Affinity Bank
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 26, 2001

Merger Between Affinity Bank and Westcoast Savings & Loan Completed

Ventura, CA - Officials from Affinity Bank (Affinity) and Westcoast Savings and Loan Association (Westcoast) signed documents on Friday, November 16 to officially complete the merger between the two banks. The combined banks will operate under the Affinity Bank name.

"We are excited for the opportunity to continue to serve the community of Pacific Palisades in the tradition started by Westcoast," Michael R. McGuire, the Bank's president and CEO announced. "We have retained all of the staff in the Pacific Palisades office, so customers will continue to be served by the same friendly people."

"We started originally as a safe place for travelers and busy customers to quickly and easily bank by phone, fax and mail. Nothing will change on that end, but we have been watching the marketplace and people still want the comfort and feel of walk-in branches. We intend to support that desire by increasing the number of our branches within the Southern California area.

Westcoast was incorporated in January 1983 and opened its doors to the public in 1985. Westcoast had one deposit branch in Pacific Palisades with approximately $94 million in deposits at the time of the merger.

Affinity is a privately held financial institution headquartered in Ventura, California with over $530 million in assets. The Bank specializes in commercial real estate lending, along with CD, Money Market, Savings, Checking accounts and IRAs. Affinity currently has four savings branches, in Ventura, Irvine, Pacific Palisades, and San Francisco with deposits totaling $427 million. Affinity also operates six loan production offices - in Ventura, Irvine, San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, and Portland.

To learn more about Affinity Bank, log onto www.affinitybank.com or call the home office toll free at 1-800-489-2194 between 6 A.M. and 6 P.M. Monday through Friday (PST).

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