PORTERVILLE, Calif., June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bank of the Sierra today announced a strategic partnership with one of the nation's leading providers of credit card processing -- Elan Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp . As part of this partnership, Bank of the Sierra sold its credit card portfolio to Elan effective June 1, 2007. The credit card portfolio includes consumer and commercial credit card accounts with outstanding balances of $10.5 million. Elan will continue to issue credit cards branded with the Bank of the Sierra name, but will carry the balances on its own books and will ultimately be responsible for all servicing aspects.
"We chose a partnership with Elan Financial Services because of their world class solutions, solid reputation and unsurpassed experience in this field," stated Hope Attenhofer, S.V.P. and Director of Marketing. "This partnership with Elan will allow us to provide the credit card products our customers want, with the highest level of service and support available."
About Elan Financial Services
With more than 1,600 financial institution partnerships in place, Elan Financial Services is one of the nation's leading providers of complete outsourced solutions with a focus on payments and card processing.
About Bank of the Sierra
With over $1.2 billion in assets and strong performance ratios, Bank of the Sierra operates as the largest community independent bank headquartered in the Southern San Joaquin Valley Heartland. The bank serves 15 different communities with 21 branches, an Ag Center and an SBA Loan Center. For more information visit the web site at http://www.bankofthesierra.com/ or call (888) 454-BANK.
