WCBO West Coast Bancorp (MM)

West Coast Bank Purchases Washington Mutual Agricultural Loans LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- West Coast Bank (NASDAQ:WCBO) has purchased a significant portion of Washington Mutual's Oregon and Washington agricultural loan portfolio from Seneca Street, Inc., a subsidiary of Washington Mutual Bank. The loan purchase includes $56 million in outstanding loans and $42 million in undisbursed commitments. Washington Mutual recently announced its decision to exit the agricultural lending arena -- a market of strategic importance to West Coast Bank. Subsequently, West Coast Bank hired several commercial bankers in the agricultural lending arena from Washington Mutual and has now completed the purchase of agricultural loans from Washington Mutual. Xandra McKeown, Executive Vice President of Commercial Banking at West Coast Bank, said, "The purchase will eliminate the urgency for new customers to close and reinstate their lines of credit. Because we've hired many of the agricultural lending specialists from Washington Mutual, a significant advantage for these new clients is that they'll be able to continue to work with their previous banker without disruption to their business activities." West Coast Bank President & CEO Robert D. Sznewajs said, "This purchase furthers the company's strategic plan to increase our commercial banking and agricultural business in the Portland-Vancouver and Salem commercial banking markets, where we are the largest community bank headquartered in Oregon. And we're pleased to provide our new customers a smooth process for joining West Coast Bank." West Coast Bancorp, one of Oregon Business Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For, is a Northwest bank holding company with $1.7 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 of West Coast Bancorp, +1-503-598-3243 Web site: http://www.wcb.com/

Copyright