November 4, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contact: Darryle Rude (801) 538-8761

THE UTAH DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

TAKES POSSESSION OF OF SUNFIRST BANK, ST. GEORGE

Salt Lake City – Today, under authority of Commissioner G. Edward Leary, the Department of Financial Institutions took possession of SunFirst Bank; a state-chartered commercial bank headquartered in St. George, Utah, and immediately appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver. To protect depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Cache Valley Bank, Logan, Utah, to assume most of the deposits of SunFirst Bank.

The Department took possession of SunFirst Bank in order to protect depositors and the public, finding, among other things, that SunFirst Bank was not in a safe and sound condition to transact business. The Department, as well as the FDIC, have been closely monitoring SunFirst Bank and had ordered it to increase its capital to a safe and sound level. Efforts by SunFirst Bank to raise capital to an acceptable level were unsuccessful.

SunFirst Bank’s three offices will reopen during normal business hours beginning Saturday, November 5, 2011, as branches of Cache Valley Bank. Depositors of SunFirst Bank will automatically become depositors of Cache Valley Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers of both banks should continue to use their existing branches until Cache Valley Bank can fully integrate the deposit records of SunFirst Bank.

Over the weekend, depositors of SunFirst Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

SunFirst Bank was chartered on March 7, 2001, with its headquarters located at 120 East St. George Boulevard, St. George, Utah. The Bank also has branch offices in Hurricane and on Bluff Street in St. George. As of September 30, 2011, SunFirst Bank had total assets of approximately $198.1 million and total deposits of approximately $169.1 million.

SunFirst Bank is the first bank failure in Utah since the closure of Advanta Bank on March 19, 2010.

The Utah Department of Financial Institutions is the regulator for all state-chartered banks, industrial banks and credit unions. The Department also regulates trust companies, independent escrow companies, check cashers, deferred deposit lenders (payday), title lenders, consumer lenders, as well as first mortgage loan servicers, and third-party payment providers (money orders, travelers checks, wire transfers).