Fidelity Bancorp buying single-office Carnegie Financial

Fidelity Bancorp Inc. is pushing its network of savings banks further into the South Hills with a $3.3 million deal to acquire Carnegie Financial Corp., a savings and loan holding company based in Carnegie.

Pittsburgh-based Fidelity and the parent of Carnegie Savings Bank, a single-office institution, agreed to the deal Wednesday. Fidelity plans to pay $14.75 in cash or stock for each Carnegie share.

Fidelity operates 10 branches in Allegheny and Butler counties. The institution had assets of $566 million as of June 30.

'This will be a positive addition to the company,' said Fidelity Chairman and Chief Executive William Windisch, adding the acquisition should add to earnings in year two.

'Through the merger of Carnegie with Fidelity, we well be able to offer our full line of financial services to their customers and the residents and businesses in their community from their Carnegie office,' said Windisch.

Carnegie Savings went public in mid-1998 with an initial stock offering that ranked as perhaps the smallest by a savings and loan in this region. The company initially raised the capital to expand into commercial lending and buy its first automated teller machine.

Founded in 1915, the institution primarily writes home mortgages, plus a few consumer and auto loans, all within a roughly five-mile radius of Carnegie. The S&L reported assets of $27.3 million as of June 30.

The deal is subject to approval of regulators and stockholders of Carnegie Financial.

The financial institutions jointly announced the merger after the stock market closed Wednesday. Fidelity stock closed at $15.30 a share, up 5 cents. Carnegie Savings stock last traded at $7.25.