Umpqua Bank Named Most Admired Financial Services Company; Ray Davis Named CEO of the Year

Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:UMPQ), was named the Most Admired Financial Services Company in Oregon at The Portland Business Journal’s sixth annual Oregon’s Most Admired Companies luncheon. During the event Umpqua Bank’s CEO, Ray Davis, was given the distinguished honor of being named Financial Sector CEO of the Year. Additionally, the community bank was voted the top Most Admired Company in the financial services sector and fifth Most Admired Company across all industries. Umpqua Bank has been named Oregon’s Most Admired Financial Services Companies by Oregon executives every year since the award was founded in 2005.

"It is a great honor to be recognized by our peers as one of the region’s strongest and most respected companies,” said Ray Davis, president and CEO of Umpqua Bank. "All of us at Umpqua set our sights high, and we are privileged to receive this type of recognition. It is a great validation not only for me, but also for our associates, customers and shareholders. We look forward to continuing to be an active and integral part of the communities we serve.”

More than 2,000 CEOs and top executives across the state chose this year’s winners based on criteria that included innovation, quality of management, community involvement, quality of products and services, and branding and marketing. The Portland Business Journal awards were distributed to companies in eight industry categories: agriculture and forest products, commercial real estate, financial services, health care, nonprofits, professional services, technology and traditional manufacturing, in addition to the most admired company across all industries.

Davis has been instrumental in Umpqua Bank’s rapid growth. Under his leadership, Umpqua has deployed a new approach to financial services that emphasizes cutting edge delivery systems and technology, in addition to innovative store designs that engage and excite customers. Davis and his teams reinvented Umpqua Bank’s image, building avant-garde mini-banks that are more "bank store” than branch, featuring merchandising, eye-catching displays, and computer cafés. Davis joined Umpqua Bank in 1994 and has grown the bank from six banking locations and $150 million in assets to 183 stores with $11 billion in assets and more than 2,000 associates. He chronicled this path to expansion and originality in his book, Leading for Growth: How Umpqua Bank Got Cool and Created a Culture of Greatness, which has been praised by business publications and leaders for its clear-cut take on innovative leadership.

Oregon’s Most Admired Companies is an annual Portland Business Journal event. Hosted by publisher Craig Wessel, the event is one of the publication’s business programs created to recognize the state’s leading organizations.

About Umpqua Bank

Umpqua Bank, headquartered in Roseburg, Ore., is a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: UMPQ) and has 183 locations between San Francisco and Seattle, along the Oregon and Northern California Coast, and in Central Oregon and Northern Nevada. Umpqua Bank has been recognized for its innovative customer experience and banking strategy by national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Fast Company and CNBC. The company has been recognized for the past four years in a row on FORTUNE magazine’s list of the country’s "100 Best Companies To Work For.” Umpqua Holdings also owns a retail brokerage subsidiary, Umpqua Investments Inc., which offers services through Umpqua Bank stores and in dedicated offices throughout Oregon. Umpqua's Private Bank Division serves high net worth individuals and non-profits providing customized financial solutions and offerings. Umpqua Holdings Corporation is headquartered in Portland, Ore. For more information, visit http://www.umpquabank.com.