Northwest Bancorporation Announces Retirement of Directors

SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 21, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Pink:NBCT) (the “Company”), the holding company for Inland Northwest Bank (“INB”) today announced the retirement of William E. Shelby and Freeman B. Duncan from the Company’s and INB’s Board of Directors effective December 31, 2015.

Mr. Shelby began serving as a director in 1989 and served as Chairman of the Board from May 1995 to January 2011.  Mr. Duncan began serving as a director in 1996 and served as Vice Chairman of the Board from January 2011 to January 2015.

Russ Lee, President and CEO of the Company and the Bank, said “We greatly appreciate the contributions Bill and Freeman have made to INB and their role in helping it become the bank it is today.”  Lee continued “Thanks in large part to the leadership of our Board of Directors, the Bank is stronger today than ever before and well-positioned to continue offering the high level of community focused customer service it is known for.”

Tony Bonanzino, Chairman of the Board of both the Company and INB, said “The Board is grateful to both Bill and Freeman for the many years of service they provided to our Company and INB.  During their tenure, we successfully navigated our way through the Great Recession and expanded INB’s geographic footprint in Eastern Washington, securing its position as the largest community bank focused exclusively on the Inland Northwest region.”

About Northwest Bancorporation, Inc.
Northwest Bancorporation, Inc. is the parent company of Inland Northwest Bank, a state-chartered community bank which currently operates twelve branches in Eastern Washington, and four branches in Northern Idaho.  INB specializes in meeting the financial needs of individuals and small to medium-sized businesses, including professional corporations and agriculture-related operations, by providing a full line of commercial, retail, agricultural, and mortgage and private banking products and services.  More information about INB can be found on its website at www.inb.com.  The Company’s stock is quoted on the OTC Market’s Pink Marketplace, www.otcmarkets.com, under the symbol NBCT.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts and that are intended to be “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this release that are not historical facts and pertain to the Company’s future operating results.  When used in this release, the words “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements, because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the Company’s control.  These include but are not limited to: the possibility of adverse economic developments that may, among other things, increase default and delinquency risks in the Company’s loan portfolios; shifts in interest rates; shifts in the rate of inflation; shifts in the demand for the Company’s loan and other products; unforeseen increases in costs and expenses; lower-than-expected revenue or cost savings in connection with acquisitions; changes in accounting policies; changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; and changes in laws, regulations and the competitive environment.  Unless legally required, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information contact:

Russell A. Lee, President and CEO
Holly Poquette, Chief Financial Officer
509.456.8888
nbct@inb.com