Affinity Bank
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2001

Affinity Bank Expands into Orange County

Irvine, CA - Affinity Bank is buying the Irvine retail branch operations and deposit liabilities of First Plus Bank, a 20-year institution formerly known as Citizen’s Thrift and Loan. Existing branch customers will be notified of the name change by mail.

Michael R. McGuire, President of Affinity Bank (no relation to First Plus Bank’s president, Michael W. McGuire) said, "We’re hoping the Irvine customers of First Plus will be as pleased as we are with the new products and services we’re bringing to their bank. To reassure everybody, this move will represent an enhancement to available customer services, including the introduction of checking accounts and an ATM machine. There will be a few product modifications, but for the most part, we simply plan to make people’s lives easier and, hopefully, more profitable."

Affinity Bank is a privately-held financial institution, headquartered in Ventura, California, with more than $ 360 million in assets. The Bank specializes in commercial real estate lending, along with CD, Money Market, Savings, and Checking accounts and investment vehicles such as IRA’s. "One of the first deposit products we hope to introduce is our popular

T-Bill Indexed Money Market account, which takes a lot of the worry out of individual investing," McGuire said. "We also have an online monthly Sweepstakes and Opinion Poll we believe will interest everyone – at www.affinitybank.com – plus a number of other positive additions to make.

"The plan is to retain the entire complement of staff in the Irvine office, so that no one will be inconvenienced."

Still subject to regulatory approval, Affinity Bank expects to complete the acquisition of First Plus Bank’s Irvine office in approximately 60 days. For more information, phone 800-489-1562.

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