WCBO West Coast Bancorp (MM)

West Coast Bancorp Expands Stock Repurchase Program LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- West Coast Bancorp's Board of Directors authorized an expansion of its common stock repurchase program by one million shares. Under its ongoing repurchase program, which commenced in July 2000, the Company had repurchased approximately 2.7 million shares or approximately 18% of its current common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2004. Including this one million share buy-back expansion, total remaining available common shares authorized for repurchase is approximately 1.2 million. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010816/SFTH016ALOGO ) EVP & CFO Anders Giltvedt said, "We continue to proactively manage our capital position. We believe our ongoing stock repurchase program is consistent with our capital management strategy and is an effective tool to enhance long-term shareholder value." Decisions regarding the timing of repurchases will be based on market conditions and other factors. The Company anticipates the expanded repurchase will be accomplished primarily through open market transactions, although other methods may be considered. West Coast Bancorp is a Northwest bank holding company with $1.7 billion in assets, operating 48 offices in Oregon and Washington. It is the parent company of West Coast Bank and West Coast Trust. West Coast Bank services clients who seek the resources, sophisticated products and expertise of large financial institutions, along with the local decision making power, market knowledge, and customer service orientation of a community bank. The Company offers a broad range of banking, investment, fiduciary and trust services. For more information, please visit the Company web site at http://www.wcb.com/. This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"), and this statement is included for the express purpose of protecting West Coast Bancorp under this Act's safe harbor provisions. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected: the Company stock's market price level, availability and liquidity of the Company's stock, conditions in the stock market, general economic conditions; business conditions in the banking industry; the regulatory environment; new legislation; fluctuating interest rate environments and other matters. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. West Coast Bancorp undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update the forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date of this release. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010816/SFTH016ALOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: West Coast Bancorp CONTACT: Robert D. Sznewajs, President & CEO, +1-503-598-3243, or Anders Giltvedt, Executive Vice President & CFO, +1-503-598-3250, both of West Coast Bancorp Web site: http://www.wcb.com/

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