Porterville-based bank completes its acquisition of Lompoc Branch of Community Bank of Santa Maria
PORTERVILLE – Another Tulare County-based bank is branching out beyond the Central Valley.
Bank of the Sierra completed its $35 million acquisition of the Lompoc Division of Community Bank of Santa Maria on May 18. The Lompoc Branch is located at 705 W. Central Avenue, Lompoc, Calif. New and existing customers will now have access to Bank of the Sierra’s wide variety of financial products, services, advanced technology upgrades, and a growing network of convenient locations and ATMs.
Kevin McPhaill, Bank President and CEO, expressed his excitement about the acquisition, “We are excited for the opportunity to expand our footprint along the coast, and serve the financial needs of the Lompoc community. Additionally, Bank of the Sierra is fully committed to supporting the nonprofit organizations of Lompoc through employee volunteerism and our Sierra Grant Program. We look forward to welcoming the members of the Lompoc community to Bank of the Sierra.”
Community Bank of Santa Maria is owned by the one-bank holding company of Community Bancorp of Santa Maria, which is traded on the over the counter stock exchange (OTCQX) under the symbol CYSM. Community Bank of Santa Maria opened for business on March 1, 2001, and now operates two branches in Santa Maria, Calif.
This is the third time in two years that Bank of the Sierra has acquired a single branch.
In 2016, the bank bought Citizens Business Bank’s Porterville branch. Last year Sierra Bancorp acquired the Woodlake branch of Citizens Business Bank.
Bank of the Sierra is in its 41st year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains an online branch, and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center, a real estate industries center, and an SBA center. In 2018, Bank of the Sierra received a Bauer Financial 5-star rating, an honor only awarded to the strongest financial institutions in the country.
