FLB First Natl Bancshares Fla

First National Bankshares of Florida Announces Shareholder Approval for Merger With Fifth Third Bancorp NAPLES, Fla., Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First National Bankshares of Florida, Inc. (NYSE:FLB) today announced that at a meeting held Monday, November 22, 2004, shareholders of First National Bankshares approved the proposed merger with Fifth Third Bancorp. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031230/FNBFLOGO ) "We received overwhelming support from our shareholders for this transaction and we are pleased with their enthusiasm," said Gary L. Tice, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First National Bankshares. "We are proud to partner with an organization as successful as Fifth Third. Our shareholders will become shareholders of Fifth Third, which has an exceptional long-term track record of delivering shareholder value." First National Bankshares and Fifth Third announced their intention to merge on August 2, 2004. The transaction is on schedule and is expected to be complete in January 2005. Upon completion of the merger, Fifth Third will have more than $6.6 billion in total assets and nearly 100 full-service banking centers located throughout the state of Florida. Headquartered in Naples, Florida, First National Bankshares of Florida, Inc. is a $5.5 billion diversified financial services company. The company's focus is on expansion in the high-growth Florida market. In addition to traditional community banking, the company provides a complete line of wealth management and insurance services. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FLB." Fifth Third Bancorp, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a diversified financial services company with $98.3 billion in total assets and 1,008 banking centers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee and West Virginia. The company's stock is traded through the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol "FITB." This document contains forward-looking statements with respect to the plans, objectives, financial condition, results of operations and businesses of First National Bankshares of Florida, Inc.; the benefits and synergies of the planned affiliation with Fifth Third Bancorp; and the expected date of closing of the acquisition, including statements containing such words as "believes," "expects," "projects," "anticipates," and similar expressions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from historical performance and these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressures among depository institutions increase significantly; (2) changes in the interest rate environment reduce interest rate margins; (3) general economic conditions are less favorable than expected; (4) legislative or regulatory changes adversely affect the businesses in which the company is engaged; (5) costs, delays, and any other difficulties related to the planned transaction; (6) failure of the parties to satisfy conditions to the closing of the merger; (7) the ability to manage and continue growth; and (8) other risk factors as detailed in First National Bankshares' reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First National Bankshares disclaims any responsibility to update these forward-looking statements. CONTACT: Clay W. Cone Vice President, Director of Corporate Communications 239-436-1676 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031230/FNBFLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: First National Bankshares of Florida, Inc. CONTACT: Clay W. Cone, Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications, First National Bankshares of Florida, Inc., +1-239-436-1676 Web site: http://www.firstnationalbankshares.com/

Copyright