Business Bank of Nevada Hires Additional Commercial Loan Officers.

Business Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2000

Business Bank of Nevada today announced that it has hired two new commercial loan officers to handle increased business and lending activity that the bank is experiencing as it continues to grow and expand. The new loan officers are Kelly A. Blakeslee and Tanisha R. Bell, both of whom worked at Bank of America prior to joining Business Bank.

According to Mark Phillips, executive vice president and chief credit officer of Business Bank of Nevada, the hiring of these two highly qualified and very experienced individuals is a direct result of our strong market conditions, along with increased loan demand from a rapidly growing customer base.

"We've hired both Kelly and Tanisha clearly because of their experience, but also because of the relationships they bring with them from their previous employment," Phillips said. "The hiring of additional loan officers also positions us for the future and what we see as strong loan growth in our total outstanding loans, which is growing at a rate of approximately 30 percent a year."

Blakeslee joins Business Bank after spending the past seven years at Bank of America, working in a number of areas of the bank. Mostly recently, she worked as a manager in the Government Lending Product Center since the middle of last year. She also worked as a real estate officer, a small business sales officer and credit risk officer for BofA's Community Development Bank during a two-year period. Blakeslee began her career with BofA in 1993 as a real estate underwriter. She also worked for four years as a supervisory loan officer for the U.S. Small Business Administration. Blakeslee graduated from California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Finance.

Bell also joins Business Bank from Bank of America, where she worked as a real estate credit officer for the past year. Prior to joining BofA, she worked as a commercial loan officer, underwriter and account service/customer service representative for Pioneer Citizens Bank for six years. She also worked for First Western Bank as a loan servicing clerk and teller from 1990 to 1993. Bell is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Financial Management. She's also attended the Robert Morris & Associates Credit Training Courses for Community Lenders and the National Association of Urban Banker's Strategic Bank Management Course. Bell is involved in several community activities, including the Team Hurricane Track Club, National Association of Urban Bankers, Urban Financial Services Coalition of Southern Nevada, and Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity.

Business Bank of Nevada is in its fifth year of operation and is one of the fastest-growing independent banks in the state. The bank has four branch offices in Nevada, with three in the Las Vegas area and one in Carson City. The bank has plans to open additional offices statewide in the near future. Business Bank is FDIC Insured and is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and is listed over the counter (OTC) at ticker symbol BBNV.