SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) of
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report: November 12, 1997
Columbia Banking System, Inc.
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Washington
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(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
0-20288 91-1422237
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(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
1102 Broadway Plaza
Tacoma, WA 98402
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(253) 305-1900
Registrant's telephone number, including area code
FORM 8-K
COLUMBIA BANKING SYSTEM, INC.
Tacoma, Washington
November 12, 1997
Item 5. Other Events
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On November 10, 1997, Columbia Banking System, Inc. ("CBSI") announced
that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. A.G. Espe, has died
following a year-long battle with cancer, and that Mr. W.W. Philip, CBSI's
Vice Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer, has assumed all duties
of the Chief Executive Officer.
A copy of CBSI's News Release containing this announcement is attached
as an exhibit to this report.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
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(a) Financial statements - not applicable.
(b) Pro forma financial information - not applicable.
(c) Exhibits:
(20) News release issued by Columbia Banking System, Inc.
dated November 10, 1997.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
COLUMBIA BANKING SYSTEM, INC.
(Registrant)
Date: November 12, 1997 By: /s/ W.W. Philip
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W.W. Philip
Vice Chairman, President and
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Exhibit (20)
( Columbia Banking System
letterhead appears hear)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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November 10, 1997
Contacts: W. W. Philip, President, (253)305-1993
Kristen Kopay, Corporate Communications, (253)305-1965
COLUMBIA BANKING SYSTEM CHAIRMAN A. G. ESPE DIES
FOLLOWING YEAR-LONG BATTLE WITH CANCER
TACOMA, Washington---A. G. Espe, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer of Columbia Banking System, Inc., has died following a year-long
battle with cancer, the Company said today. Mr. Espe was diagnosed with
lung cancer in late 1996, with a prognosis for a good recovery. He had been
responding well to treatment until recently, when it was discovered that the
cancer had spread, and he was admitted to a local hospital in serious
condition. Mr. W. W. Philip, the Company's Vice Chairman and Chief Operating
Officer has assumed all duties of the Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Espe, who was 60 years of age, had a long and distinguished career in
banking which began in Alaska and was more focused in the Northwest in recent
years. He was a founder and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Alaska Pacific Bancorporation from 1976 until 1985. In 1985, when KeyCorp
acquired Alaska Pacific Bancorporation, Mr. Espe joined KeyCorp as Chairman
of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Key Pacific Bancorp,
that Company's then principal Northwest subsidiary. After leaving KeyCorp
in 1989, Mr. Espe and R. Marc Langland formed Northrim Bank, a publicly
traded, $270 million in assets, commercial bank headquartered in Anchorage,
Alaska, for which Mr. Espe has continuously served as Chairman.
In 1990, Mr. Espe led a group of investors who acquired the predecessor to
what is now Columbia Bank and its parent, Columbia Banking System, located in
Tacoma, Washington. After recapitalizing and strengthening that organization,
he moved its headquarters to Tacoma in 1993 and, together with Mr. Philip,
supervised the reorganization and rapid expansion of Columbia Bank. Columbia
has since become a significant factor in the banking market in Tacoma/Pierce
County and has grown its market share in Bellevue and other parts of King
County, and in Cowlitz County. At September 30, 1997, Columbia Banking
System had total assets of over $700 million. Upon completion of two pending
acquisitions, Columbia's branch network will total 21 offices in three
counties and its assets will exceed $800 million.
Mr. Espe was active in government and civic affairs including service as
chairman and trustee of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, trustee of the
University of Washington Presidents Club, vice chairman and director of the
Alaska Power Authority, chairman of the Alaska Governor's Business Roundtable,
member of the Board of Directors of the Downtown Seattle Association, member
of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma/Pierce County, trustee for the
Franciscan Foundation of Tacoma, and member of the advisory committee for
Tacoma Actors Guild. He was a graduate of the University of Washington School
of Business and the Pacific Coast Banking School.
"Arne Espe will be sorely missed by all of us at Columbia Bank," said
Bill Philip. "He was a visionary banker who possessed a rare combination of
entrepreneurial enthusiasm coupled with a knowledge of how to build a solid
organization that could carry out the vision. We at Columbia will all do our
best to see that the promise for Columbia Bank, which he saw so clearly, is
fulfilled."
Columbia Banking System (Nasdaq: COLB) is a Tacoma, Washington-based bank
holding company which operates Columbia Bank, a state-chartered full-service
commercial bank with 18 branch offices in Pierce, King and Cowlitz counties.
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