Ellen Boyer and John Pedersen Join Banner Corporation Board of Directors - Seite 2

“We are very pleased that Ellen and John are joining our boards of directors. They are both exceedingly well known and highly respected in our business communities,” stated Mark J. Grescovich, President and CEO. “Ellen and John bring different strengths and valuable insights that will be of great value to our organization as we continue to position ourselves for future success.”

About the Company

Banner Corporation is a $15.03 billion bank holding company operating a commercial bank in four Western states through a network of branches offering a full range of deposit services and business, commercial real estate, construction, residential, agricultural and consumer loans. Visit Banner Bank on the Web at www.bannerbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

When used in this press release and in other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in press releases or other public stockholder communications, or in oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases “may,” “believe,” “will,” “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimate,” “project,” “plans,” “potential,” or similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made and based only on information then actually known to Banner.  Banner does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements. These statements may relate to future financial performance, strategic plans or objectives, revenues or earnings projections, or other financial information.  By their nature, these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the statements and could negatively affect Banner’s operating and stock price performance.