Columbia Bank Named Top Small Business Administration Lender In Oregon For Third Consecutive Year, Ranked Top 20 Nationally

TACOMA, Wash., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the third year in a row, Columbia Bank was recognized as the leading Small Business Administration (SBA) lender by the SBA Portland District Office, which covers 30 of 36 counties in Oregon and four counties in Southwest Washington. Columbia Bank also moved up a spot from a year earlier to become the No. 2 ranked SBA lender in the Seattle District Office's region, which spans the vast majority of Washington.

The rankings cover the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2020 and are based on the number of loans made by each bank during the period.

In fiscal 2020, Columbia Bank made a company record 194 SBA loans in the region covered by the Portland office. This is up from 186 in the previous year. In the Seattle District's region, Columbia Bank made 150 SBA loans, up from 132 the year prior setting a new record for the bank. Columbia Bank represents one of only two lenders in the Top 10 of the Portland District Office to increase the number of loans from fiscal 2019 to 2020 and was the only lender in the Top 10 of the Seattle District's region to increase the number of loans from fiscal 2019 to 2020.

Columbia Bank also joined the top 20 SBA lenders nationally in 2020, ranking No. 16 with a total 356 SBA loans.

Chris Merrywell, Columbia Bank's chief operating officer, commented, "This is a true testament to our bankers' unwavering commitment to help the small businesses that fuel local economies and that function as the backbone of the communities we serve. This also speaks to the caliber of our SBA Team who work very hard to find the right solution for every client, and I couldn't be prouder of the results."

Scott Bossom, head of Columbia Bank's SBA Lending Team commented, "SBA loans are important sources of credit for small business at various stages and across a wide range of industries. Columbia Bank provides SBA loans as small as our $5,000 Express Line of Credit and as large as the SBA's limit of $5 million. These loans help new businesses develop and others expand along with their communities, helping to build job markets and overall prosperity."

About Columbia Bank
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 and Idaho. The bank has been named one of Puget Sound Business Journal's "Washington's Best Workplaces," more than 10 times and was recently honored as the #1 in Customer Satisfaction with Retail Banking in the Northwest region by J.D. Power in the 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. Columbia was named the #1 bank in the Northwest on the Forbes 2020 list of "America's Best Banks" marking nearly 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.

Columbia Bank received the highest score in the Northwest region of the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study of customer satisfaction with their own retail bank. Visit jdpower.com/awards.

Media Contact: 
Moira Conlon
Financial Profiles, Inc. 
310-622-8220
mconlon@finprofiles.com

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SOURCE Columbia Bank