Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE:WL) anticipates that earnings per common share (on a diluted basis) for the 2009 second quarter will be lower than market expectations. This is primarily due to:

• An expected increase in the provision for loan losses from $29.5 million for the 2009 first quarter to approximately $54 million.
• An expected pre-tax charge of approximately $23 million for other-than-temporary impairments on pooled trust-preferred investment securities.
• A special assessment by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) of approximately $5 million. (This special assessment, which the FDIC levied industry-wide, is in addition to regular insurance premiums.)

Second quarter results will show that the company remains well capitalized, both including and excluding the $330 million in Capital Purchase Program funds the company received in exchange for issuing shares of Wilmington Trust Series A preferred stock to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. All regulatory capital ratios continue to exceed the well-capitalized amounts required by the Federal Reserve Board.

“While our Wealth Advisory Services and Corporate Client Services businesses performed well during the second quarter, the recession continued to put stress on some of our borrowers and on some of the underlying issuers in our pooled trust-preferred securities,” said Ted T. Cecala, Wilmington Trust chairman and chief executive officer.

The second quarter increase in the provision for loan losses is primarily due to:

• An expected increase in nonperforming loans from $251.1 million for the 2009 first quarter to approximately $332 million.
• An expected increase in net charge-offs from $21.2 million for the 2009 first quarter to approximately $36 million.
• Downgrades in internal credit risk ratings.

Wilmington Trust intends to announce second quarter results on July 24, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern). Management plans to discuss those results in a conference call the same day at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern).