WCBO West Coast Bancorp (MM)

West Coast Bancorp Announces Settlement of Litigation Company Reaffirms 2005 Operating Earnings(1) Guidance Per Fully Diluted Share of $1.55-$1.61 LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., May 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- West Coast Bancorp (NASDAQ:WCBO) today announced that the Company settled the West v. West Coast Bank et al. litigation for $.5 million after tax on May 3, 2005. The settlement was agreed to prior to the filing of the Company's financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2005, and, in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), has been included in the Company's financial statements for the period then ended. Reflecting the settlement, operating earnings for the first quarter 2005 was $5.3 million or $.35 per fully diluted share while net income was $4.5 million or $.29 per fully diluted share in the same quarter. For further details, please see the Company's Form 10-Q report dated March 31, 2005, filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Robert D. Sznewajs, President and CEO, said, "We are pleased to have put this long-standing issue behind us. Including this litigation settlement, the Company reaffirms the operating earnings guidance noted in our first quarter conference call of $1.55-$1.61 per fully diluted share for the full year 2005, or an increase of 9% to 13% over the full year 2004." The West litigation arose out of an alleged commitment by the Bank to provide take out financing in connection with a real estate transaction in Lincoln County, Oregon in 1997. The Company had previously settled lawsuits brought by Edward Fischer et al. and B.A.S.S. Construction Company, Inc. et al. arising out of substantially the same set of facts as the West litigation. On November 15, 2004, the Bank filed a lawsuit against BancInsure, Inc. in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon seeking to recover under an insurance policy related to losses arising from the settlement of the Fischer and B.A.S.S. Construction claims. (1) Operating earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure that is derived by adjusting the Company's net income to exclude the first quarter 2005 recording of an other-than-temporary, non-cash impairment charge of $.8 million after tax related to its original $5 million investment in Freddie Mac preferred stock. Management believes operating earnings provides valuable information relating to its performance compared to prior periods. Forward Looking Statements: Statements in this release regarding future events, performance or results are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA") and are made pursuant to the safe harbors of the PSLRA. Actual results could be quite different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause results to differ from forward-looking statements include, among others: general economic and banking business conditions; evolving banking industry standards; competitive factors, including pricing pressures on Bancorp's loan yield and rates paid on deposits; changing customer investment, deposit and lending behaviors; changing interest rate environments, including the shape and the level of the yield curve, which could decrease net interest income and fee income, including lower gains on sales of loans; vendor service quality; changes in laws and other legal developments; changes in government funding of Small Business Administration ("SBA") loans; and changes in technology or required investments in technology. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements are subject to risks related to the Company's ability to: attract and retain lending officers and other key personnel; close loans in the pipeline; generate loan and deposit balances at projected spreads; sustain fee generation; maintain asset quality; control the level of net charge-offs; generate retail investments; retain customers of greatest value; create revenue growth from investments in new team members and branches, control expenses; monitor and manage the Company's internal control environments, including disclosure and financial reporting controls, and other matters. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date of the statements. Readers should carefully review the disclosures we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bancorp undertakes no obligation to publicly review or update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this report. West Coast Bancorp, one of Oregon Business Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2004 and 2005, is a Northwest bank holding company with $1.8 billion in assets, operating 52 offices in Oregon and Washington. The company combines the sophisticated products and expertise of larger banks with the local decision making, market knowledge and customer service of a community bank. For more information, visit the Company web site at http://www.wcb.com/. DATASOURCE: West Coast Bancorp CONTACT: Robert D. Sznewajs, President & CEO, +1-503-598-3243, or Anders Giltvedt, Chief Financial Officer, +1-503-598-3250, both of West Coast Bancorp Web site: http://www.wcb.com/

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