Central California's Suncrest Bank Hires Third Industry Veteran to Top Leadership Team

VISALIA, Calif., March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Following on from the recent appointments of Mr. Ciaran McMullan as Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Doug Tribble as Chief Operating Officer, both formerly of National Australia Bank Group and Great Western Bank, Suncrest Bank today announced the appointment of Mr. Peter Nutz as its new Chief Credit Officer.

Mr. Nutz joins a leadership team with outstanding domestic and international banking experience, and comes to the position following 13 successful years with Rabobank in the US and overseas. Most recently as Executive Director for Retail and Small Business Credit for Rabobank Group in Poland, Mr. Nutz's previous roles include Executive Risk Director for Debt Restructuring and Recovery, and Senior Ag Credit Officer for Rabobank's US-wide Rural & Retail Division, based out of Fresno.

"Peter's appointment represents the next significant step in building a world-class leadership team here at Suncrest," said Chief Executive Officer McMullan. "His deep expertise, not only in farming and agribusiness, but across all industry sectors will allow us to substantially expand our product range and confidently go after bigger and more complex deals."

During 2014 Suncrest Bank grew its total assets by over 49% and its loan portfolio by 33%, and is rapidly becoming one of central California's banking success stories, being in the top 1.5% of fastest growing banks in the country. At the end of December the bank was $189 million in total assets, and well on the way to achieving its "5 in 5" goal of reaching $500 million in assets in five years.

About Suncrest Bank
Suncrest Bank, member FDIC, is locally owned and operated and offers a full range of business, agribusiness and personal deposit products and loans in the central valley of California. It has branches in Visalia and Porterville, and is one of the fastest growing companies in the region. It is regularly rated Five Stars by Bauer Financial as one of the nation's strongest financial institutions, and is dedicated to providing a high level of personal service, and to supporting the communities which it serves. It is a Preferred Lender with the Small Business Administration. Suncrest Bank stock trades on the OTCQX under the ticker symbol SBKK. For further information, visit www.suncrestbank.com

Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer
Except for historical information in this news release, the matters described herein contain forward- looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Suncrest Bank undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors are encouraged to read the Suncrest Bank annual reports which are available on the Bank's website.

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SOURCE Suncrest Bank