Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To The Trustees of
Capital Corp of the West
Employee Stock Ownership Plan
We have audited the accompanying statements of net assets available for benefits of Capital Corp of the West Employee Stock Ownership Plan as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the related statement of changes in net assets available for benefits for the year ended December 31, 2005. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for benefits of Capital Corp of the West Employee Stock Ownership Plan as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the changes in its net assets available for benefits for the year ended December 31, 2005, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America.
Our audits were conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial statements taken as a whole. The supplemental information included in Schedule H - Financial Information (IRS Form 5500) is presented for the purpose of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements but is supplementary information required by the Department of Labor's Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The supplemental information has been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audits of the basic financial statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
/s/ Cassabon & Associates, LLP
Fresno, California
June 11, 2006
CAPITAL CORP OF THE WEST
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
STATEMENTS OF NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS
DECEMBER 31 2005 AND 2004
| | | 2005 | | 2004 | |
ASSETS | | | | | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 23,678 | | $ | 28,050 | |
| Investment in Capital Corp of the West, Common stock, at fair value | | | 12,438,572 | | | 10,039,743 | |
| Total Assets | | | 12,462,250 | | | 10,067,793 | |
LIABILITIES | | | | | | | |
| Operating payable | | | - | | | 880 | |
| Total Liabilities | | | - | | | 880 | |
| Net assets available for benefits | | $ | 12,462,250 | | $ | 10,066,913 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
CAPITAL CORP OF THE WEST
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS AVAILABLE FOR BENEFITS
DECEMBER 31 2005 AND 2004
| | | 2005 | |
| Additions to net assets | | | |
| Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) in market value of investments | | $ | 2,348,441 | |
| Interest | | | 1,324 | |
| Dividends | | | 68,148 | |
| Contributions | | | 572,365 | |
| Total additions to net assets | | | 2,990,278 | |
| Deductions from net assets | | | | |
| Distributions to participants | | | 581,952 | |
| Administrative and legal fees | | | 12,989 | |
| Total deductions from net assets | | | 594,941 | |
| Net increase (decrease) | | | 2,395,337 | |
| Net assets available for benefits | | | | |
| Beginning of year | | | 10,066,913 | |
| End of year | | $ | 12,462,250 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
CAPITAL CORP OF THE WEST
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 - Description of Plan:
The following description of the Capital Corp of the West Employee Stock Ownership Plan provides only general information. Participants should refer to the Plan document for a more complete description of the Plan's provisions.
General:
Capital Corp of the West's (Company) predecessor corporation, County Bank established the Plan effective as of December 31, 1981. On November 1, 1995 the Company was organized as the bank’s holding company for County Bank and the plan was adopted as the Plan for the Company. The Plan is intended to qualify as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) as defined in Section 4975(e)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code. The plan is subject to the applicable provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA).
Contributions:
Each year, the Company contributes to the Plan an amount determined at the discretion of the Company's board of directors.
Participant Eligibility and Accounts:
Employees of the Company are eligible to participate in the Plan after one year of service and have attained 21 years of age. Participants who are not employed on the last day of the plan year are generally not eligible for an allocation of company contributions for such year. Each participant's account is credited with an allocation of (a) the Company's contribution, (b) Plan earnings, and (c) forfeitures of terminated participant's non-vested accounts. Allocations are based on compensation earned by the participant.
Vesting:
Vesting of the participant's account is based on years of continuous service. A participant is 100 percent vested after seven years of credited service.
Payment of Benefits:
At retirement, age 65, the tenth anniversary of the year in which the Participant commenced participation in the Plan or the termination date (whichever is later), a participant will receive his or her benefits in the form of Qualifying Employer Securities or cash. Participants shall have the right to demand that their benefits be distributed in the form of Qualifying Employer Securities.
Voting Rights Attributable to Shares:
Each participant is entitled to direct the Trustee as to the manner in which voting rights under Employer Securities which are allocated to the account of such participant are to be exercised with respect to a matter which involved the voting of such shares with respect to the approval or disapproval of any corporate merger or consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, liquidation, dissolution, sale of substantially all assets of a trade or business or such similar transactions.
CAPITAL CORP OF THE WEST
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Plan Termination:
The Company reserves the right to terminate the Plan at any time, subject to Plan provisions. Upon such termination of the Plan, the interest of each participant in the trust fund will be distributed to such participant or his or her beneficiary at the time prescribed by the Plan terms and the Code.
Note 2 - Summary of Accounting Policies:
Basis of Accounting:
The financial statements of the Plan are prepared using the accrual method of accounting.
Estimates:
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires the plan administrator to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly, actual results may differ from those estimates.
Investment Valuation and Income Recognition:
The common shares of the Company are valued at fair market value on December 31, 2005 and 2004. Fair value is determined by the exchange price on the Nasdaq National Market System on the close of business on December 31, 2005 and 2004.
Note 3 - Investments:
All investments of the Plan are in stock of Capital Corp of the West, the plan sponsor. The fair value is as follows:
| | | 2005 | | 2004 | |
| Number of shares | | | 383,315 | | | 213,607 | |
| Market Value | | $ | 12,438,572 | | $ | 10,039,743 | |
Investment in the Company stock is in excess of 5% of the total plan assets.
Note 4 - Forfeitures:
The plan had $41,925 in forfeitures in the December 31, 2005 year that were allocated to participants of the plan.
Note 5 - Restoration of Forfeitures:
At December 31, 2005, there are no benefits to be restored to participants who had less than a five-year break in service and have returned to active participation in the plan.
CAPITAL CORP OF THE WEST
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 - Administration of Plan Assets:
The Plan's assets, which consist fully of Capital Corp of the West common shares, are held by the Trustee of the Plan.
Company contributions are held and managed by the Trustee. The Trustee also makes distributions to participants.
Certain administrative functions are performed by officers or employees of the Company. No such officer or employee receives compensation from the Plan. Administrative expenses are paid directly by the Plan.
Note 7 - Tax Status:
The Internal Revenue Service has determined and informed the Company that the Plan is qualified and the trust established under the Plan is tax-exempt, under the appropriate sections of the Code. The Plan received a favorable determination letter as of October 18, 2002.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
CAPITAL CORP OF THE WEST
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN
(ein 77-0405791; PN001)
SUPPLEMENTAL SCHEDULE ACCOMPANYING THE FORM 5500
SCHEDULE H, LINE 4a - SCHEDULE OF ASSETS (HELD AT END OF YEAR)
DECEMBER 31, 2005
(a) | | (b) Identity of Issue, Borrower, Lessor, or Similar Party (c) Description of Investment, including maturity date, rate of interest, collateral, par or maturity value | | (d) Cost | | (e) Current Value |
| | | Capital Corp of the West | | | | |
| | | Employer Securities, 383,315 shares | | ** | | $12,438,572 |
| | | Money Market | | ** | | 23,678 |
| | | Total assets held for investment purposes at end of year | | | | $12,462,250 |
| | | **Historical cost basis of investments is not maintained | | | | |
