For Immediate Release

           Ambanc Announces Reason for Postponement of Annual Meeting

AMSTERDAM, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-May 30, 2001--Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:
AHCI)  ("Ambanc")  announced  today  that it  postponed  its  annual  meeting of
stockholders originally scheduled for May 18, 2001, because it was negotiating a
preliminary  non-binding  proposal to buy the Company.  Prior to the date of the
annual meeting,  Ambanc received a preliminary  non-binding  proposal to acquire
the  Company  at a price  that was  significantly  above  the  trading  price of
Ambanc's stock at the time the proposal was made.  After  discussions,  Ambanc's
board of directors subsequently accepted such proposal, subject to one condition
determined by the board to be necessary in the discharge of its fiduciary duties
to stockholders.  Thereafter, the other party rejected Ambanc's proposal and the
discussions were terminated.

Mr.  Lawrence B.  Seidman,  the  incoming  Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Ambanc,  stated that "Our mission at Ambanc is to maximize  shareholder value in
the company.  The proposed  transaction would have accomplished that mission but
the buyer insisted on conditions that were unacceptable to our board and that we
believe would have been unacceptable to any reasonable  board.  Despite our best
efforts  to find a middle  ground on which  both sides  could  agree,  the buyer
rejected our proposal.  In view of these negotiations,  the board decided it was
best to delay  the  annual  meeting  until we could  make a formal  announcement
regarding the proposed transaction to our stockholders."

Ambanc's  annual  meeting of  stockholders  is now scheduled to be held at 10:00
a.m.,  on June 1, 2001,  at the Company's  headquarters  at 11 Division  Street,
Amsterdam, New York. For legal reasons,  representatives of Ambanc will not have
any further comment  regarding the  preliminary  proposal beyond the information
included in this announcement.

Ambanc  Holding Co.,  Inc. is a unitary  savings and loan holding  company.  The
Company's  primary  subsidiary,  Mohawk  Community  Bank,  serves  customers  in
seventeen upstate New York offices, located in Montgomery,  Fulton, Schenectady,
Saratoga,  Albany, Otsego,  Chenango and Schoharie counties. The Bank's deposits
are insured up to the maximum legal amount by the FDIC.

The foregoing material may contain forward-looking  statements.  We caution that
such statements may be subject to a number of  uncertainties  and actual results
could differ materially and, therefore,  readers should not place undue reliance
on any forward-looking  statements.  Ambanc does not undertake, and specifically
disclaims,  any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions that
may be made to any  forward-looking  statements  to reflect  the  occurrence  of
anticipated  or  unanticipated  events or  circumstances  after the date of such
statements.

CONTACT: Ambanc Holding Co., Inc.
John M. Lisicki, President and CEO
(518) 842-7200