SPOKANE, Wash., Dec. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Pink:NBCT) (the "Company"), today announced the retirement of Randall Fewel as President and CEO of Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. effective December 31, 2015. Russell Lee, President and CEO of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Inland Northwest Bank (“INB” or “the Bank”), will also assume the title of President and CEO of the Company.
Fewel’s career at INB began in 1994 as the head of commercial lending. He was promoted to President and CEO in 2001. During his fourteen year tenure as CEO, the Bank grew from $180 million in assets and 10 branches to $600 million and 16 branches.
“I’m very proud of my time at INB,” Fewel said. “The number one highlight for me was working with great customers and dedicated employees. Beyond that, I’m proud of how we came through the Great Recession and are stronger today than ever before. And it’s extremely gratifying to see the acquisition of Bank of Fairfield come to fruition. I am turning the reins over to Russ Lee with total confidence in his ability to build on our success and to lead us to new heights of growth and profitability,” Fewel concluded.
Tony Bonanzino, Chairman of the Board of both the Company and the Bank, said “The Board can’t thank Randy enough for his many years of hard work and outstanding leadership he provided to our Company. We are fortunate Randy will be staying on the Boards of Directors of both the Company and INB so we can continue to benefit from his knowledge and experience.”
“At the same time,” Bonanzino went on to say, “we are excited to start the next chapter with Russ Lee at the helm. In his first six months as CEO of the Bank, he has already demonstrated he is extremely qualified to lead this Company to becoming the premier community bank in the Inland Northwest.”
“I am grateful for this tremendous opportunity,” Russ Lee said, “and I can’t thank Randy enough for how smooth and easy he has made the transition for me. This is a great Bank with outstanding employees and all of us at INB are excited about our future.”
About Northwest Bancorporation, Inc.
Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. is the parent company of Inland Northwest Bank, a state-chartered community bank which currently operates twelve branches in Eastern Washington, and four branches in Northern Idaho. INB specializes in meeting the financial needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses, including professional corporations and agriculture-related operations, by providing a full line of commercial, retail, agricultural, and mortgage and private banking products and services. More information about INB can be found on its website at www.inb.com . The Company’s stock is quoted on the OTC Market’s Pink Marketplace, www.otcmarkets.com , under the symbol NBCT.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts and that are intended to be “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this release that are not historical facts and pertain to the Company’s future operating results. When used in this release, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements, because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company’s control. These include but are not limited to: the businesses of the Company and Fairfield may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer, be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than expected; the expected growth opportunities or cost savings from the acquisition may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; operating costs, customer losses and business disruption following the acquisition, including adverse effects on relationships with employees, may be greater than expected; the possibility of adverse economic developments that may, among other things, increase default and delinquency risks in the Company’s loan portfolios; shifts in interest rates; shifts in the rate of inflation; shifts in the demand for the Company’s loan and other products; unforeseen increases in costs and expenses; changes in accounting policies; changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; and changes in laws, regulations and the competitive environment. Unless legally required, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For more information contact: Russell A. Lee, President and CEO Holly Poquette, Chief Financial Officer 509.456.8888 nbct@inb.com
