COLUMBIA BANK BOLSTERS SEATTLE COMMERCIAL LENDING TEAM WITH FIVE NEW HIRES
Columbia Bank announced the addition of a five-person commercial banking team to its Seattle office, aiming to enhance its market presence. The team includes Robert Boswell, Jocelyn Stockton, Riley Gaffney, Anna DeCaterina, and Miranda Jones, each bringing extensive experience in commercial banking across various sectors. Chris Merrywell, COO, emphasized the need for skilled professionals to support the growth of middle-market companies in the Seattle area. This development aligns with Columbia's ongoing strategy to combine operations with Umpqua Bank, enhancing service offerings to clients.
- Addition of experienced commercial banking team enhances service capacity in Seattle.
- Expertise across multiple sectors supports growth of middle-market companies.
- None.
TACOMA, Wash., Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Bank today announced that a five-person commercial banking team has joined its Seattle office as the Bank continues to grow in this critical market.
"Middle-market companies in the Seattle area are poised for additional growth in the coming years and they require experienced professionals like this high-caliber team," said Chris Merrywell, Columbia's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "This is a seasoned team who appreciates our brand of banking and share our excitement about the future we are building through our proposed combination with Umpqua Bank."
The financial services professionals joining include:
Robert Boswell who joins as a commercial banking team leader and senior vice president responsible for overseeing client relationships, business development, and risk management practices for the new Seattle Commercial Banking Team. Spanning 25 years, Boswell's banking career has focused on working with traditional businesses and technology clients in Boston and Bellevue / Seattle. He has partnered with clients to provide banking services for various aspects of their businesses, including acquisitions through many business cycles and advised on a variety of lending structures to fund clients' growth plans. Prior to banking, he spent 12 years as a structural design engineer. Most recently, he was the commercial banking division manager at WaFd Bank. Boswell holds an MBA in finance from Kent State University.
Jocelyn Stockton joins as senior vice president and commercial relationship manager. With nearly 16 years of industry experience in underwriting, structuring, managing client relationships, and growing commercial portfolios, she is well-versed at assisting commercial banking clients. She has focused her banking career on industries including contractors, manufacturers, and professional services. Stockton holds a bachelor's degree with an emphasis in finance from Western Washington University.
Riley Gaffney joins as a senior vice president and commercial banking relationship manager responsible for new business development. He has experience banking clients across numerous industries, including manufacturing, construction, technology, and professional services. Gaffney works with companies on their financing needs through operating lines of credit, financing of mergers & acquisitions, assisting family-owned businesses, and private equity transactions. Prior to joining Columbia Bank, he worked in commercial banking at both WaFd Bank and KeyBank and in HomeStreet Bank's underwriting division. He holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Arts in Finance, both from Seattle University.
Also joining the Columbia Seattle Commercial Banking team is Anna DeCaterina. She joins as a vice president and commercial relationship manager responsible for tailoring credit solutions to align with client-goals. DeCaterina is experienced in analyzing a company's cash flow, performance metrics and market position across a variety of industries. She is skilled in providing customized banking services and developing credit structures that seamlessly align with a company's core objectives.
Miranda Jones joins as a vice president and portfolio manager. She will leverage her nearly seven years of commercial underwriting experience to support the commercial banking team with new deal approvals and ongoing portfolio monitoring. Jones has earned a reputation for meeting the individual needs of each client while mitigating risk. Prior to Columbia Bank, Jones was a senior credit analyst at WaFd Bank. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics Sciences from Washington State University.
About Columbia
Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, Columbia Banking System, Inc. (NASDAQ: COLB) is the holding company of Columbia Bank, a Washington state-chartered full-service commercial bank with locations throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Northern California. The bank has been named one of Puget Sound Business Journal's "Washington's Best Workplaces," more than 10 times. Columbia was named the #1 bank in the Northwest on the Forbes 2021 list of "America's Best Banks" marking 10 consecutive years on the publication's list of top financial institutions. More information about Columbia can be found on its website at www.columbiabank.com.
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of Umpqua Holdings Corporation ("Umpqua") and Columbia Banking System, Inc. ("Columbia"), the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "plan," "target," "goal," or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "might," "should," "would," "could," or similar variations. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking statements: changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions; the magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy and financial market conditions and Umpqua's and Columbia's respective businesses, results of operations, and financial condition; uncertainty in U.S. fiscal and monetary policy, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board or the effects of any declines in housing and commercial real estate prices, high or increasing unemployment rates, or any slowdown in economic growth particularly in the western United States; volatility and disruptions in global capital and credit markets; movements in interest rates; reform of LIBOR; competitive pressures, including on product pricing and services; success, impact, and timing of Umpqua's and Columbia's respective business strategies, including market acceptance of any new products or services and Umpqua and Columbia's ability to successfully implement efficiency and operational excellence initiatives; the nature, extent, timing, and results of governmental actions, examinations, reviews, reforms, regulations, and interpretations; changes in laws or regulations; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement to which Umpqua and Columbia are parties; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Umpqua or Columbia; delays in completing the transaction; the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction); the failure to obtain shareholder approvals or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the transaction on a timely basis or at all; changes in Umpqua's or Columbia's share price before closing, including as a result of the financial performance of the other party prior to closing, or more generally due to broader stock market movements, and the performance of financial companies and peer group companies; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where Umpqua and Columbia do business; certain restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact the parties' ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; the ability to complete the transaction and integration of Umpqua and Columbia successfully; the dilution caused by Columbia's issuance of additional shares of its capital stock in connection with the transaction; and other factors that may affect the future results of Umpqua and Columbia. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Umpqua's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available on Umpqua's investor relations website, www.umpquabank.com, under the heading "Financials," and in other documents Umpqua files with the SEC, and in Columbia's Registration Statement on Form S-4, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021, which are on file with the SEC and available on Columbia's website, www.columbiabank.com, under the heading "Financial Information" and in other documents Columbia files with the SEC.
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time. Neither Umpqua nor Columbia assumes any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.
IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND WHERE TO FIND IT
In connection with the proposed transaction (the "Transaction"), Columbia filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that includes a joint proxy statement of Umpqua and Columbia and a prospectus of Columbia, which the SEC declared effective December 3, 2021. Umpqua and Columbia commenced mailing of the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus to Umpqua's and Columbia's shareholders seeking certain approvals related to the Transaction on or about December 7, 2021. Umpqua and Columbia may also file other relevant documents concerning the Transaction with the SEC. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AS WELL AS THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE TRANSACTION, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders can obtain a free copy of the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Umpqua and Columbia, without charge, at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Copies of these documents and the filings with the SEC incorporated by reference in these documents can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Umpqua Holdings Corporation, Attention: Andrew Ognall, One SW Columbia Street, Suite 1200, Portland, OR 97204, 503-727-4100 or to Columbia Banking System, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, P. O. Box 2156, MS 3100, Tacoma, WA 98401-2156, 253-471-4065.
PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION
Umpqua, Columbia, and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Umpqua and Columbia in connection with the Transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information regarding Umpqua's directors and executive officers is available in Umpqua's definitive proxy statement relating to its 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 5, 2021, and other documents filed by Umpqua with the SEC. Information regarding Columbia's directors and executive officers is available in Columbia's definitive proxy statement relating to its 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 12, 2021, and other documents filed by Columbia with the SEC. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is contained in the definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus relating to the Transaction. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.
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SOURCE Columbia Bank
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