The Bank of Santa Barbara has been recognized by The Findley Reports on Financial Institutions as a “Premier Performance” bank based on 2012 year-end financial results.

This award ranks The Bank among an elite tier of top-performing California financial institutions.

“This achievement is a testament to the strength of our stakeholders and client relationships,” The Bank of Santa Barbara CEO Eloy Ortega said. “As a local community bank, we are 100 percent locally owned and managed. Those who do business with us are our neighbors, partners and friends — so we hold ourselves to the highest standard of financial performance and personalized, quality service.”

The Findley Reports’ “Premier” status is based on a scoring system that ranks California financial institutions on liquidity, equity capital adequacy, asset structure, loan portfolio quality, deposit quality, operating performance, equity return, senior management/director stability, performance consistency and regulatory order.

“This is the second year The Bank of Santa Barbara has earned Premier status,” Ortega said. “We intend on making a habit of that designation on behalf of our clients and shareholders.”

In 2009, recognizing a need for a bank that understands the local market, a group of Santa Barbara business leaders and philanthropists — including Ortega, the Orfalea Family Foundation, the Hutton-Parker Foundation, and Tim and Bernadette Marquez — purchased The Bank of Santa Barbara from Capitol Bancorp Limited, a bank holding company headquartered in Lansing, Mich. Starting with a single headquarters office in downtown Santa Barbara, last December The Bank opened a second branch office at 5880 Calle Real in Goleta.

For more information, click here or call 805.730.7860.

— Erinn Lynch is a publicist representing The Bank of Santa Barbara.