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                                                                  EXHIBIT NO. 99

                           OHIO STATE BANCSHARES, INC.


     SAFE HARBOR UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") provides a
"safe harbor" for forward-looking statements to encourage companies to provide
prospective information about their companies, so long as those statements are
identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary
statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the statement. Ohio State Bancshares,
Inc. ("Corporation") desires to take advantage of the "safe harbor" provisions
of the Act. Certain information, particularly information regarding future
economic performance and finances and plans and objectives of management,
contained or incorporated by reference in the Corporation's Annual Report on
Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1997 is forward-looking. In some
cases, information regarding certain important factors that could cause actual
results of operations or outcomes of other events to differ materially from any
such forward-looking statement appear together with such statement. In addition,
forward-looking statements are subject to other risks and uncertainties
affecting the financial institutions industry, including, but not limited to,
the following:

INTEREST RATE RISK

The Corporation's operating results are dependent to a significant degree on its
net interest income, which is the difference between interest income from loans,
securities and other interest-earning assets and interest expense on deposits,
borrowings and other interest-bearing liabilities. The interest income and
interest expense of the Corporation change as the interest rates on
interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities change. Interest rates
may change because of general economic conditions, the policies of various
regulatory authorities and other factors beyond the Corporation's control. In a
rising interest rate environment, loans tend to prepay slowly and new loans at
higher rates increase slowly, while interest paid on deposits increases rapidly
because the terms to maturity of deposits tend to be shorter than the terms to
maturity or prepayment of loans. Such differences in the adjustment of interest
rates on assets and liabilities may negatively affect the Corporation's income.

ADEQUACY OF THE ALLOWANCE FOR LOAN LOSSES

The Corporation maintains an allowance for loan losses based upon a number of
relevant factors, including, but not limited to, trends in the level of
nonperforming and classified loans, current and anticipated economic conditions
in the primary lending area, past loss experience, possible losses arising from
specific problem loans and changes in the composition of the loan portfolio.
While the Board of Directors of the Corporation believes that it uses the best
information available to determine the allowance for loan losses, unforeseen
market conditions could result in material adjustments, and net earnings could
be significantly adversely affected if circumstances differ substantially from
the assumptions used in making the final determination.

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Loans secured by one- to four-family residential real estate are generally
considered to involve less risk of loss than other loans in the portfolio due,
in part, to the effects of general economic conditions. The repayment of
commercial loans generally depends upon the cash flow from the operation of the
business or property, which may be negatively affected by national and local
economic conditions. The risk of default on installment and credit card loans
increases during periods of recession, high unemployment and other adverse
economic conditions. When consumers have trouble paying their bills, they are
more likely to pay mortgage loans than consumer loans. In addition, the
collateral securing such loans, if any, may decrease in value more rapidly than
the outstanding balance of the loan.

COMPETITION

The Marion Bank ("Bank") competes for deposits with other commercial banks,
savings associations and credit unions and issuers of commercial paper and other
securities, such as shares in money market mutual funds. The primary factors in
competing for deposits are interest rates and convenience of office location. In
making loans, The Bank competes with other, commercial banks, savings
associations, consumer finance companies, credit unions, leasing companies,
mortgage companies and other lenders. Competition is affected by, among other
things, the general availability of lendable funds, general and local economic
conditions, current interest rate levels and other factors which are not readily
predictable. The size of financial institutions competing with the Bank is
likely to increase as a result of changes in statutes and regulations
eliminating various restrictions on interstate and inter-industry branching and
acquisitions. Such increased competition may have an adverse effect upon the
Corporation.

LEGISLATION AND REGULATION THAT MAY ADVERSELY AFFECT THE CORPORATION EARNINGS

As a state-chartered financial institution, the Bank is subject to extensive
regulation by the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions and the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (the "FDIC") and is periodically examined by such
regulatory agencies to test compliance with various regulatory requirements. As
a bank holding company, the Corporation is also subject to regulation and
examination by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Such
supervision and regulation of the Bank and the Corporation are intended
primarily for the protection of depositors and not for the maximization of
shareholder value and may affect the ability of the Corporation to engage in
various business activities. The assessments, filing fees and other costs
associated with reports, examinations and other regulatory matters are
significant and may have an adverse effect on the Corporation's net earnings.

The FDIC is authorized to establish separate annual assessment rates for deposit
insurance of members of the Bank Insurance fund (the "BIF") and the Savings
Association Insurance Fund (the "SAIF"). The FDIC has established a risk-based
assessment system for both SAIF and BIF members. Under such system, assessments
may vary depending on the risk the institution poses to its deposit insurance
fund. Such risk level is determined by reference to the institution's capital
level and the FDIC's level of supervisory concern about the institution.

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