Santa Cruz County Bank Makes American Banker Magazine's Top 200 Best Performing Community Banks and Thrifts in the United States

­SANTA CRUZ, Calif., May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Cruz County Bank (OTC: SCZC) announced today that it has ranked 24^th in the Top Performing 200 Community Banks and Thrifts in the United States. This is the fourth consecutive year Santa Cruz County Bank has ranked in the Top 200 Community Banks and Thrifts in the United States. Performance data and rankings were released in American Banker Magazine's May 2017 publication. A total of 669 publicly traded institutions, with less than $2 billion in assets, were included in the nationwide ranking. Ranking was based upon 3-year average return on equity for the years ending December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

A total of 24 California banks made American Banker Magazine's Top 200 Community Bank list. The average 3-year average on equity for the top 200 banks was 10.86% compared to an average of 7.62% for all 669 companies. Santa Cruz County Bank's 3-year average return on equity was 12.90%.

David Heald, President and CEO commented, "In the past four years we have progressed from 115^th in rank to 24^th in the nation. This outstanding performance ranking and our continuous improvement is the result of our focus and commitment to enhance shareholder value. Our Board of Directors, our Management team and our entire staff are to be commended for our performance."

ABOUT SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BANK
Santa Cruz County Bank, founded in 2004, is a locally owned and operated community bank with offices located in Aptos, Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville. The Bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and individuals; including business loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans, credit cards, merchant services, mobile banking, remote deposit capture, and online banking bill payment and cash management. The Bank's SBA Department has been recognized as a top SBA lender in Santa Cruz County and the Silicon Valley.  

NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL RATINGS AND AWARDS

OTCQX Best 50: Santa Cruz County Bank was named one of 50 best performing companies on OTCQX based on total return and growth in average daily dollar volume in 2015.

Financial Management Consulting (FMC) Group: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 1^st overall in performance among all California banks for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.
The Bank ranked 2^nd in overall performance among 185 California banks and ranked 1^st (lowest) in non-performing assets for the full year in 2016. The Bank has ranked in FMC's top ten banks in California for the past two years.

The Findley Reports, Inc.: Santa Cruz County Bank was named a Super Premier Performing Bank for its 2016 performance. The Bank has received the top ranking of Super Premier by Findley for seven consecutive years.

Bauer Financial Reports, Inc.: Santa Cruz County Bank rated five star or "Superior" for its financial strength for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

American Banker Magazine: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 24^th out of 699 institutions in American Banker Magazine's "Top Performing 200 Community Banks & Thrifts in the United States" based upon 3-year average return on equity. The Bank has ranked in the Top 200 Community Banks in the United States for four consecutive years.

Independent Banker Magazine, published by the ICBA:  Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 22^nd in its Top Best Performing Member Community Banks for return on average equity.

COMMUNITY AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
2017: Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County "Big Step Award" for the 2016 Holiday Food Drive.

2016: United Way of Santa Cruz County "Corporate Spirit Award" for outstanding support.

2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013: Voted "Best Bank" by the readers of Good Times, a weekly publication with distribution throughout Santa Cruz County.

2017, 2016, 2015: Voted "Best Bank" by the readers of Santa Cruz Sentinel, a daily publication with distribution throughout Santa Cruz County.

2013: Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County "Be the Difference" Business Award for leadership and volunteerism.

This release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties may include but are not necessarily limited to fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, government regulations and general economic conditions, and competition within the business areas in which the Bank is conducting its operations, including the real estate market in California and other factors beyond the Bank's control. Such risks and uncertainties could cause results for subsequent interim periods or for the entire year to differ materially from those indicated. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which reflect management's view only as of the date hereof. The Bank undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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SOURCE Santa Cruz County Bank