SLFI Sterling Financial (MM)

The law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. announced today that it has filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Sterling Financial Corp. shares (�Sterling Financial�) (NASDAQ: SLFI) during the period from April 27, 2004 through May 25, 2007, inclusive (the �Class Period�). The Complaint charges Sterling Financial and certain of its officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants issued numerous positive statements and filed quarterly reports with the SEC which described the Company�s increasing financial performance. These statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company was materially overstating its financial results by artificially inflating revenues in its Commercial Finance division, which represented approximately 41% of Sterling Financial�s net income; (ii) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain its true financial condition; and (iii) that as a result of the foregoing, the values of the Company�s net income and earnings were materially overstated at all relevant times. On April 30, 2007, the Company announced that it expected to be restating its financial statements for the years 2004 through 2006 as a result of �irregularities in certain financing contracts� at Equipment Finance, the sole affiliate within its Commercial Finance division. Moreover, the Company announced that two senior executives of Equipment Finance had been placed on leave. Upon this announcement, shares of the Company�s stock fell $4.07 per share or almost 20% to close at $16.65 per share, on heavy trading volume. Then, on May 24, 2007, Sterling Financial announced that the �previously reported irregularities� at Equipment Finance were a �direct result of collusion� by certain Equipment Finance employees and that the Company expected to record a cumulative after-tax charge to its December 31, 2006 financial statements of at least $145 million to $165 million. Moreover, five Equipment Finance employees were terminated, including the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President. In response to this announcement, on the next trading day, shares of the Company�s stock fell $6.19 per share, or almost 40%, to close at $9.97 share, on extremely heavy trading volume. If you purchased Sterling Financial shares during the period from April 27, 2004 through May 25, 2007, inclusive, you may, no later than July 24, 2007, move the court to be appointed as Lead Plaintiff. There are certain legal requirements to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Any member of the proposed class may move the court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their choice or may choose to remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as Lead Plaintiff. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has significant experience in prosecuting investor class actions and actions involving securities fraud. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and London, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the nation. The firm�s reputation for excellence has repeatedly been recognized by courts which have appointed the firm to lead positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigation. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. has taken a lead role in numerous important cases on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total in the billions of dollars. If you have any questions about this notice or the action, or with regard to your rights, please contact the following: Steven J. Toll, Esq. Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, P.L.L.C. 1100 New York Avenue, N.W. West Tower, Suite 500 Washington, D.C. 20005 Telephone: (888) 240-0775 or (202) 408-4600 E-mail: stoll@cmht.com