Northern States Financial Corporation to deregister common stock

Waukegan-based Northern States Financial Corporation announced today that on March 28, 2013, the Company filed a Form 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to deregister the Company's common stock and suspend its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company is eligible to file Form 15 because its common stock is currently held of record by less than 1,200 persons. The Company expects the deregistration to become effective within 90 days of filing with the SEC. Upon the filing of the Form 15, the Company's obligation to file reports with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K, is immediately suspended.

Scott M. Yelvington, President and CEO of Northern States Financial Corporation, stated, “The Company's decision to deregister and ‘go dark' was driven by our goal to reduce current and future expenses. We expect that it will result in substantial cost savings to the Company as a result of the elimination of SEC reporting requirements as well as other public reporting company-related expenses, such as increased auditing fees and fees related to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.