Central Valley Community Bancorp, parent company of Central Valley Community Bank, announced that it has received the regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of Sierra Vista Bank in Folsom.

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The OK comes from both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the California Department of Business Oversight.
When announced in April the transaction was valued at about $24 million. It is expected to close by Sept. 30, after which Sierra Vista Bank name and physical signage will change to Central Valley Community Bank. In addition, the conversion of all operational systems is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of this year.
As of the end of June, the two banks combined would have more than $1.4 billion in total assets and 23 branches.
“We are proud of our 36-year history of solid financial performance which will be enhanced with the addition of the Sierra Vista Bank team. The addition of their three full service offices, located in Folsom, Fair Oaks (Sacramento County), and Cameron Park (El Dorado County), will allow Central Valley Community Bank to increase our presence throughout California’s San Joaquin Valley and will provide long-term opportunities for the businesses, customers, employees, community and our Bank in this region,” stated James M. Ford, president and CEO of Central Valley Community Bancorp and Central Valley Community Bank.

Suncrest Bank to acquire
Security First Bank
Visalia-based Suncrest Bank will acquire Fresno’s Security First Bank in a cash and stock deal valued at $18.1 million.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was announced Friday morning, shareholders of Security First stock can elect to receive 1.2 shares of Suncrest common stock or $10 cash for each share of Security First, subject to an overall 50 percent stock and 50 percent cash split.
Suncrest Bank operates branches in Visalia, Porterville, Yuba City and Kingsburg, while Security First Bank has a single branch in Fresno.
The combined bank will continue to operate all five branches under the Suncrest name, offering increased lending capacity, an expanded product set, and the same outstanding level of customer service, according to Suncrest Bank President and CEO Ciaran McMullan. Security First Bank President and CEO Steve Jones will join the newly combined organization as its chief operating officer.
“I and the entire leadership group at Suncrest are excited by the opportunity to work with the Security First Bank team, and to help them build on the successes they have already achieved.” McMullan said in a statement. “We are particularly pleased to be adding Steve Jones to our team, as he brings a unique combination of real, hands-on community banking leadership experience together with substantial big bank experience in [mergers and acquisitions] and systems conversion and integration.”
The merger, subject to approval of Security First shareholders and regulators, will result in a combined banking entity with about $425 million in assets.
Suncrest Bank also announced today that, subject to customary closing conditions, Castle Creek Capital Partners VI, L.P. will be making an investment of $5.6 million to acquire 678,788 shares of common stock of the bank at $8.25 per share, with the proceeds being used both to support the merger and future growth.
Upon completion of the transaction, one director from the Security First Bank Board will join the board of the newly combined bank with the majority of the remaining Security First Bank directors forming a new local market advisory board.
Share prices for both banks were up in morning trading — 4.6 percent to $7.62 for Suncrest (SBKK) and 6.6 percent to $8.05 for Security First (SFRK). Trading volume was heavy for both.

Credit unions perform well in Q2
The California Credit Union League has released a second-quarter snapshot of how 41 credit unions in the Central Valley have been performing.
In terms of membership, the region’s credit unions served 990,000 members, a 3-percent increase year over year.
As far as loans, the region’s credit unions had more than $5.3 billion loaned out to the local community, a 12 percent increase year-over-year and nearing an all-time record high of $5.35 billion in 2008.
Some of the most significant increases came in first-time mortgages, which saw a 16-percent jump — an increase not seen since 2004.
New auto loans also saw a 20 percent increase to $1.26 billion, while used auto loans jumped 10 percent.
The California Credit Union League is based in Ontario, CA and is the state trade association for 335 credit unions headquartered in California. The League represents the interests of 10.6 million credit union members across the state who are member-owners of their credit unions.