Genoa Savings purchase by First Defiance cleared

3/30/2005

DEFIANCE - First Defiance Financial Corp., holding company for First Federal Bank of the Midwest, said yesterday that it has received regulatory approval to acquire Genoa Savings and Loan Co. for about $11 million in cash. The deal is to be completed by April 8.

The acquisition, announced Oct. 14 and approved by Genoa Savings shareholders Jan. 20, was awaiting approval by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the Ohio Department of Commerce.

Genoa Savings, under regulatory scrutiny because of bad loans, has offices in Genoa, Perrysburg, Oregon, and Maumee. First Defiance, which has 19 bank branches in northwest Ohio, plans to keep the Genoa, Perrysburg, and Oregon offices open but to merge the Maumee office with a nearby First Federal Bank branch.