
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 15, 1994                   TAG: 9401150072
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THRIFT SWAPS MARKETS

Charter Federal Savings Bank on Friday reported a sharp increase in first-half earnings and said its common stock will be listed for trading on the National Association of Security Dealers Automated Quotation system's National Market, a stock market of about 3,000 companies. The move is intended to give it wider exposure to investors.

The change is effective Tuesday. Charter Federal's stock has been listed on the Nasdaq Small-Caps Market, a listing of about 1,800 smaller companies.

Douglas D. Deppen, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said the change will mean the price of the stock will be quoted more widely and listed in more newspapers, thus more readily available to potential investors.

That, in turn, would enhance the value of stock for shareholders, he said.

The move is part of a process that began late last year when the thrift's board approved a reverse split of Charter Federal stock, giving one share for each five shares outstanding. The stock, which then traded in the range of $2 a share, now is selling in the $13-$14 range. On Friday, Charter Federal stock closed at $14 a share, up 50 cents from Thursday's close, with 5,600 shares traded.

Deppen said the reverse split took Charter Federal out of the "penny" stock, or small stock, category.

Charter Federal also reported Friday that net income for its second quarter, ended Dec. 31, was $2.6 million, or 50 cents a share, up 11 percent from $2.3 million for the previous quarter.

It brings the bank's earnings for the first half to $4.9 million, or 95 cents a share, compared with a 1992 six-month income of $1 million.

On Dec. 31, Charter Federal reported assets of $711.5 million and deposits of $532.2 million. It said this year's results were favorably affected by a tax benefit of $2.2 million due to a change in accounting methods.

The bank, with headquarters in Bristol, has 26 branches in the Roanoke Valley, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.

by CNB