PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO First National Bank cuts staff to increase efficiency

The bank holding company reports earnings of $4.7 million for the fourth quarter.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- First National Bank of Pennsylvania eliminated the equivalent of 78 full-time positions throughout its operations in the fourth quarter.
Bank officials found ways to streamline the staff and increase efficiency, said Stephen Gurgovits, president and chief executive of F.N.B. Corp., the bank's Hermitage-based parent company. Staff was realigned after evaluating business volumes and the times of peak transactions, he said.
Gurgovits said the cuts came across the bank's operations, including its 145 branches in Pennsylvania and Ohio and other facilities.
The changes included some people who accepted early- retirement incentives, some full-time workers who were reduced to part-time status, and some part-time positions that were eliminated.
The bank has the equivalent of 1,691 full-time employees.
Accounting charge
Gurgovits said in a conference call with analysts and media Tuesday that F.N.B. took a $1.4 million accounting charge last quarter to cover the early-retirement incentives and other restructuring costs.
That charge was part of $11 million in one-time costs recorded by the company in the fourth quarter. Other charges related to the sale of low-yielding investment securities and merger costs.
Those charges resulted in fourth-quarter earnings of $4.7 million in 2005, or 8 cents a share, compared with earnings of $15.8 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same period in 2004.
Gurgovits said the company is making progress in reaching its strategic goals. It has strengthened its presence in western Pennsylvania with acquisitions in Pittsburgh and Erie and is in the process of expanding in central Pennsylvania with the acquisition of The Legacy Bank.
The bank also has expanded into Florida with loan production offices.
F.N.B.'s stock closed at $17.15 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, up 20 cents.
shilling@vindy.com