MERCANTILE TO BUY ILLINOIS SAVINGS BANK

ST. LOUIS -- Mercantile Bancorporation Inc., a bank holding company from St. Louis, will buy Metro Savings Bank of Wood River, Ill., to strengthen its Illinois presence.

Mercantile plans to combine Metro Savings, an $84 million federal savings bank in Madison County east of St. Louis, with the Mercantile Bank of Illinois.

Mercantile of Illinois operates 10 offices in Madison, St. Clair and Macoupin counties.

In the agreement, Mercantile will issue 199,446 shares of common stock for Metro's outstanding common stock and common stock equivalents, an exchange ratio of 1.0286-to-1.

Metro shareholders, government and bank regulators must approve the deal.

Mercantile has also announced it may buy 19,900 shares of its own common stock in open-market transactions.

"The transaction with Metro Savings Bank will further enhance Mercantile's existing franchise in Southwestern Illinois and solidify our strong market position in Madison County," said John H. Beirise, Mercantile's group president for emerging markets.

Earlier this month, Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau and Mercantile Bank of Sikeston, wholly owned subsidiaries of Mercantile Bancorporation, applied to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to buy AmeriFirst Banks of Sikeston.

Mercantile had announced plans earlier this year to expand in Southeast Missouri through a merger with AmeriFirst Bancorporation.

AmeriFirst, a privately held company with assets of $164 million, is the holding company for AmeriFirst Bank, the market leader in Sikeston, where it operates two offices. AmeriFirst also has a branch office in Cape Girardeau.

Mercantile operates the Mercantile Bank of Sikeston, with assets of $39 million, and the Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau, with assets of $171 million.

Mercantile Bancorporation owns 53 financial institutions in Missouri eastern Kansas, Southern Illinois, northern Iowa and Arkansas.