Headline: Community Bank of the Bay depositors put Oakland first

Publication: San Francisco Business Times

Dateline: July 1st, 2004

Community Bank of the Bay, a $35 million community bank in Oakland, said depositors have designated more than $2 million of their deposits for the bank's Oakland 1st Fund.

The program, launched five weeks ago, is designed to boost community development in Oakland.

Many depositors want to know their money will be used for loans to small businesses and individuals in Oakland, Brian Garrett told the San Francisco Business Times in a recent interview.

Garrett expects deposits designated for the Oakland 1st Fund to reach $3 million to $5 million within a few months.

Any new or existing accounts can be designated for the Oakland 1st program.

To promote the program, the bank has created the Oakland 1st introductory certificate of deposit that carries a 17-month term and offers an annual percentage yield of 3. The CD offer, not available to institutional investors, requires a $1,000 minimum deposit and has a maximum deposit of $75,000. The CD must be purchased by July 31.

"In addition to earning the income you will be paid anyway, why not invest in Oakland at the same time," Garrett said. "We see it as a double bottom line."