ATLANTA, March 28, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Provident Financial Group, Inc., ("Provident" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:PFGI), including capital securities issued by Provident Capital Trust II, between March 30, 1998 and March 5, 2003, (the "Class Period").
The suit is brought against Provident Financial and certain of its officers and directors. A copy of the complaint is available on our website, www.classlaw.com. The deadline to file lead plaintiff papers, for those class members wishing to serve in this capacity, is May 5, 2003.
There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be happy to discuss with you. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Lauren Antonino or Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free) or by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website, www.classlaw.com, by clicking on Provident Financial.
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Provident and certain of its officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's reported revenues and earnings. The Complaint alleges that the Company had materially overstated its operating results by failing to properly account for certain off-balance sheet transactions. Specifically, the Company failed to properly account for auto financing leases which caused it to overstate its earnings.
On March 5, 2003, Provident revealed that it had improperly accounted for nine auto lease financing transactions originated in 1997 and 1999 in a manner which inflated its reported earnings from 1997 through 2002, inclusive. The Company further revealed that the transactions were improperly reported as off-balance sheet transactions and that it would be restating its operating results downward for the years 1997 through 2002. In response to this disclosure, the price of Provident common stock plummeted, falling from a March 4, 2003 close of $28.08 per share to $22.46 on March 5, 2003.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in the highest recovery last year in a securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Jennifer Morris at 1-888-873-3999 (toll-free), by e-mail at jlm@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.