OAK HARBOR, Wash., Oct. 4, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whidbey Island Bank, the operating subsidiary for Washington Banking Company (Nasdaq:WBCO), today announced that Bryan McDonald will take over as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Bank on January 1, 2012. Jack Wagner will continue in his role as President & CEO of the parent company and as a board member of both the holding company and the Bank.
McDonald has been in the banking industry since 1994. His past commercial lending and management positions include a role as Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Manager at Peoples Bank and a First Vice President and Commercial Banking Region Manager at Washington Mutual Bank, which covered 11 banking centers in Washington, Oregon and Colorado. McDonald joined Whidbey Island Bank in 2006 as Commercial Banking Division Manager and has served as Chief Operations Officer since April 2010.
"Bryan's strong commercial banking background, lending experience, and in-depth knowledge of bank products makes him ideally suited to lead the bank in the coming decade," said Jack Wagner, President and CEO. "The changing face of banking in the Northwest has created several opportunities for strong community banks, and we are restructuring some of our leadership roles to take better advantage of the expertise of our team."
In addition to McDonald, Whidbey announced promotions for George Bowen, Edward Eng, and Daniel Kuenzi. Their new assignments will also be effective as of January 1, 2012.
George Bowen has over 40 years experience in commercial lending, retail banking, and various management positions. Prior to joining Whidbey Island Bank in 2010, Bowen was Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at Peoples Bank. Bowen will be promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer where he will oversee retail and commercial customer-related business lines.
Ed Eng is being promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer with responsibility over the Bank's backroom support functions and project management. Eng is a CPA with an MBA from the University of Washington. In addition to experience in public accounting, he has 22 years of banking experience covering accounting, finance, technology, M&A, loan operations, and compliance. Positions previously held include Division Executive and Chief Administrative Officer within the commercial banking group of Washington Mutual.
Dan Kuenzi will take over as Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer following the retirement of Joe Niemer. Kuenzi started with Whidbey Island Bank in 2007 as a Commercial Banking Team Leader, then a Region Manager, and transitioned into the role of Senior Credit Administrator in 2010. Kuenzi has accumulated 23 years of commercial credit, lending, and management experience through his positions at Wells Fargo Bank, Washington Mutual Bank, US Bank and Whidbey Island Bank.
"As directors, we know how important it is for companies to plan management succession," stated Tony Pickering, Chairman of the Board of WBCO and of Whidbey Island Bank. "We've been working with management to develop this plan over the past couple years and our board is proud to be associated with such a high-caliber management group."
ABOUT WASHINGTON BANKING COMPANY
Washington Banking Company is a bank holding company based in Oak Harbor, Washington, that operates Whidbey Island Bank, a state-chartered full-service commercial bank. Founded in 1961, Whidbey Island Bank provides various deposit, loan and investment services to meet customers' financial needs. With its two FDIC-assisted acquisitions in 2010, Whidbey Island Bank currently operates 30 full-service branches located in six counties in Northwestern Washington. In June 2009, Washington Banking was added to the Russell 2000 Index, a subset of the Russell 3000 Index. Both indices are widely used by professional money managers as benchmarks for investment strategies. Washington Banking was the only company in the Pacific Northwest that ranked in the top 100 best performing community banks between $500 million and $5 billion in assets by SNL Financial in 2010, and joined the Keefe, Bruyette &Woods 2010 Bank Honor Roll, based on its superior 10-year track record.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements describe management's expectations regarding future events and developments such as the transition of acquired bank operations, employees and customers, future operating results, availability of acquisition opportunities, growth in loans and deposits, credit quality and loan losses, and continued success of the Company's business plan. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect management's views only as of the date hereof. The words "anticipate," "expect," "will," "believe," and words of similar meaning are intended, in part, to help identify forward-looking statements. Future events are difficult to predict, and the expectations described above are subject to risk and uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially. In addition to discussions about risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements include, among others: (1) local and national general and economic condition; (2) changes in interest rates and their impact on net interest margin; (3) competition among financial institutions; (4) legislation or regulatory requirements; (5) the ability to realize the efficiencies expected from investment in personnel and infrastructure; and (6) the inability to retain CityBank and/or North County Bank customers or employees and expenses associated with the integration of acquired bank operations. Washington Banking Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made. Any such statements are made in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.