Columbia Bancorp Moves to Consolidate Banking Operations.THE DALLES dalles pl.n. The rapids of a river that runs between the steep precipices of a gorge or narrow valley. [French, pl. of dalle, gutter, from Old French, from Old Norse dæla.] , Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1999-- Columbia Bancorp (Nasdaq:CBBO) today announced plans to merge its two subsidiary banks, Columbia River Columbia River River, southwestern Canada and northwestern U.S. Rising in the Canadian Rockies, it flows through Washington state, entering the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Ore.; it has a total length of 1,240 mi (2,000 km). Bank and Valley Community Bank into a single operating entity. The combination is designed to improve operating efficiency, strengthen the company's commitment to community banking by more effectively sharing the resources of the existing subsidiaries and develop a broader regional brand identity. "This combination will help us cut expenses by eliminating the duplication of backroom back·room n. or back room 1. A room located at the rear. 2. The meeting place used by an inconspicuous controlling group. adj. 1. functions, and other administrative and regulatory requirements," said Terry Cochran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Bancorp. "The savings expected from the merger should more than offset any related costs this year. Our recently announced new branch in Newberg will open as a Columbia River Bank branch and the McMinnville branch of Valley Community Bank will change over to Columbia River Bank at the conclusion of the combination. "Both banks use the same computerized data processing data processing or information processing, operations (e.g., handling, merging, sorting, and computing) performed upon data in accordance with strictly defined procedures, such as recording and summarizing the financial transactions of a system, which is fully Y2K compliant Capable of correctly processing any data that deals with a date beyond the year 1999. See Y2K problem. ," continued Cochran. "There should be no interruption in the outstanding service our customers are used to receiving, in fact, we expect to improve the products and services available to our customers by adopting the best practices of each subsidiary bank." Columbia River Bank will be the remaining entity and will be wholly owned by Columbia Bancorp. The combination is subject to approval by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent U.S. federal executive agency designed to promote public confidence in banks and to provide insurance coverage for bank deposits up to $100,000. and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services. Approval is expected before year-end. Columbia Bancorp had assets of $340.8 million at June 30, 1999. Total deposits were $293.9 million and loans were $217.6 million. Shareholder equity was $35.7 million and book value was $4.48 per share. Net income was $1.2 million, or $.14 per diluted share in the June 30, 1999 quarter. Columbia Bancorp (www.columbiabancorp.com) is the holding company for Columbia River Bank, which currently operates 11 branches located in The Dalles, Hood River The Hood River is a tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Approximately 25 mi (40 km) long from its mouth to its farthest headwaters on the East Fork, the river descends from wilderness areas in the Cascade Range on Mount Hood and flows , Bend, Madras, Redmond, Pendleton and Hermiston, Oregon Hermiston is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States, near the junction of I-82 and I-84. U.S. Highway 395 also goes through the center of the city. Hermiston is seven miles south of the Columbia River, Lake Wallula, and the McNary Dam. , and in Goldendale and White Salmon, Washington White Salmon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Klickitat County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,193 at the 2000 census. History White Salmon was officially incorporated on June 3, 1907. . A 12th branch is expected to open in Newberg, Oregon early in the fourth quarter. The Valley Community Bank branch, headquartered in McMinnville, Oregon, will become the 13th Columbia River Bank branch later this year. In addition to its community banking services, Columbia and its subsidiaries provide mortgage lending services through its Columbia River Bank Mortgage Group, and brokerage services through its affiliation with PrimeVest Financial Services, Inc. In addition, Columbia Bancorp's news releases, 10-Qs and 10-Ks for the last twelve months are available via Fax-on-Demand. Call 800-683-0074 to request documents. Statements concerning future performance, developments or events, and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include regional economic conditions, success in merging subsidiary banks, the ability to control costs and expenses, and government and regulatory actions, which might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion