MAF Bancorp to Buy St. Francis Capital

MAF Bancorp Inc., Chicago, has agreed to acquire St. Francis Capital Corp., a Milwaukee-based thrift holding company, in a deal valued at $264 million.Allen Koranda, chairman and chief executive of MAF, said St. Francis' focus on commercial, multifamily, and consumer lending "will be an excellent complement to our strengths in residential lending and provide good asset diversification to our overall loan portfolio." MAF also announced a $500 million, five-year lending commitment in Milwaukee that would target low- to moderate-income census tracts and people whose income is below 80% of the area median income. The loans will fund one- to four-family and multifamily housing initiatives. The combination will preserve the community lending programs and homebuying counseling programs that St. Francis now offers.