PRESS RELEASE
March 18, 2005

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Joseph Beaulieu, Senior Vice President, Marketing
(360) 412 -2119

Venture Bank Receives Five-Star Rating

 

Olympia, Wash., March 18 2005 - BauerFinancial, Inc., the premier rating organization for banks and thrifts in the U.S., recently ranked Venture Bank in it’s highest category, giving the bank a Five-Star rating.

 

The BauerFinancial rating is only given to a bank operating above its regulatory capital requirements and which maintains favorable returns on average assets and average equity.

 

The BauerFinancial rating system is widely regarded as the most thorough and reliable of its kind, and is used by thousands of depositors and investors to assess banks for their financial strength, profitability, liquidity, and commitment to community reinvestment.

 

"We are pleased and proud to receive a Five-Star recognition by a top rating authority such as Bauer-Financial," said Ken F. Parsons, Sr., President and CEO of Lacey-based Venture Bank.

 

"Our financial strength speaks well of our strategic growth plan, and also the bank’s emphasis on a customer-service culture that nurtures long-term relationships and mutual success," Parsons added.

 

In addition to the capital ratio, other criteria are used to determine Bauer's Star Rating. Some of these include but are not limited to: profitability/loss trend, evaluating the level of delinquent loans and repossessed assets, the market versus book value of the investment portfolio, regulatory supervisory agreements, the community reinvestment rating (CRA), and liquidity. Potential losses on available-for-sale securities, delinquent loans and repossessed assets are forecasted in assigning the star rating.

 

Venture Bank has 14 Financial Centers in four Western Washington counties and offers a full spectrum of financial services including commercial, construction, residential and consumer lending, deposit products, online baking, bill pay and other banking services. The bank also provides a broad range of investment services through its subsidiary Venture Wealth Management, Inc. Further information about the bank may be found on the Internet at www.venture-bank.com.

 

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