Community West Bancshares Reports Third-Quarter Results.

Business Editors

GOLETA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2000

Community West Bancshares (Nasdaq:CWBC) today reported third-quarter 2000 results.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2000, was $300,000, or 5 cents per share. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2000, net income was $4,114,000, or 67 cents per share. Book value per share at Sept. 30, 2000, was $6.12.

Lew Stone, president and chief executive officer, commented: "With the close of the third quarter, we have achieved several important financial milestones.

Compliance With the Regulatory Agreement

"First, we have met substantially all the conditions of our March 23, 2000, agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), including the condition that total capital be at least equal to 12 percent of risk-weighted assets. As of Sept. 30, 2000, our total capital was 12.05 percent of risk-weighted assets.

"Next, we have dramatically reduced our concentration of second mortgage loans. The agreement requires that the concentration be limited to 100 percent of our capital. As of Sept. 30, 2000, second mortgage loans constituted only 53 percent of our capital and were significantly below the regulatory requirement.

"Reaching our mandated financial milestones also means that our operations are returning to normalcy; extra-ordinary activities such as planned loan sales and one-time gains from interest earned on loans held for sale have come to an end.

"With those activities behind us, we are now able to refocus our attention on building for the future and continuing to demonstrate our strength as loan originators in a number of markets, including SBA Lending, Consumer Finance and Mortgage Lending.

Proposed Sale of Subsidiary, Palomar Community Bank

"On Sept. 20th of this year, we announced the signing of a letter of intent for the sale of Palomar Community Bank. The letter of intent calls for the senior management of Palomar Community Bank, acting as the agent for a group of investors, to acquire all of the outstanding stock of Palomar Community Bank in exchange for a combination of debt and cash.

"The purchase price is subject to a number of factors, including the signing of a definitive agreement, and is currently estimated to be between $10.5 and $11.0 million.

"We are very pleased with this proposed transaction. Community West would benefit, as the proceeds from this sale would allow the company tremendous flexibility. The proceeds could be used to pay off debt, buy back stock, and to commit significant additional resources to our subsidiary Goleta National Bank and its higher-growth profit centers.

Suit Against Former Auditors

"On Oct. 10th, Community West Bancshares and its wholly owned subsidiary, Goleta National Bank, jointly announced the filing of a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against their former auditors and financial consultants, Deloitte & Touche LLP. The suit alleges deficient audit and financial consulting services that ultimately resulted in the restatement of the company's Dec. 31, 1998, financial statements and regulatory capital ratios.

"We are represented by Hennigan, Bennett & Dorman of Los Angeles under a contingent fee arrangement. The filing of this lawsuit demonstrates the board of directors' strong commitment to protecting the shareholders' interests. The suit seeks compensatory damages in excess of $60 million.

Results for Three and Nine Months Ended Sept. 30, 2000

"This quarter and year to date have been a period of dramatic change for Community West Bancshares. The most recent events, outlined above, are just the latest in a series of major steps we have taken to enhance shareholder value.

"Beginning in February of this year with our decision to sell the majority of our interest in ePacific, we have steadily moved to streamline our operations, eliminating activities which promise modest growth and focusing our efforts to maximize revenues from our high- growth profit centers of SBA Lending and Consumer Finance. We have built a very strong foundation for growth and believe we are well positioned for a strong 2001."

Company Overview

Community West Bancshares, a financial-services company with headquarters in Goleta, 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, Calif. Goleta National Bank (GNB) has two full-service branches, one in Goleta and one in Ventura, Calif. GNB is one of the nation's largest Small Business Administration (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 SBA lending with fee income.

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. Furthermore, the company will have certain restrictions placed on its operations by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency until it deems that it has substantially complied with the letter agreement signed by the GNB board of directors. The company has attempted to incorporate these restrictions into its business plans, and it believes that they will not impact the organization's earnings ability into the future.

                      COMMUNITY WEST BANCSHARES
                    Selected Income Statement Data

                             Three months ended  Nine months ended
                                   Sept. 30,          Sept. 30,
                                     2000               2000

Interest income                  $12,875,000        $37,574,000
Interest expense                   6,558,000         19,141,000
Net interest income                6,317,000         18,433,000
Provision for loan losses          2,043,000          3,567,000
Net interest income after
 provision for loan losses         4,274,000         14,866,000
Other income                       2,841,000         12,360,000
Other expense                      6,617,000         20,006,000
Net income before taxes              498,000          7,220,000
Income taxes                         198,000          3,106,000
Net income                           300,000          4,114,000
Earnings per share -- basic      $      0.05        $      0.67
Earnings per share -- diluted    $      0.05        $      0.67
Weighted average shares
 outstanding                       6,107,216          6,107,216
Diluted shares outstanding         6,137,624          6,142,692

Note: On April 14, 2000, Community West Bancshares restated its
      previous operating results for fiscal years 1998 and 1999.
      Therefore, same-quarter comparisons with prior year's
      performance are not applicable.

                     Selected Balance Sheet Data

                                                         As of
                                                        Sept. 30,
                                                          2000

Loans                                                $332,732,000
Deposits                                              220,450,000
Equity                                                 37,402,000
Total assets                                          405,422,000