Elijah Aldinger, a central Oregon resident and an organizer of the bank, can be credited with recognizing the need and potential for a bank locally headquartered in Bend, Oregon to serve the growing local community. Upon completing significant research regarding the market, its needs and opportunities, Aldinger began his search for the top bankers in the Northwest and local individuals to provide seed capital for the bank. His efforts have resulted in a group of 43 founders who have collectively advanced over $4 million to fund the bank's organization.

The proposed bank will be led by an experienced team of Oregon banking executives, each of whom have a strong track record of serving privately owned businesses and the middle market in the Bend and Portland metropolitan areas. The senior management team will be led by Andrew J. Gerlicher as the proposed president and chief executive officer of the bank. Gerlicher has over 25 years of experience in the banking industry, with all of this time spent in the Portland and Bend markets. William F. Henle, the proposed chief operating officer, has more than 30 years of banking experience, including more than 25 years in senior management positions. Most recently, Henle was employed by Rabobank, N.A., where he served as director of country banking properties following his assignment as chief operating officer. Jesse D. Averette is the proposed chief credit officer and has over 35 years of experience in corporate and middle market credit-related positions. Most recently, he served as credit administrator for Umpqua Bank, where he was responsible for supervision of commercial and industrial loans and commercial real estate loans generated from 20 lenders out of the Portland, Bend and Seattle commercial lending centers. Donald Kalkofen is the proposed chief financial officer. Kalkofen has been actively engaged in banking and financial consulting for more than 22 years and has over 12 years of experience as a chief financial officer. Kalkofen served as the chief financial officer of both Pinnacle Bank, a de novo bank in Beaverton, Oregon, near Portland, and West Coast Bancorp.

"The foundation for our success will be our ability to create a culture at Crown Point National Bank (Proposed) that values and rewards seasoned bankers with demonstrated track records of successfully servicing the distinct needs of small and middle market businesses in our markets," noted Andrew Gerlicher, the bank's proposed president and CEO. "The breadth and depth of management experience are among the strengths of this organization. As a team, we share experiences related to the central Oregon and Portland markets and the nature of our client base. Starting an institution from the ground up with bankers who are intimately familiar with the local markets allows us to offer clients and the marketplace the best of many worlds," said Gerlicher.

Crown Point National Bank (Proposed) intends to focus initially on deposit and lending relationships with small and middle market businesses and professionals in the central Oregon and Portland areas. "We are excited about our initial two proposed locations and are confident that our experienced staff will reinforce our 'customer first' attitude," observed Gerlicher. "We plan to make use of the latest technology to support our staff in providing the most efficient and effective banking services to our customers."

"We will have a great deal to offer those who are looking for immediate, intelligent responses to their banking requests," noted Jesse Averette, the bank's proposed chief credit officer. "We will be focused on providing the level of service and support these customers expect from their banking relationship and believe our local ownership and management, as well as our understanding of local market concerns, will enable us to be more responsive to our customers."

The organizers of the proposed Crown Point National Bank have assembled a key group of proposed directors representing a wide spectrum of business and banking experience and who possess strong personal and professional ties in the Oregon market. Expected to join the board are Charles D. Brummel, proposed chairman of the board, Dr. Carl E. Berg, Kyle D. Cummings, CPA, Robert T. Jett, Michael M. Peters, Blake N. Weber, and Gail Woodworth, in addition to Gerlicher.

"Our proposed directors are all successful business and service professionals representing a cross-section of our target market and clientele. Based upon their proven business acumen and wide range of experiences, we expect our board of directors to provide effective leadership and oversight," commented proposed chairman of the board Brummel.

Summarizing the event of the charter application, Brummel continued, "The application filing is certainly a milestone; however, we know we have a lot of work to do before we open our doors to clients. What keeps this team moving is that we are inspired by the opportunities before us and confident that this proposed institution, Crown Point National Bank, will play an important role in the marketplace."

The Bank's charter application is subject to the review and approval of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The bank's organizers expect to receive regulatory approvals during the fourth quarter of 2008.

This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy stock of Crown Point National Bank (Proposed). Any offer is made only by means of a prospectus, a preliminary copy of which has been filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. To the extent that this press release contains forward-looking statements, those statements will be subject to the limitations contained in the prospectus.

Story Source: Business Wire