 8, 2011. In connection with its request
for a hearing, the Company will also request that the Panel
continue the stay of delisting until the conclusion of the hearing
process.
Following the hearing, the Panel has the authority under the
Nasdaq Listing Rules to grant the Company an extension of time
within which to regain compliance with the filing requirements for
a period not to exceed 360 days from the original due date
(November 15, 2010) of the first delayed filing. However,
there can be no assurance that the Panel will grant the Company a
stay of the Staff's delisting determination until the conclusion of
the hearing process or that it will grant the additional time
requested by the Company to regain compliance with Nasdaq's filing
requirements.
As previously disclosed in a current report on Form 8-K filed
with the SEC on December 7, 2010, as amended, the Company announced
its intention to file an amendment to the Company's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010 (the "Amended
Form 10-K"), and to restate its results of operations and financial
condition as of and for the twelve months ended June 30,
2010. This determination was based in large part on the
results of the annual periodic examination by the Office of Thrift
Supervision (the "OTS") of First Place Bank, the Company's
wholly-owned subsidiary (the "Bank"), in which the OTS concluded
that it was their opinion that the Bank's allowance for loan losses
("allowance") was understated as of June 30, 2010.
Subsequent to the filing of the Form 8-K referred to above,
management engaged the services of an independent firm to assist in
conducting a detailed review of the Bank's loan portfolio to
substantiate the appropriate level of the allowance. This
review was recently completed and management is currently in the
process of analyzing the results and working with the Company's
independent accountants to finalize the amount of the adjustment to
the allowance and the reporting periods impacted. The filing
of the Amended Form 10-K is contingent upon the completion of this
process. While management initially expected that this process
would have been brought to full resolution and that all periodic
filings with the SEC would have been brought to a current status by
April 30, 2011, management has since determined that additional
time will be required considering the scope and complexity of the
loan review process, the computation of the allowance, the related
adjustment to income tax expense and the work to be completed by
the independent accountants. Although the final amount of the
adjustment to the allowance has not yet been determined, the
Company anticipates that the adjustment to the June 30, 2010
allowance will exceed the anticipated increase of $14 million
previously reported. Upon completing the above process,
management intends to proceed with the completion and filing of the
Amended Form 10-K, the Company's Periodic Reports, and any other
periodic reports impacted by the adjustments. Management
currently anticipates that all periodic filings with the SEC will
be brought to a current status as early as June 30, 2011, or as
late as August 31, 2011. Management also acknowledges that
certain factors beyond its control, including the extent and timing
of the work to be performed by the independent accountants, could
affect the timing of these filings.
Steven R. Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated,
"We acknowledge that the review of our allowance for loan losses
has taken a considerable amount of time and has involved
substantial effort and human resources. In addition, the
completion of this complex process is dependent upon and involves
the work of several outside firms. While we are seeking a
timely completion to this work, our priority is to ensure that it
is done correctly. We appreciate the patience of our
shareholders and employees and plan to communicate the results of
the restatement process publicly and to bring our SEC filings to a
current status as soon as practicable."
Newly Appointed Corporate Executive Vice President, Chief Credit
Officer Announced
The Company also reported that on May 16, 2011, Christopher G.
Tietz joined the First Place Bank organization as Corporate
Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer. Mr. Tietz
comes to First Place Bank with more than 25 years of banking
experience, most recently as Chief Credit Officer for Monroe Bank
in Bloomington, Indiana. He received his Bachelor of Science
in Business Administration from the University of Alabama. Mr.
Lewis commented, "We are excited to have Christopher join our team
and look forward to leveraging his vast experience as we finalize
the review of our allowance for loan losses and complete the
related restatement process."
Forward-Looking Statements
When used in this press release, in future press releases or
other public or shareholder communications, in filings by the
Company with the SEC or in oral statements made with the approval
of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases "will
likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is
anticipated," "estimate," "project," "believe," "should," "may,"
"will," "plan," or variations of such terms or similar expressions
are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
Company's actual results to be materially different from those
indicated. Such statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, including changes in economic conditions in the
market areas the Company conducts business, which could materially
impact credit quality trends; changes in laws, regulations or
policies of regulatory agencies; fluctuations in interest rates;
demand for loans in the market areas the Company conducts business;
and competition, that could cause actual results to differ
materially from historical earnings and those presently anticipated
or projected. The Company wishes to caution readers not to
place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no
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.
About First Place Financial Corp.
First Place Financial Corp. is a $3.1 billion financial services
holding company based in Warren, Ohio, with two wholly-owned
subsidiaries: First Place Bank and First Place Holdings,
Inc. Through First Place Bank, the Company operates 41 retail
locations, 2 business financial service centers and 24 loan
production offices. Wholly-owned subsidiaries of First Place
Holdings, Inc. include First Place Insurance Agency, Ltd., and
First Place Real Estate, Ltd. First Place Holdings, Inc. also
has a 75% interest in Title Works Agency, LLC. Additional
information about First Place Financial Corp. may be found on the
Company's web site: www.firstplacebank.com.
CONTACT: For further information contact:
Steven R. Lewis, President & CEO
David W. Gifford, CFO
(330) 373-1221
First Place Financial Corp. (MM) (NASDAQ:FPFC)
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