Press Release

Circle Bank has been named the “Best Business to Do Business with in Marin County” by NorthBay biz in the publication’s annual reader’s poll.

According to the monthly magazine’s publisher, Norm Rosinski, there were more than 43,000 votes for more than 2,000 companies and individuals in the 2010 poll.

“This is quite an honor to receive from NorthBay biz and from its readers,” said Kim Kaselionis, CEO/president of Circle Bank.  “Our goal has always been to provide the financial and banking services that local businesses need to grow their revenue and to support job growth.  To have been recognized not simply as a ‘bank’ but as the best business is an award that we are extremely proud to have won.”

Circle Bank, headquartered in Novato , operates five branches in Sonoma and Marin counties and a newly-opened location in San Francisco ’s Noe Valley .

“The nation’s economic recovery is dependent on local and regional growth,” said Kaselionis, who has recently traveled to Washington DC and Sacramento to carry the message to elected officials and regulators of the importance of the availability of capital to community banks. 

Among the most important programs to support local businesses are SBA loans.  As a Preferred SBA Lender, Circle Bank offers the full array of SBA products, including 7A, 504 and Patriot loans.  “While we cannot promise that we can provide funding to everyone,” said Kaselionis, “we can promise that our customers can sit down with someone in person to discuss their needs.”

That willingness to meet and to work with local business owners, Kaselionis believes, was the key factor in the NorthBay biz award.  “As a community bank, we make local decisions based on our knowledge of local business and are not hamstrung by policies established at some distant corporate headquarters.

About Circle Bank

Circle Bank (www.umpquabank.com) is a full-service bank, providing a broad range of personal and commercial financial services.  It is headquartered in Novato , with branches in San Rafael , Novato , Petaluma , Santa Rosa and Noe Valley in San Francisco .  Circle Bank reported total assets of $280 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2010.