American Bank Reports Third Quarter Earnings

CONTACT: Mark W. Jaindl, President and Chief Executive Officer
Allentown, PA, Monday, October 16, 2000

Allentown, PA, October 16, 2000 - American Bank (OTCBB: ABKA), a leading provider of Internet banking and financial services (pcbanker.com), today announced earnings for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2000. Net income for the quarter was $96,900, or $.02 per share, an increase of $100,300 from the same period in the prior year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2000, American Bank posted net income of $224,900, or $.07 per share, an increase of $355,000 from the same period in the prior year. This increase is primarily attributable to an increase of $90.7 million of earning assets, which was partially offset by a decrease of 13 basis points in the net interest margin since September 30, 1999.

President and CEO Mark Jaindl stated, "While we have increased our assets by 21% in the third quarter and by 78% since the beginning of the year, the quality of our loan portfolio remains high with no non-performing assets at September 30, 2000. Although our loan quality remains high, we did increase our loan loss reserves by $234,000 during the third quarter and by $348,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 as we recognize that a softening economy may result in future delinquencies."

Jaindl continued, "American Bank is focused on increased growth of quality assets while maintaining low levels of overhead. For the quarter ended September 30, 2000, our ratio of operating expense to assets declined to 2.18% from 2.61% for the same period in 1999. American Bank's efficiency ratio improved to 71.8% for the three months ended September 30, 2000 compared to 91.1% for the same period in the prior year."

Chairman of the Board of Directors Frederick Jaindl stated, "We are pleased with the progress of American Bank since the beginning of the year. Significant improvements were made to our Internet site in May, we completed our first public offering in June, and we were honored in August when our e-Checking account was recognized as the # 1 online banking product in the country by Financenter.com. We remain committed to improving our web site and offering products that make American Bank a leading financial provider on the Internet."

American Bank common stock last traded at $13.50 per share and the American Bank warrants last traded at $4.25 per warrant. American Bank warrants are exercisable at $10.00 per share through June 30, 2003.

About American Bank
American Bank, a locally-owned community bank based in Allentown, PA, offers a complete selection of banking products and services to suit the needs of consumers and businesses and includes checking, money market, savings, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans and Visa credit cards. American Bank is dedicated to providing customers superior, personalized customer service while offering some of the best loan and deposit rates available and as a result, has received the Bankrate.com® Top Tier award for consistently offering annual percentage yields (APYs) that were among the highest reported. Their online banking service, pcbanker, allows customers to bank conveniently and delivers a full range of real-time online banking services free of charge including online bill payment and presentment, ACH Direct, transfers between accounts, transaction history, check images and e-Statements. American Bank is FDIC insured.

American Bank Online is a registered mark and pcbanker.com is a trade mark for the Internet financial services provided by American Bank, a state-chartered, FDIC insured full-service financial institution serving customers throughout the United States. American Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve System.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Statements in this press release regarding American Bank’s business which are not historical facts, including expectations regarding future financial results, are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.

For additional information, please contact Mark W. Jaindl, President and Chief Executive Officer.