OAKDALE, Calif., Feb. 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Oak Valley Community Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ: OVLY), announced that it received an “Outstanding” rating, the highest possible, for its community development and lending efforts in their recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Performance Evaluation from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. The bank earned a “Satisfactory” rating on the evaluation’s Lending test and an “Outstanding” on the Community Development test. The performance demonstrated excellent responsiveness to the community development needs of its assessment areas through community development loans, investments, and services.
“Building the strength of the communities we serve is one of our fundamental core values at Oak Valley,” commented Chris Courtney, President and CEO. The bank and our employees are dedicated to supporting the non-profit community within our service areas. Earning an Outstanding CRA rating in this latest evaluation is an immense credit to our employees’ hard work and commitment to the community,” Courtney concluded.Performance Highlights:Lending: The bank’s community development lending totaled $114.2 million.Of this total, eight loans totaling $27.6 million benefitted a broader statewide area that includes the bank’s assessment areas. Examples include:

— Three participation loans totaling $11.5 million for affordable housing that helped to provide 3,164 affordable rental units to low‐ and moderate‐income individuals.
— Two loans totaling $12.5 million to revitalize a low‐income area. The loan proceeds will finance construction of a new building in an area that faces high unemployment and high poverty rates. The financing helped to retain 180 jobs.
— Two loans totaling $1.7 million to support economic development. The bank extended two SBA 504 loans that will finance a purchase of a property and create 12 jobs.

Investments: Investments and donations dedicated toward community development in its assessment areas or statewide areas that benefitted its assessment areas totaled over $21.3 million. These consist of $14.8 million in current period investments, $6.1 million in prior period commitments, and nearly $300,000 in donations.Oak Valley invested $9.2 million that directly impacted the broader statewide area including $3.7 million prior period investments and $5.4 million in current period investments.The vast majority of these were Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) that helped low‐ and moderate‐income borrowers obtain mortgage loans. Some funds were invested in a mutual fund that provided community development services, such as affordable housing, home buyer education, and small business lending, to low‐ and moderate‐income individuals. A summary of the investments includes:

— Three current period investments totaling $4.1 million in MBS secured by mortgages to low‐and moderate‐income individuals.
— An investment for $1.0 million, of which $520,000 was in unfunded commitments, in Small Business Investment Companies that promote economic development by financing small businesses. The investment provides capital and resources needed to help small and medium‐sized businesses succeed.
— Three prior period MBS with a book value totaling $3.7 million that assisted 54 low‐ and moderate‐income borrowers in purchasing homes.
— Sixteen donations totaling $44,100 helped organizations that provide low‐income individuals with services such as affordable housing, healthcare services, and free meals.

Services: Community development services were responsive to address the need for services for low‐income individuals facing poverty.The bank contributed over 1,600 community development service hours of which over 150 hours benefitted the broader statewide area including the bank’s assessment areas including:Employee held leadership positions such as board and committee members. These qualified services met a variety of community development needs. The majority of the service hours were for a Certified Development Corporation, which is a non‐profit that assists small and medium‐sized businesses in securing long‐term financing to help small business operations and create jobs. A significant number of service hours targeted non‐profits that provided community development services to low‐ and moderate‐income families and children. Notable examples of community development services included:

— Staff service hours serving on a board of a non‐profit that provides children from low‐ and moderate‐income families with afterschool educational services such as tutoring.
— Financial literacy outreach, including but not limited to, sponsorship of the EverFi, Financial Literacy Platform in six high schools within the bank’s assessment areas.
— Staff service hours to an organization that supplies low‐income individuals with nutritional meals, clothing, and other services.
— Partnering with a local Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that focuses on underserved individuals and communities, including people of color, women, rural residents, and low‐income families.

The Community Reinvestment Act was enacted to encourage banks to help meet the needs of local community sectors predominantly focusing on low-and-moderate income neighborhoods as well as individuals, families, and businesses.Oak Valley Bancorp operates Oak Valley Community Bank & their Eastern Sierra Community Bank division, through which it offers a variety of loan and deposit products to individuals and small businesses. They currently operate through 17 conveniently located branches: Oakdale, Turlock, Stockton, Patterson, Ripon, Escalon, Manteca, Tracy, Sacramento, two branches in Sonora, three branches in Modesto, and three branches in their Eastern Sierra division, which includes Bridgeport, Mammoth Lakes and Bishop.For more information, call 1-866-844-7500 or visit www.ovcb.com.
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