HomeStreet Sends Letter to Shareholders

The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of HomeStreet, Inc. (Nasdaq: HMST) (the “Company” or “HomeStreet”), the parent company of HomeStreet Bank, today sent a letter to shareholders in connection with the Company’s upcoming 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for June 20, 2019 (the “2019 Annual Meeting”).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190613005740/en/

(Graphic: Business Wire)

For additional information and shareholder materials please visit www.VoteHMST.com.

The full text of the letter follows:

June 13, 2019

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

HomeStreet’s 2019 Annual Meeting is quickly approaching, and we are writing today to make sure you have cast your votes and participated in this important election. As you make your final decision, we ask that you consider the following points:

• All three proxy advisory firms have recommended that shareholders vote FOR all three of HomeStreet’s Board nominees and have clearly rejected the nominees put forth by Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management, L.P. (“Roaring Blue Lion”), the activist hedge fund that is waging its second proxy contest against the Company.
• The three HomeStreet directors up for election at the Annual Meeting – Sandra A. Cavanaugh, Chairman and CEO Mark K. Mason and Lead Independent Director Donald R. Voss – are vital members of the Board and their removal would be highly disruptive to the Company’s continued success.
• It is time to put this proxy contest behind us and get on with running the business. The fact that our stock price has appreciated 45%¹ since the start of 2019 indicates that we are on the right strategic trajectory and we must focus on continuing to execute.

Leading Proxy Advisory Firms Support Election of HomeStreet’s Nominees

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), Glass, Lewis & Co (“Glass Lewis”) and Egan-Jones Proxy Services (“Egan Jones”) have recommended that shareholders vote FOR each of HomeStreet’s highly-qualified director nominees. Each of the firms also explicitly rebuffed Roaring Blue Lion’s nominees and its attempt to make a case for change.

These recommendations underscore that HomeStreet has a well-functioning Board that is focused on acting on shareholder feedback and is thoughtful about driving long-term value creation.

In its report, Glass Lewis stated:²

• “Overall, we believe HomeStreet has demonstrated that it has a strong board that has presided over long-term shareholder value creation and is responsive to changing industry conditions and shareholder concerns.”
• “[W]e find that the Dissident has not made a compelling case for change at the Company and that support for the incumbent board and the Management Nominees is warranted. In arriving at this determination, we found that the Company has generated total shareholder returns that are acceptable relative to industry peers, that the Company appears to be taking reasonable actions to adjust strategic direction in response to market conditions and that the board appears responsive to shareholders and has taken a number of recent steps to improve corporate governance.”

In its report, ISS stated: