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Sterling Appoints Andrew J. Schultheis as General Counsel

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Tuesday, May 31st 2011 at 13:35 GMT by Market Wire}  

SPOKANE, Wash.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--[ Sterling Financial Corporation ] (NASDAQ:STSA) and its subsidiary [ Sterling Savings Bank ] today announced that Andrew J. Schultheis has been appointed to the newly created position of executive vice president and general counsel.

"The integrity of the leadership team is unmatched and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them to implement Sterling's growth strategy."

aWe are excited to add Andrew to our team,a said Greg Seibly, chief executive officer of [ Sterling Financial Corporation ] and [ Sterling Savings Bank ]. aWe have worked closely with Andrew as our outside counsel the past several years and, after conducting a national search, confirmed that he is the right choice for Sterling. Andrew is highly respected in the legal community locally, regionally and nationally. Sterling is fortunate to have an attorney of his caliber on the management team.a

Schultheis comes to Sterling from the law firm of Witherspoon Kelley in Spokane, Wash., where he worked with a range of public and private companies since 2005. His clients included emerging growth start-up companies, banks, investment banks, venture capital firms and individual investors. His practice covered a broad array of matters, including corporate, securities and regulatory matters.

aI worked closely with the Sterling team during the recapitalization process and I am honored to join a team of focused, driven individuals who want to make a positive difference,a said Schultheis. aThe integrity of the leadership team is unmatched and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them to implement Sterling's growth strategy.a

Prior to joining Witherspoon Kelley, Schultheis practiced at Fenwick & West LLP, a Silicon Valley-based law firm, where he represented such clients as Cisco Systems, Inc., Handspring, Inc., Intuit, Inc., Macromedia, Inc., Shopping.com Ltd., Symantec Corporation and VeriSign, Inc., among others. He has extensive experience in corporate governance, merger and acquisition transactions, and corporate finance transactions.

A native of Spokane, Schultheis received his undergraduate degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., and his law degree from the University of Michigan. He currently is a director on the boards of Connect Northwest and the Inland Northwest Land Trust.

About Sterling Financial Corporation

[ Sterling Financial Corporation ] of Spokane, Wash., is the bank holding company for [ Sterling Savings Bank ], a state chartered and federally insured commercial bank. Sterling offers banking products and services, mortgage lending, construction financing and investment products to individuals, small businesses, commercial organizations and corporations. As of March 31, 2011, [ Sterling Financial Corporation ] had assets of $9.35 billion and operated 178 depository branches throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and California. Visit Sterlinga™s website at [ www.sterlingfinancialcorporation-spokane.com ].