BEO Bancorp Earnings Grow 36.9%

  
    
  
  
    
      BEO Bancorp (OTCBB:BEOB), parent company of Bank 
      of Eastern Oregon, announced earning of $623,000 
      for the first quarter of 2008, compared to earnings of $455,000 in the 
      first quarter of 2007, a 36.9% increase. Earnings per share improved 
      from $0.52 to $0.71.
    
    
      Total assets increased 11.4% year over year to $209,793,000. Total loans 
      grew 29.1% to $152,355,000 and total deposits increased to $174,012,000, 
      a 5.3% increase.
    
    
      “We registered a solid start to 2008 in the 
      first quarter,” said President and CEO, E. 
      George Koffler. “The continued growth of good 
      quality loans and the reduction of our cost of funds were the primary 
      drivers of these good results,” Koffler added.
    
    
      “We think 2008 will be a challenging year to 
      maintain the excellent earnings we delivered recently. The aggressive 
      reduction of rates by the Fed will make it difficult for financial 
      institutions to maintain net interest margin levels of the past three 
      years. The slowdown in the housing market will affect fee income 
      generation and credit quality is always a concern when values decline as 
      we have seen in parts of the state,” concluded 
      Koffler.
    
    
      For more information, visit the bank’s website 
      at www.beobank.com.
    
    
      About BEO Bancorp
    
    
      BEO Bancorp is the holding company for Bank of Eastern Oregon, which 
      operates 11 branches and three loan production offices in nine eastern 
      Oregon counties. Branches are located in Arlington, Ione, Heppner, 
      Condon, Irrigon, Boardman, Burns, John Day, Prairie City, Fossil and 
      Moro; loan production offices are located in Hermiston, Enterprise, and 
      Ontario. Bank of Eastern Oregon also operates a mortgage division and 
      offers brokerage services through BEO Financial Services. For further 
      information on the Company or to access Internet banking, please visit 
      our website at http://www.beobank.com.
    
    
      Forward-Looking Statements
    
    
      The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts 
      are forward-looking statements based upon management’s 
      current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and 
      their potential effect on BEO Bancorp. There can be no assurances that 
      future developments affecting BEO Bancorp will be the same as those 
      anticipated by management.
    
    
      Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward-looking 
      statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and 
      uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not 
      limited to:
    
    
      (1) Competitive pressures in the banking and financial industries.
    
    
      (2) Changes in interest rate environment.
    
    
      (3) General economic conditions, nationally, regionally, and in 
      operating markets.
    
    
      (4) Changes in regulatory environment.
    
    
      (5) Changes in business conditions and inflation.
    
    
      (6) Changes in securities markets.
    
    
      (7) Future credit loss experience.