Santa Cruz County Bank Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend Payment to Shareholders

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., June 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Cruz County Bank SCZC, a top rated, high performing bank, announced its Board of Directors' declaration of a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable on July 10, 2019 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 28, 2019. This is the twenty-fifth consecutive quarterly cash dividend declared by the bank. In addition to cash dividends, a 10% stock dividend was granted to shareholders in November 2017.

The Bank reported $2.96 million in net income for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019, an increase of 17%, compared to the same quarter in 2018. Return on average equity was 17.07% for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. The book value per share of Santa Cruz County Bank's common stock at March 31, 2019 was $29.14, compared to $24.53 as of March 31, 2018. Shareholders' equity grew to $71.5 million, a 19% or $11.6 million increase compared to March 31, 2018.

On May 28, 2019, Santa Cruz County Bank and Lighthouse Bank LGHT announced an agreement and plan of reorganization and merger. A copy of the announcement is available on Santa Cruz County Bank's website.

ABOUT SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BANK
Santa Cruz County Bank, founded in 2004, is a locally owned and operated community bank with offices located in Aptos, Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville. The bank offers a variety of competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and individuals; including business loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans, credit cards, merchant services, remote deposit capture, mobile and online banking, bill payment, and cash management. The Bank's SBA Department is recognized as a top SBA lender in Santa Cruz County, Silicon Valley and Central San Joaquin Valley. Santa Cruz County Bank is a top USDA lender in the state of California.

Santa Cruz County Bank stock is publicly traded under the stock symbol SCZC. Stock purchase orders may be placed through a brokerage firm, online, or through one of our Market Makers listed in the Investor Relations section of the bank's website. For more information about Santa Cruz County Bank, please visit our website www.sccountybank.com.

NATIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL RATINGS AND AWARDS
S&P Global Top 100 Community Banks: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 35^th in the nation out of nearly 3,000 banks with assets under $2 billion based upon 2018 performance. The Bank has ranked in the Top 100 Community Banks by S&P Global for three consecutive years.

Financial Management Consulting (FMC) Group: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked as the top bank in California in overall performance among 148 banks, and also ranked 1^st in asset quality as well as 1^st (lowest) in non-performing assets for its financial performance in the first, second and third quarters of 2018. The Bank ranked 2^nd in overall performance for California banks for the full year in 2018. The Bank has ranked in FMC's top ten banks in California for the past four years.

The Findley Reports, Inc.: Santa Cruz County Bank was named a Super Premier Performing Bank for its 2018 financial performance. The Bank has received the top ranking of Super Premier by Findley for nine consecutive years.

Bauer Financial Reports, Inc.: Santa Cruz County Bank is rated 5-star or "Superior" based upon its financial performance.

American Banker Magazine: Santa Cruz County Bank ranked 12^nd out of 601 institutions in American Banker Magazine's "Top Performing 200 Community Banks & Thrifts in the United States" based upon 3-year average return on equity. The Bank ranked 4^th out of 26 California banks. The Bank has ranked in the Top 200 Community Banks in the United States for six consecutive years.

The Bank ranks 8^th in the Silicon Valley for the number of SBA loans lent to Silicon Valley businesses for the SBA's 2018 fiscal year.

SOURCE Santa Cruz County Bank