Thurston First Bank in the News

President and Chairman’s Message

No one ever thought that we would look back at the year of 2008 to see a financial meltdown of epic proportions. The speed of the economic decline and its severity will be remembered and studied for years. The impact will be felt for generations.

Thurston First Bank continued to focus on the goal of building franchise value through providing loans within our market area and increasing local deposits. Reducing our reliance on wholesale funding and out of market loans has caused us to be a better Thurston County business oriented bank. At the same time, although the loan portfolio was stressed by the stumbling economy, fortunately, our market area did not decline as in other areas of the nation. As an indicator of our focus on quality underwriting, we currently do not have any non performing loans. Delinquent loans are at an absolute minimum.

We reported a profit for the year, as we made some difficult decisions early in 2008 to reduce overhead. We moved back to our roots at the Pear Street branch and the good news is that the bank is now poised for future success.

We posted three consecutive profitable months in 2009 and are ahead of budget. We are experiencing growth in new business relationships and deposits. Marketing efforts are truly gaining traction. To accommodate the growth and opportunities, we are also raising capital to take advantage of our position in the market. As additional costs are not necessary to put the new capital to work, profitability and the value of your stock is expected to grow. On balance, we are off to a good start.

In contrast to the pessimism that is shouted by the media, we are excited about our future.

Stephen J. Bean
Chairman of the Board

James H. Haley
President and CEO