Sterling Savings Bank Puts Grant Money to Work

Sterling Savings Bank (NASDAQ:STSA), a leading community bank in the Pacific Northwest, has been awarded more than $1 million in grants, including a $134,000 check presented recently to Habitat for Humanity Spokane.

The check represents one of 13 award grants from the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle (FHLB) announced the grant recipients in December. This is the third and largest AHP award Sterling, as a member of the FHLB, has successfully sponsored for Habitat for Humanity Spokane. The AHP grant will help build 15 Habitat for Humanity homes in Spokane County for qualified first-time homebuyers.

Sterling was the premier recipient of AHP grants in 2008. In addition to the Habitat for Humanity Spokane grant, Sterling was awarded grants for the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho and the Plymouth Housing Group in Seattle, Wash.

The Nez Perce Tribal Housing Authority will use a $170,000 grant to develop 15 lease-to-own, three- and four-bedroom homes for native families earning at or below 60 percent of area median income. Three homes will be set aside for homeless families, and three will be set aside for those with special needs.

Plymouth Housing Group will use a $729,000 grant to construct 81 units for homeless individuals and three managers’ units in Seattle. Qualifying residents will earn 50 percent or less of area median income. The project will include ground-floor commercial space and a community room with kitchen facilities. There will be onsite offices where residents can access a range of social services, including job training, healthcare and counseling.

"By reaching out to the underserved, we hope to provide a fresh start and begin a cycle of prosperity,” said Heidi Stanley, chairman and CEO of Sterling Saving Bank. "Matching grants to great programs helps every part of a community succeed. It creates opportunities for people to be successful in their communities.”

Mooney manages Sterling’s community development programs as part of the federal government’s Community Reinvest Act (CRA). As a leading commercial bank, Sterling employees are committed to supporting CRA-related programs as well as other volunteer opportunities. Sterling employees partnered with more than 80 CRA-approved agencies, logging more than 4,100 service hours in 2008.

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 requires that banking institutions demonstrate that its facilities serve the convenience and needs of entire communities in which they are chartered to do business. Banks must provide convenient credit and deposit services as part of being a safe and sound institution.

ABOUT STERLING SAVINGS BANK

Sterling Financial Corporation of Spokane, Washington, is the bank holding company for Sterling Savings Bank, a commercial bank, and Golf Savings Bank, a savings bank focused on single-family mortgage originations. Both banks are state chartered and federally insured. Sterling offers banking products and services, mortgage lending, construction financing and investment products to individuals, small businesses, commercial organizations and corporations. As of Dec. 31, 2008, Sterling Financial Corporation had assets of $12.78 billion and operated more than 175 depository branches throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California.