OREGON COAST BANK
909 SE Bay Boulevard
PO Box 2280
Newport, OR 97365

A Commitment to Independence

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Contact: Fred Postlewait
              Oregon Coast Bank
              541-265-9000

Newport, OR –In the rapidly changing financial services industry, locally-owned community banks have become somewhat of a rarity. Over the past several years large regional banks have been aggressive purchasers of the independents. They in turn are hunted by even larger banks. Bank acquisitions typically result in management and staff changes at the local level. As a result customers often become frustrated, having to deal with new bankers and policies.

Recently the Board of Directors of Oregon Coast Bank unanimously agreed to release a “Policy Statement of Independence”, which reaffirmed the bank’s longstanding commitment to remaining locally owned and operated. “We know that a local bank is always closer and more knowledgeable about our local communities and better able to structure financial solutions for its customers,” explained Fred Postlewait, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oregon Coast Bank. “We think there will be an ongoing need for a local bank on the central coast for many years to come.”

“In order to remain independent, it is critical that a financial institution has a long-term plan for management succession,” pointed out Postlewait. “In the case of Oregon Coast Bank, that plan has been in place for years. I am the only one of the bank’s leaders who is anywhere near retirement age.” The Oregon Coast Bank management training program has produced a strong team of younger managers. “We have a group of young bankers capable of leading the bank for decades to come,” added Postlewait.

Oregon Coast Bank will be celebrating its 13th birthday next month. The bank has grown steadily, even avoiding the problems of the 2007 – 2010 recession. Bauer Financial and Bankrate.com, both respected independent financial ratings services, each list Oregon Coast Bank as a five-star bank, their highest possible financial safety ranking. The bank currently operates offices in Newport, Toledo, Waldport, Lincoln City, Pacific City and Tillamook.

“Oregon Coast Bank stock has proven to be a good investment for the more than a hundred local families who are our shareholders, but we’ve also been good for the local economy,” points out Rob Thompson, Chairman of the Oregon Coast Bank Board of Directors. “In just the last decade we’ve provided well over $500 million in financing to central Oregon coast families and businesses, which is far more than any of our competitors. That’s what a community bank should do and why we’re committed to remaining independent.”