TEMECULA, Calif., May 17,
2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Mission Oaks National Bank announced that the U.S.
Small Business Administration has expanded its Preferred Lending status
to include San Francisco, Fresno and Sacramento district offices of
the SBA.
"This means Mission
Oaks now has PLP status for all of California and a good part of the
Southwestern United States," said Hector Hernandez, senior vice
president and manager of the bank's SBA department. "We are pleased
with the designation and our continued success meeting the needs of
small business customers."
The Temecula-based community
bank has PLP authority in Arizona as well.
The Preferred Lending status,
the highest lending designation granted by the SBA, lets Mission Oaks
document and originate SBA guaranteed loans and shorten the time it
takes to get a loan approved and funded. SBA lenders are classified
in three categories: general program (GP), certified lender (CLP) and
preferred lender (PLP).
Mission Oaks began making
SBA real estate (504) loans shortly after opening its doors in November
2000. In 2001 it formally established an SBA loan department and began
offering SBA-guaranteed 7A loans to small businesses.
In 2004, Mission Oaks was
the nation's 85th busiest SBA lender with 32 loans valued at about $23.7
million, according to Coleman Publishing, a La Canada-based firm that
tracks government lending programs. In 2003, Mission Oaks made 30 SBA
loans worth $12.7 million.
Mission Oaks National Bank
is an award-winning, community-based, federally chartered bank with
asset of more than $120 million that is committed to serving consumers
and businesses in Southern California. The bank offers personalized
services and products through two full-service branch offices and loan
production offices in San Diego and Phoenix. Mission Oaks plans to open
a third branch in the Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga area early next year.
Safe Harbor
Certain statements in this
press release, including statements regarding the anticipated development
and expansion of the Bank's business, and the intent, belief or current
expectations of the Bank, its directors or its officers, are "forward-looking"
statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, risks related to the local and national
economy, the Bank's performance, regulatory matters and those discussed
in filings by the Bank with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
