NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) announced today the results of the semi-annual evaluation of the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index (Nasdaq:ABQI), which will become effective prior to market open on Monday, December 20, 2010.
The following five securities will be added to the Index: Abington Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:ABBC), First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. (Nasdaq:FIBK), Pacific Capital Bancorp (Nasdaq:PCBC), Sterling Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:STSAD), and ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:VPFG).
The Index is designed to track the performance of banks and thrifts, or their holding companies, listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market®. The Index is intended to serve as a benchmark for investment products by including the larger and more liquid community banks. The NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index is reviewed on a semi-annual basis. For more information about the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.
As a result of the evaluation, the following eighteen securities will be removed from the Index: First Busey Corporation (Nasdaq:BUSE), Cass Information Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CASS), Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CCBG), CoBiz Financial Inc. (Nasdaq:COBZ), Eagle Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:EGBN), First Bancorp (Nasdaq:FBNC), First Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:FFCH), Great Southern Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSBC), Home Federal Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:HOME), Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:LBAI), OceanFirst Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:OCFC), 1st Source Corporation (Nasdaq:SRCE), StellarOne Corporation (Nasdaq:STEL), TriCo Bancshares (Nasdaq:TCBK), Union First Market Bankshares Corporation (Nasdaq:UBSH), United Community Banks, Inc. (Nasdaq:UCBI), Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (Nasdaq:UVSP), and Washington Banking Company (Nasdaq:WBCO).
The First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Fund (Nasdaq:QABA) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield (before the fund's fees and expenses) of the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index.
About NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group
NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group is engaged in the design, development, calculation, licensing, and marketing of NASDAQ OMX Indexes. NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group specializes in the development of indexes focusing on NASDAQ OMX's brand themes of innovation, technology, growth, and globalization. NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group also provides custom index services and design solutions as a third-party provider to selected financial organizations. For more information about NASDAQ OMX indexes, visit www.nasdaq.com/indexes.
About NASDAQ OMX Group
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).
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