Brian Smith Joins Southwest Community Bank.

Business Editors

CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2002

Southwest Community Bank (OTCBB:SWCT) announced today that Brian J. Smith has joined the bank as vice president commercial loan officer.

A 13 year banking veteran, Brian was previously with Peninsula Bank of San Diego before that bank was acquired by US BANK. Smith will handle commercial lending relationships out of the bank's Carlsbad office.

Smith is on the board of directors of the San Diego chapter of the Risk Management Association and serves on the loan committee of the local Bankers Small Business CDC. A graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in business management, he resides in Carlsbad with his wife Brenda.

Southwest Community Bank is a locally headquartered, full service bank with branches in Encinitas, San Diego, Escondido, El Cajon and Carlsbad. The bank is San Diego's leading SBA lender, and has been awarded the Five-Star "Superior" rating from Bauer Financial, the nation's leading bank rating firm. Southwest is also the majority owner of Financial Data Solutions Inc., a technology services company that provides state-of-the-art computer processing solutions to over 26 financial institutions throughout California with aggregate assets in excess of $11 billion. The bank's stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "SWCT." For more information, visit our Web site at www.swcbank.com.