Santa Cruz County Bank In The News

Santa Cruz County Bank awarded top rating

April 13, 2011

By Jondi Gumz - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz County Bank has been designated a Super Premier Performing Bank for its 2010 performance by financial industry consulting firm The Findley Reports Inc.

It is one of 19 banks in California to receive the highest possible rating.

"We look at Santa Cruz County Bank's performance for 2010 as being in the top 10 percent of all banks in the Western United States," said Gary Steven Findley, editor of The Findley Reports. "They've been managing their portfolio very well."

Findley had singled out Santa Cruz County Bank in 2009 as one of five exceptional banks in California.

"They are still exceptional' now," he said.

The Findley Reports, which has evaluated banks for more than 40 years, focuses on four components: Growth, return on beginning equity, net operating income as a percentage of average assets, and loan losses as a percentage of gross loans.

Findley said banks generally are having difficulty meeting two criteria: Net loan loss because of high writeoffs on loans and return on equity because of costs of operation and low interest rates.

Santa Cruz County Bank has been rated a four-star "excellent" bank for 10 consecutive quarters by Bauer Financial Services.

The bank, which opened in 2004, is locally owned and operated. The annual meeting of shareholders will be 3 p.m. May 17 at Bittersweet Bistro in Aptos.