Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CENTRAL VALLEY COMMUNITY BANCORP COMPLETES COMMUNITY WEST BANCSHARES
MERGER, ADOPTS NAME, ANNOUNCES BOARD AND EXECUTIVE REORGANIZATION
Fresno, CA…April 1, 2024…The Board of Directors of Central Valley Community Bancorp (Central Valley), the parent company of Central Valley Community Bank (CVCB), headquartered in Fresno, California, announced today the successful completion of the merger with Community West Bancshares (Community West), the parent company of Community West Bank (the Bank), headquartered in Goleta, California, effective April 1, 2024. Community West Bancshares merged with and into Central Valley Community Bancorp, and Community West Bank merged with and into Central Valley Community Bank, creating a combined company in an all-stock merger transaction.
Community West shareholders receive 0.79 shares of Central Valley common stock for each share of Community West common stock, while Central Valley assumes Community West’s outstanding stock options. Based on the March 28, 2024 closing price of Central Valley’s common stock of $19.89 per share, the value of the merger consideration is approximately $143 million.
As of the close of the transaction, the resulting company, with total assets of approximately $3.5 billion, retains the banking offices of both banks, adding Community West Bank’s seven full-service Banking Centers on the Central Coast to Central Valley Community Bank’s 20 full-service Banking Centers located throughout the Greater Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley regions. Central Valley Community Bancorp assumes the name Community West Bancshares and its NASDAQ ticker symbol (CWBC), and Central Valley Community Bank assumes the name Community West Bank to reflect the combined company’s expanded territory. The resulting company’s Board of Directors consists of 15 directors: nine from Central Valley and six from Community West.
The Community West merger is the sixth for the resulting company, which previously acquired Folsom Lake Bank (2017), Sierra Vista Bank (2016), Visalia Community Bank (2013), Service 1st Bank (2008) and Bank of Madera County (2005).
James J. Kim is the CEO of the combined company and President and CEO of the Bank. Daniel J. Doyle is the Chairman of the Board of the resulting company, serving with Robert H. Bartlein, Vice Chairman, and Martin E. Plourd, President and Director. The Board also welcomes the addition of Suzanne M. Chadwick, Thomas L. Dobyns, James W. Lokey and Kirk B. Stovesand. Retiring from the Central Valley Board of Directors effective April 1, 2024, are Gary D. Gall, Karen A. Musson and Louis C. McMurray, who has been named Director Emeritus.
“Our combined company represents decades of unwavering commitment to our communities,” said Doyle. “We are grateful for the steadfast stewardship of our retiring directors, and we are honored to welcome new directors whose strengths enhance our Board’s leadership.”
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