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| NEWS |
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COMMUNITY WEST BANCSHARES
445 Pine Street, Goleta, California 93117
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: LYNDA RADKE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT & CFO
PHONE: 805 692-1862
FAX: 805-692-5835
URL: HTTP://WWW.COMMUNITYWEST.COM
SYMBOL: CWBC
COMMUNITY WEST BANCSHARES
SIGNS DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO SELL PALOMAR
COMMUNITY BANK
Goleta and Redlands, California, December 4, 2000. Community West Bancshares
(NASDAQ: CWBC) parent company of Palomar Community Bank, and Centennial First
Financial Services (OTC BB: CFFX), parent company of Redlands Centennial Bank,
jointly announced today the signing of a Definitive Agreement whereby Centennial
and the Senior Management of Palomar Community bank will acquire Community West
Bancshares' wholly owned subsidiary, Palomar Community Bank, headquartered in
Escondido, California. The transaction will preserve the only locally operated
community bank headquartered in Escondido, California. The purchase price is
estimated at $10.5 million. Community West Bancshares will file a Form 8-K
regarding this transaction with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On September 20, 2000 Community West Bancshares signed a Letter of Intent with
Palomar Community Bank's Senior Management, whereby the management group would
act as agents for a group of investors to acquire all of the outstanding stock
of Palomar in exchange for a combination of debt and cash. Senior Management of
Palomar has chosen Centennial First Financial Services as the investor.
Lew Stone, President and CEO of Community West Bancshares commented, "We are
very pleased with this transaction and believe it will benefit both Community
West shareholders as well as the employees, management and customers of Palomar
Community Bank. Proceeds from this sale will allow us to commit significant
additional resources to our subsidiary Goleta National Bank and its high growth
profit centers. The transaction is highly beneficial for both organizations".
Douglas C. Spencer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Centennial First
Financial Services, commented, "We are extremely pleased with this transaction,
which should prove highly beneficial to both organizations. There is tremendous
synergy between Centennial First Financial and Palomar Community Bank. Our
combined resources assure increased benefits to shareholders, employees,
management, and certainly the customers of both Redlands Centennial and
Palomar."
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Rick Sanborn, Palomar Community Bank's President and CEO, stated, "Becoming part
of the Centennial family is a win-win situation for us. Our goal all along has
been to partner with investors who understood the importance of Palomar
maintaining its local independence, and who had the same long-term vision of our
future. Our ability to maintain local control of Palomar, while having access
to Centennial's products and services and enhanced technology, can only be seen
as a distinct benefit to the businesses and residents of North San Diego
County".
The transaction is slated to be completed by mid 2001.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Community West Bancshares, a financial services company with headquarters in
Goleta, California, originates loans across a broad spectrum of local and
national markets. The Company currently has two subsidiaries. Palomar Community
Bank has a full service branch located in Escondido, California. Goleta National
Bank (GNB) has two full service branches, one in Goleta and one in Ventura,
California. GNB is one of the Nation's largest SBA lenders with loan production
offices located in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. The principal profit
generators of the Company are core banking with net interest margins, Mortgage
lending and Consumer Finance with fee income and Small Business
Centennial First Financial Services is currently a one-bank holding company,
with a full-service branch in Brea, California, scheduled to open next year.
Formed in December 1999, Centennial First Financial Services is the parent
company of Redlands Centennial Bank, which has provided banking services since
August 1990. The Company operates its main office and construction division in
downtown Redlands, California. Its SBA loan production offices are in Santa Ana
and Los Angeles, and there is also a loan production office in Anaheim,
California.
Palomar has been serving Escondido's residents and businesses since 1984. The
bank currently has 25 full time employees. Under the terms of the purchase,
Palomar's senior management will remain in place, and the bank's name will be
retained. There are no immediate plans for changes in operations or staffing.
SAFE HARBOR DISCLOSURE
This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's
current views of future events and operations. These forward-looking statements
are based on information currently available to the Company as of the date of
this release. It is important to note that these forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties,
including but not limited to, the ability of the Company to implement its
strategy and expand its lending operations.
Additional information can be found on the Internet at www.communitywest.com or
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by contacting Lew Stone at [email protected]. Douglas C. Spencer can be
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contacted at [email protected] or through www.redcent.com. Rick Sanborn can
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be contacted at [email protected] or through www.palomarbank.com.
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