Umpqua Bank Named Oregon’s Most Admired Financial Services Company

Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: UMPQ), has been named Oregon's Most Admired Financial Services Company by the Portland Business Journal. The largest bank headquartered in Oregon, Umpqua has received the recognition every year since the award was introduced 15 years ago.

"This recognition is truly a special honor, coming from CEOs and business leaders across Oregon,” said Cort O’Haver, Umpqua Bank president and CEO. “It’s a testament to Umpqua’s 4,000 associates, who go above and beyond to serve our customers and communities at the highest possible level every day.”

Each year, the Portland Business Journal conducts a statewide poll of CEOs and top executives across the state to determine Oregon’s most admired companies in several industry categories. Those polled select winners based on criteria including community involvement, innovation, quality of management, quality of products and services, and branding and marketing.

2019 Umpqua Bank Highlights:

• Umpqua earned the prestigious Celent Model Bank Award for Customer Engagement, becoming one of 22 global financial institutions recognized for outstanding technology initiatives with demonstrable business benefits, industry-forward innovation, and implementation excellence.
• Umpqua continued strengthening its reputation and market position as a West Coast commercial bank through a number of key hires and initiatives, including original research about the critical but often overlooked middle market sector of the economy, which includes companies with annual revenue between $10M and $1B.
• Umpqua launched Umpqua Go-To across its footprint, putting Go-To bankers in every store. Go-To is the industry’s first Human Digital Banking platform, giving every customer and even non-customers the opportunity to choose their own personal banker devoted to their financial needs.
• In March, Umpqua launched its Economic Empowerment Cohort, a multi-year collaborative partnership with four Portland Metro nonprofits that includes $1 million in funding, as well as significant investment of company resources and expertise to establish and sustain innovative economic empowerment and equality programs.
• This summer, the bank released its first annual corporate responsibility report to reinforce its commitment to community well-being and sustainable business practices.
• Umpqua associates also logged more than 27,000 volunteer hours in 2019 through the bank’s Connect Volunteer Program, which offers associates one full week of paid time off to volunteer. Last year, Umpqua associates surpassed half a million Connect hours, representing a $12.5 million investment to support thousands of community nonprofits since the program was formed in 2004.
• By end of year, Umpqua Bank and the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation will have awarded more than $3 million in funding to nonprofits committed to enhancing the quality of life in communities across the company’s footprint.

Oregon's Most Admired Companies is an annual event held by the Portland Business Journal. Hosted by publisher Craig Wessel, the event is one of the publication's business programs created to recognize the state's leading organizations. To see the complete list of Oregon's Most Admired Companies, visit www.bizjournals.com/portland.