(PRNewswire) American Financial Realty Trust (NYSE: AFR), a real estate investment trust focused on acquiring and leasing properties occupied by financial institutions, today announced that it had recently completed the following transactions.

The Company recently entered into a 10-year lease for a 7,600 square foot bank branch in Irvington, New Jersey, that the Company acquired in September 2003. In addition, the Company entered into a 5-year lease for 5,048 square feet of office space in Spokane, Washington. Glenn Blumenthal, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, said, "As a Company we remain focused on maximizing the profitability of each property in our portfolio and are pursuing leasing opportunities with qualified financial institutions and high quality tenants. The completion of these additional leases demonstrates the talent of our leasing professionals as well as the attractiveness of our properties."

Over the past two weeks, the Company has sold five non-core properties in five separate transactions with gross proceeds of approximately $6.8 million. Prior to December 31, 2003, the Company anticipates completing the sale of three additional non-core properties for a gross sale price of approximately $7.0 million. Glenn Blumenthal, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, said, "The Company will continue to dispose of non-core properties in an effort to reduce operating expenses and stay focused on its market niche."

The Company recently completed the acquisition of three bank branch properties in North Carolina and Georgia pursuant to our formulated price contracts. The properties contain approximately 15,000 square feet and were acquired for a total purchase price of approximately $1.9 million.