Santa Cruz County Bank Named Super Premier Performing Bank By The Findley Reports, Inc., for a Seventh Consecutive Year

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Apr 12, 2017, 15:11 ET

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Cruz County Bank, a locally owned and operated full-service community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz County, today announced receipt of its seventh consecutive designation of Super Premier performing bank by The Findley Reports, Inc. based upon 2016 financial performance.

For a bank to achieve the Super Premier performance rating it must meet four key performance ratios established by Findley Reports, Inc. Super Premier is the highest rating level established by Findley Reports, Inc. Santa Cruz County Bank met the four criteria at a high level of performance: growth, return on beginning equity, net operating income as a percentage of average assets and loan losses as a percentage of gross loans.

Gary Steven Findley, Editor of The Findley Reports remarked, "One of the true joys in writing the Newsletter and reviewing the performance of all banks in the western United States is recognizing exceptional performance. Santa Cruz County Bank has again been recognized as a Super Premier Performing Bank and remains one of the top performing banks year in and year out. This kind of performance should definitely bring joy to the shareholders."

David Heald, President and CEO of Santa Cruz County Bank commented, "Seven consecutive years as a Super Premier Performing bank is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our Board of Directors, our management team, and our employees to meet high service standards and deliver exceptional value for our shareholders."

ABOUT THE FINDLEY REPORTS
For over fifty years The Findley Reports has been recognizing the financial performance of banking institutions in California and the Western United States. The Findley Reports is the reporting service of The Findley Companies. Since 1965, The Findley Companies have earned recognition as being knowledgeable, innovative and effective in implementing solutions to complex situations.

ABOUT SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BANK
Santa Cruz County Bank, founded in 2004, is a locally owned and operated community bank with offices located in Aptos, Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville. The bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and individuals; including business loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans, credit cards, merchant services, remote deposit capture, mobile and online banking, bill payment, and cash management. For the past nine years, the Bank's SBA Department has been recognized as a top SBA lender in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County Bank is a top USDA lender in the state of California.

Santa Cruz County Bank stock is publicly traded on the OTC marketplace under the stock symbol SCZC. Stock purchase orders may be placed through a brokerage firm or one of the Market Makers listed in the Investor Relations section of the bank's website. For more information about Santa Cruz County Bank, please visit our website www.sccountybank.com.

NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL RATINGS AND AWARDS
OTCQX Best 50: Santa Cruz County Bank was named one of 50 best performing companies on OTCQX based on total return and growth in average daily dollar volume in 2015.

Financial Management Consulting (FMC) Group: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 2^nd in overall performance among 185 California banks and ranked 1^st (lowest) in non-performing assets for the full year in 2016. The Bank has ranked in FMC's top ten banks in California for the past two years.

The Findley Reports, Inc.: Santa Cruz County Bank was named a Super Premier Performing Bank for its 2016 performance. The Bank has received the top ranking of Super Premier by Findley for seven years.

Bauer Financial Reports, Inc.: Santa Cruz County Bank rated five star or "Superior" for its financial strength for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

American Banker Magazine: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 44^th out of 684 institutions in American Banker Magazine's "Top Performing 200 Community Banks & Thrifts in the United States" based upon 3-year average return on equity. The Bank has ranked in the Top 200 Community Banks in the United States for three consecutive years.

Independent Banker Magazine, published by the ICBA: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 22^nd in its Top Best Performing Member Community Banks for return on average equity.

COMMUNITY AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
2017: Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County "Big Step Award" for the 2016 Holiday Food Drive.

2016: United Way of Santa Cruz County "Corporate Spirit Award" for outstanding support.

2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013: Voted "Best Bank" by the readers of Good Times, a weekly publication with distribution throughout Santa Cruz County.

2017, 2016, 2015: Voted "Best Bank" by the readers of Santa Cruz Sentinel, a daily publication with distribution throughout Santa Cruz County.

2013: Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County "Be the Difference" Business Award for leadership and volunteerism.

This release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties may include but are not necessarily limited to fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, government regulations and general economic conditions, and competition within the business areas in which the Bank is conducting its operations, including the real estate market in California and other factors beyond the Bank's control. Such risks and uncertainties could cause results for subsequent interim periods or for the entire year to differ materially from those indicated. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which reflect management's view only as of the date hereof. The Bank undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

SOURCE Santa Cruz County Bank