Community West Bancshares Subsidiary, Goleta National Bank, Is Nation's 26th Largest SBA Lender.

Business Editors

GOLETA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 28, 1999

Lew Stone, president and chief executive officer of Community West Bancshares (Nasdaq:CWBC), today announced that its subsidiary, Goleta National Bank, was the 26th largest SBA 7(a) lender in the country for the last fiscal year of the Small Business Administration.

The period covered was Oct. 1, 1998, through Sept. 30, 1999. The bank originated $60 million of SBA 7(a) loans during that period.

Stone said, "We have increased the number of states in which we are a Preferred Lender under the SBA program, which allows us to fund loans much more quickly than non-Preferred Lenders. We were 35th with $36 million in originations during 1998 and 57th with $29 million during 1997, so we are definitely moving up the list.

"And, as previously announced in October of this year, we have been approved as a Preferred Lender in five additional states, for a total of 11 states. Those new states should add to our volume of loans in future years.

"In addition, with the conversion of Palomar Community Bank to a state chartered bank, we should be able to originate more SBA loans in the rapidly expanding San Diego County market." The company, through its subsidiary, Goleta National Bank, began originating SBA loans during 1990.

Community West Bancshares is a technology and financial services company with headquarters in Goleta. The company has three subsidiaries. Palomar Community Bank has a full service branch and a loan production office, both located in Escondido, Calif.

EPacific.com Inc. provides proprietary technology platforms for the issuance and use of card technology to make payments and establish loyalty programs, and has the ability to settle transactions via ATM and POS networks, the automated clearinghouse system, and the Internet.

Goleta National Bank has two full service branches, one in Goleta and one in Ventura, and loan production offices located in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Nevada.

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 continuation of government loan programs under the U.S. Small Business Administration, the ability of the company and its subsidiary banks to market and originate SBA loans, competition, and economic events that may affect earnings. The company's actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including general economic conditions and competition.