Heritage Oaks Bancorp Announces Promotion Of Ronald Oliveira To President And William Filippin To Chief Credit Officer, And The Resignation Of Chief Financial Officer Margaret Torres

PASO ROBLES, Calif., Aug. 19, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heritage Oaks Bancorp (Nasdaq:HEOP) ("Company"), the holding company of Heritage Oaks Bank (the "Bank"), today announced that following receipt of all required regulatory approvals or non-objections, effective August 16, 2010, the Bank has promoted William Filippin to Executive Vice President / Chief Credit Officer and Ronald Oliveira to President / Chief Operating Officer. Lawrence P. Ward will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Bank and as President / Chief Executive Officer of the Company. 

Before his promotion, Mr. Filippin served the Bank as Senior Vice President / Commercial Lending Manager since joining the Bank in April, 2009. Prior to the Bank, Mr. Filippin served as Chief Credit Officer for American Principle Bank. Mr. Oliveira had been serving as Executive Vice President / Chief Credit Officer / Chief Operating Officer since he joined the Bank in July, 2009. Prior to his appointment with the Bank, Mr. Oliveira served as Senior Vice President at Rabobank since December 2008 assisting with the expansion of both its deposit and lending presence in the mid-state region of California. Prior to that, Mr. Oliveira was Chairman at Equipoint Financial Services, a $2 billion diversified Real Estate banking institution. 

Commenting on the promotions of Mr. Oliveira and Mr. Filippin, CEO Ward stated, "I am excited to announce these enhancements to our executive management team. I have worked closely with Ron and Bill over the last twelve months in a very difficult economic environment. Their expertise has helped to stabilize the Bank's asset quality and I look forward to working with them as we go forward in these challenging times."

The Company also announced that its Executive Vice President / Chief Financial Officer, Margaret Torres, tendered her resignation to be effective on August 31, 2010. The Company has instituted a search for an appropriate replacement, who will be subject to prior regulatory approval or non-objection.