DOWNEY – Seattle-based HomeStreet Bank announced Monday that it has acquired Simplicity Bank, a seven-branch community bank located in Southern California, including a branch at Stonewood Center. The combined company will operate as HomeStreet Bank, which now has a network of 99 deposit branches and lending centers in the western United States and Hawaii.

“We are looking forward to servicing Simplicity customers, including current and former employees of Kaiser Permanente, with a substantially expanded menu of products and services,” said HomeStreet CEO Mark K. Mason. “We will work diligently to ensure a smooth transition and uninterrupted, high quality service to customers, and to extend our strong corporate citizenship program to the communities served by our new branches.

“Community partnership has been a top priority for us since our founding,” added Mason. “Our approach is to develop meaningful and multifaceted partnerships that may include employee volunteer service, leadership through board and committee membership, teaching financial literacy and first-time homebuyer classes, holding food and supply drives, sharing financial resources in the form of charitable contributions and sponsorships, and tailoring banking and lending products and services to serve a broad spectrum of community members. I am very proud that in 2014, our employees donated more than 16,000 hours of service to organizations in our communities.”

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Published: March 5, 2015 - Volume 13 - Issue 47