BEO Bancorp Reports 1st Quarter Earnings

BEO Bancorp (OTCBB:BEOB) and its subsidiary, Bank of Eastern Oregon, announced 1st quarter 2012 consolidated net income of $675,014, or $0.71 per share, compared to $501,438, or $0.54 per share, for first quarter 2011. Total assets were $268.1 million, up 7.4% year over year. Net loans of $200.2 million were up 4.7% from the same period in 2011, while deposits were at $238.2 million, up 7.7% year over year.

“We are pleased with the 1st quarter results. Our profitability and growth trends show steady improvement year over year and especially over the past three years. These trends are among some of the best in banking,” said President and CEO Jeff Bailey.

Chief Financial Officer Mark Lemmon said, “Return on Average Assets is 1.02% and Return on Average Equity is 14.93%, compared to 0.80% and 12.60%, respectively, year over year.” Lemmon went on to say, “Our core earnings are very strong and bode well for overall profitability as the economy improves. Profitability has helped contribute to shareholders’ equity increasing 15.0% year over year. We remain the best capitalized bank in eastern Oregon.”

Chief Operations Officer Gary Propheter said, “Our strong growth trend in deposits continues even though the low interest rate environment lingers. Customer confidence in the safety and soundness of Bank of Eastern Oregon is gratifying and serves to reinforce the confidence we have in our employees to deliver products and services that meet the needs of our growing customer base.”

“While our problem assets are more manageable than a year ago, having shown drastic improvement over the past two to three years, we continue to have occasional surprises. To combat this, we continue to fund the loan loss reserve in a prudent manner. The local economy is heavily reliant on agriculture and natural resource-based businesses. The strength in those sectors has had a positive effect on our agricultural loan portfolio in recent years and should continue to support our local economy in 2012. Our hope is that the national and global economy continues to improve and our regional picture remains stable,” concluded Bailey.

For further information on the company or to access internet banking, please visit our website at http://www.beobank.com.

About BEO Bancorp

BEO Bancorp is the holding company for Bank of Eastern Oregon, which operates 12 branches and four loan production offices in ten eastern Oregon counties. Branches are located in Arlington, Ione, Heppner, Condon, Irrigon, Boardman, Burns, John Day, Prairie City, Fossil, Moro and Enterprise; loan production offices are located in Hermiston, Ontario, Pendleton, and Island City. Bank of Eastern Oregon also operates a mortgage division and offers brokerage services through BEO Financial Services. The bank’s website is 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.