Three First Federal banks in Lawrence County will get a new look over the weekend as the merger with Classic Bancshares, Inc. is completed, but bank officials say the institutions will continue their hometown service.

At the close of business Friday, the First Federal Savings Banks in Ironton and Proctorville and the drive thru facility on Park Avenue, formerly Lincoln Savings & Loan, will change signs and logos. The banks will officially open as Classic Bank branches Monday morning,

said David Barbour, Classic Bank CEO and chairman.

"I think, to a large degree, the same faces are going to be there Monday that are there today," he said. "The small institutions today are not able to provide the technology and infrastructure to stay up to date with the major banks. One of our pluses is that we provide services of a major bank while keeping a local profile."

In the $11.5 million transaction, Classic Bancshares, Inc., the holding company for Classic Bank, headquartered in Ashland, Ky., merged with First Federal Financial Bancorp Inc., the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank, headquartered in Ironton.

The merger will increase the assets of Classic from $233 million as of September to $307 million as of December.

In October of 2000, First Federal purchased Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. Classic and First Federal announced its merger in January of 2003 and the deal has taken nearly six months to finalize.

The continued development of a Tri-State region where people travel in all three states is one factor that lead to this merger, Barbour said.

"The merger is going to be a plus for our customers that may reside in one state and work in another," he said. "Overall, it will be a huge advantage to all our customers and potential customers. We will have more than 20 ATM machines in Huntington, Ashland and Ironton with a total of 10 offices in the Tri-State."

Classic Bank is still in the process of finalizing plans for the Ohio bank buildings, which includes renovating or constructing new facilities, Barbour said. An announcement will be made in the near future, possibly in a few weeks.

Because First Federal President Vincent Rice will retire Friday, Jeff Clark, former controller of First Federal, will be named the Ohio market President and will oversee the company's future plans to continue to expand into southern Ohio, Barbour said.

Clark agreed that this merger will be good for all the bank's customers.

"The merger means more services for the customer to choose from," he said. "We hope to continue to expand on the good service we had as First Federal and continue that as Classic Bank."

Customers will now have online banking abilities, 24-hour telephone banking and more deposit and loan options than was possible as only a savings bank, Clark said.