Alliance Bancorp Announces Stockholder Approval of Merger Agreement With Charter One Financial

Business Wire, May 30, 2001

Business Editors

HINSDALE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2001

Alliance Bancorp (Nasdaq: ABCL) today announced that stockholders have approved the Agreement and Plan of Merger with Charter One Financial, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio. Under the merger agreement, each share of Alliance Bancorp common stock is to be converted into the right to receive $5.25 in cash and 0.72 shares of Charter One Financial common stock. In addition to today's shareholder approval, the merger requires various regulatory approvals. The Federal Reserve Board has approved the merger, the Office of Thrift Supervision has deemed the merger application complete, and all other regulatory steps have been accomplished. As a consequence, the merger is on track to be completed in early July.

Alliance Bancorp is the holding company for Liberty Federal Bank, which will be merged into Charter One Bank, F.S.B. Charter One currently has 423 branch locations (436 after the net additions from Alliance) in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Their diverse products include: consumer banking, indirect auto finance, commercial leasing, business lending, commercial real estate lending, mortgage banking, and retail investment products. For additional information about Charter One, including press releases and investor presentations, investors are directed to their website: www.charterone.com.

Alliance Bancorp's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market tier of the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: ABCL. The common stock of Charter One Financial Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: CF. Charter One has approximately $34 billion in total assets ($36 billion after the merger with Alliance), making it one of the 30 largest bank holding companies in the country