Community West Bancshares Named to Sandler O’Neill 2016 Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars

GOLETA, Calif., Sept. 26, 2016 -- Community West Bancshares (Community West or the Company), (NASDAQ:CWBC), parent company of Community West Bank (Bank), today announced its inclusion in the prestigious Sandler O’Neill and Partners Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars - Class of 2016.  Sandler O’Neill has identified Community West Bank as one of the top performing, publicly traded small-cap banks and thrifts in the nation. 

In its “Class of 2016 Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars” report, Sandler O’Neill recognized Community West among the top 27 best performing small capitalization institutions from a list of publicly traded banks and thrifts in the U.S. with market capitalizations less than $2.5 billion.  In making their selections, Sandler focused on growth, profitability, credit quality and capital strength.  Commenting on this year’s selection, Sandler O’Neill said, “The performance metrics of the 27 institutions are outstanding, with the Class of 2016 delivering bottom line results that are markedly better than the industry as a whole.”

“It is an honor to be named among the finest community banks in the country,” stated Martin E. Plourd, President and Chief Executive Officer.  “We will maintain the same commitment to exceptional banking that has helped us achieve solid returns for our shareholders.  Sticking to the basics—building a high-performing loan portfolio largely funded by core deposits—should help us continue to increase earnings per share and shareholder wealth.”

Sandler O'Neill is a full-service investment banking firm to the financial industry.  The firm is a market-maker in hundreds of financial stocks and publishes equity and fixed income research focused on selected banks, thrifts and insurance companies.  Additional information can be found on their website at www.sandleroneill.com. 

Company Overview

Community West Bancshares is a financial services company with headquarters in Goleta, California. The Company is the holding company for Community West Bank, which has five full-service California branch banking offices, in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Ventura and Westlake Village and one loan production office in San Luis Obispo. The principal business activities of the Company are Relationship business banking, Manufactured Housing lending and Government Guaranteed lending.  Community West Bank has grown to over $640 million in assets, with new full-service branch offices opening in San Luis Obispo and Oxnard later this year.  For more information, visit www.CommunityWestBank.com.

Safe Harbor Disclosure

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current views of future events and operations.  These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company as of the date of this release.  It is important to note that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of the Company to implement its strategy and expand its lending operations.

Contact: Martin E. Plourd, President & CEO
805.692.4382
www.communitywestbank.com