WSBA Western Sierra Bancorp (MM)

Western Sierra Bancorp Schedules Conference Call to Discuss Its Agreement to Acquire Gold Country Financial Services CAMERON PARK, Calif., Nov 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Western Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:WSBA), a multi-bank holding company, announced that it will broadcast a conference call on November 19, 2004 to discuss its agreement to purchase Gold Country Financial Services the holding Company for Gold Country National Bank. A press release was issued earlier today that outlined some of the major terms of the transaction. Investors have the opportunity to participate in the conference to discuss this agreement by calling the number below and providing the following information: Call In #: 877-381-6419 Conference Name: (Western Sierra Bancorp) Leader Name: (Gary Gall, President and CEO) Date of Call: (November 19, 2004) Time of Call: (10:00 a.m. PST) (1:00 p.m. EST) Expected Duration: (30 minutes) In addition a presentation outlining additional terms of the agreement as well as WSBA's analysis of its future expectations regarding the combined entity will be presented. This presentation will be available on WSBA's website (after 9:30 a.m. PST) at: http://www.westernsierrabancorp.com/ . Gold Country Bank will become the seventh acquisition for Western Sierra Bancorp since 1999. Their four bank charters include Western Sierra Bank, Lake Community Bank, Central California Bank, and Auburn Community Bank. The acquisition is subject to regulatory, as well as Gold Country Financial Services shareholder approval. More information about these banks can be found on their websites at http://www.westernsierrabancorp.com/ and http://www.goldcountrybank.com/. This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and Western Sierra Bancorp and Gold Country Financial Services intend for such forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements describe the companies' expectations regarding future events and developments, including Western Sierra Bancorp's belief that the transaction will be accretive to its earnings per share. Future events are difficult to predict, and the expectations described above are necessarily subject to risk and uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially and adversely. In addition, discussions about risks and uncertainties are set forth from time to time in Western Sierra Bancorp's publicly available Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The companies undertake no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The forgoing may be deemed to be offering materials of Western Sierra Bancorp and Gold Country Financial Services in connection with Western Sierra Bancorp's proposed acquisition of Gold Country Financial Services, on the terms and subject to the conditions in the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization and Merger, dated Nov 18, 2004, between Western Sierra Bancorp and Gold Country Financial Services. Gold Country Financial Services shareholders and other investors are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus that will be included in the registration statement on Form S-4, which Western Sierra Bancorp will file with the SEC in connection with the proposed merger, because it will contain important information about Western Sierra Bancorp, Gold Country Financial Services, the merger and related matters. After it is filed with the SEC, the proxy statement/prospectus will be available for free, both on the SEC web site ( http://www.sec.gov/ ) and from Western Sierra Bancorp and Gold Country Financial Services. In addition to the proposed registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus, Western Sierra Bancorp files annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statement and other information with the SEC. DATASOURCE: Western Sierra Bancorp CONTACT: Gary D. Gall, President and CEO, +1-530-698-2293, or Anthony Gould, Chief Financial Officer, +1-530-698-2234, both of Western Sierra Bancorp Web site: http://www.goldcountrybank.com/ Web site: http://www.westernsierrabancorp.com/

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