BELLINGHAM, Wash., Oct. 24, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Horizon Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:HRZB) today announced that Greg B. Spear has been hired to be its Chief Financial Officer. Rich Jacobson has been acting as the interim CFO since his promotion to CEO on January 1, 2008.
"We are excited to have Greg Spear join our management team," said Jacobson. "Greg has built a stellar reputation over the years, and we look forward to welcoming him to Bellingham. He brings extensive experience in the capital markets and corporate finance to Horizon. Furthermore, having been the CFO and Vice Chairman of a $1 billion bank holding company, he has the ability to help us identify and pursue opportunities and be a key player as we deal with the current environment all banks are facing. He will be a tremendous asset during these tumultuous times."
A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Spear served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairman for the past eight years for Columbia Bancorp (Nasdaq:CBBO), and Columbia River Bank, where he built a strong financial team capable of handling the busy cycles and stresses associated with today's complex financial reporting. A 25-year banking veteran, Spear is a graduate of the University of La Verne where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Spear also obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Chico.
Prior to joining Columbia Bancorp, Spear spent four years as the CFO of Linn-Benton Bank, of Albany, Oregon. Linn-Benton was acquired by Umpqua Holdings (Nasdaq:UMPQ) in 2001. Before that, he spent 14 years with Wells Fargo, where he served in a variety of increasingly responsible positions, including securities sales, branch management, auditing and financial management.
Horizon Financial Corp. is a $1.45 billion, bank holding company headquartered in Bellingham, Washington. Its primary subsidiary, Horizon Bank, is a state-chartered commercial bank that operates 19 full-service offices, four commercial loan centers and four real estate loan centers throughout Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish and Pierce counties, Washington.
Safe Harbor Statement: Except for the historical information in this news release, the matters described herein are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Horizon undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors are encouraged to read the SEC report of Horizon, particularly its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, for meaningful cautionary language discussion why actual results may vary from those anticipated by management.