Penn Liberty Exits TARP and Announces Participation in Small Business Lending Fund

WAYNE, Pa., Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn Liberty Financial Corp. (the "Company"), the holding company for Penn Liberty Bank (the "Bank"), announced that on September 1, 2011 it received $20.0 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury's ("Treasury") Small Business Lending Fund ("SBLF") to be used to further enhance its business lending efforts.  The Company used approximately $10.5 million of the SBLF proceeds to redeem all of the outstanding preferred stock issued to Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP").  The SBLF is a voluntary program intended to encourage small business lending by providing capital to eligible community banks at favorable rates.

"We are pleased to have been selected as one of the few qualified banks in our market to participate in the SBLF program" said Patrick J. Ward, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "By supporting lending to businesses and entrepreneurs through the SBLF we are well-positioned to continue to work within our communities to help enhance job creation and economic growth.  Business loans of up to $10 million to companies with up to $50 million in annual revenue are included in the SBLF's definition of small business loans.  This definition captures a high percentage of the business loans we fund for our customers."

One of the key strategies for Penn Liberty Bank is serving small businesses. The Bank holds Preferred Lender Program ("PLP") status from the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA").  The PLP is the highest lending designation awarded by the SBA and is only presented to lenders who consistently demonstrate their commitment to small business lending and who strictly adhere to SBA guidelines.  The Bank also holds the SBA Express designation which allows the Bank to make timely loan approval decisions.

"The types of small business loans targeted by the SBLF represent a significant portion of our loan portfolio" added Brian C. Zwaan, President and Chief Operating Officer.  "As we celebrate our seventh year of operations, we look forward to continuing our tradition of meeting the needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the communities we serve."

About Penn Liberty Bank

Penn Liberty Bank offers nine conveniently located branches and is a community bank focused on providing personal, high touch service.  Combining state of the art technology with highly talented, customer service oriented employees and a full suite of consumer and business products and services has resulted in the Bank's growth to over $486 million in assets.

To learn more about Penn Liberty Bank please visit
http://www.pennlibertybank.com.

SOURCE Penn Liberty Bank