SPOKANE, Wash., Feb. 26, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Board of Directors of Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. (OTCBB:NBCT), the parent company of Inland Northwest Bank, today announced a cash dividend of $0.10 per share, payable on April 4, 2003 to shareholders of record as of March 21, 2003. Additionally, a five-percent stock dividend will be paid on June 13, 2003 to shareholders of record as of May 15, 2003. This marks the eighth stock dividend paid to shareholders and the first cash dividend.
Randall L. Fewel, President and CEO, noted that the decision to initiate a program of payment of cash dividends has been long anticipated by the Board. "Inland Northwest Bank was established in 1989," he noted, "and, during the Bank's startup phase and subsequent years of accelerated growth, it was necessary to retain all earnings within the organization to insure that shareholders' equity increased in step with total assets." He noted that, prior to reaching $150 million in assets, average annual asset growth was in excess of thirty percent. Since reaching that milestone in 1998, asset growth has moderated to around twelve percent per year. "With this moderation in growth rate, we now believe it is appropriate to return a portion of our earnings to shareholders," Fewel said. "As earnings build over time, we hope to see our dividends grow to represent meaningful cash income to our shareholders. However, this always needs to be balanced with the understanding that our first obligation is to maintain the health of the Company through a strong capital position." For the foreseeable future, cash dividends will be considered on an annual basis.
Inland Northwest Bank (INB) is a Washington state-chartered bank headquartered in Spokane, Washington. INB operates seven branches in Spokane County, WA and two branches in Kootenai County, ID. INB specializes in meeting the needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses, including professional corporations, by providing a full line of commercial, retail, mortgage and private business banking products and services. Additional information about Inland Northwest Bank can be found at www.inb.com.
Note: This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities law, including statements concerning loan and deposit growth expected during the latter part of the current year, business strategies and their intended results, and similar statements concerning expectations that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including the effects of economic conditions, demand for financial services, competitive conditions in the financial markets, and the availability of capital to finance growth, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the statements herein.