Centerbank announces formation of holding company.

WATERBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 1995--Centerbank (CTBX/NASDAQ) today announced that approvals from both the Connecticut State Banking Commissioner and the Federal Reserve Board to form a holding company to be named Center Financial Corporation will be effected Friday, July 7, 1995. Centerbank shareholders voted to approve the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization at the company's annual meeting of shareholders held on April 25, 1995.

Effective Monday, July 10, 1995, Center Financial Corporation will trade under the NASDAQ symbol "CFCX" and cusip #15146R 10 3.

Under the Plan, the Center Financial Corporation will automatically acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Centerbank in a share-for-share exchange of holding company common stock. As a result, current holders of Centerbank common stock will become the holders of an equal number of shares of Center Financial Corporation, without the necessity of physical exchange of stock certificates. Stock certificates issued after July 10, 1995 will bear the name of Center Financial Corporation and the company's new cusip number.

In making the announcement, Centerbank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Narkis noted several distinct advantages of the holding company format. "The holding company format should give us increased flexibility and additional options as we effect our climb to high performance. It will allow us to better meet the changing needs of our customers. Also, it will allow us to expand into financial services presently not available to Connecticut banks and to execute our merger/acquisition strategy more effectively," Mr. Narkis stated.

Established in 1850, Centerbank has 36 retail banking branches throughout central Connecticut. Insured by the FDIC, its subsidiaries include: Centerbank Mortgage Company, a full-service mortgage banking company with a residential servicing portfolio of over $6.0 billion, operating through a nationwide network of over twenty loan origination offices, eleven wholesale/correspondent offices, and partnerships with affinity groups and real estate brokerage companies under its subsidiary, The Mortgage Corner, Inc.; Center Capital Corporation, an equipment leasing firm that provides lease financing services nationwide to manufacturers and end-users of capital equipment; and Affiliated Business Credit Corporation, a commercial finance company serving Connecticut and Massachusetts.

CONTACT: Centerbank

Patricia B. Sweet [phone]