Community Bank of Santa Maria : January 23, 2018 - CBSM and Bank of the Sierra Joint Press Release on sale of Lompoc Branch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: January 23, 2018

Contact:	Kevin McPhaill, President, CEO	Contact:	Janet Silveria, President, CEO
Mike Olague, EVP Chief Banking Officer	[phone]
[phone] or (888) 454-BANK	[e-mail]
Symbol:	BSRR (Exchange: NASDAQ)	Symbol:	CYSM (Exchange: OTCQX)
Website:	www.sierrabancorp.com	Website:	www.yourcbsm.com
www.bankofthesierra.com

Sierra Bancorp Announces Agreement to Acquire Lompoc Branch from

Community Bank of Santa Maria

Porterville, CA - Bank of the Sierra, the banking subsidiary of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR), announced that it has entered into an agreement with Community Bank of Santa Maria, the banking subsidiary of Community Bancorp of Santa Maria (OTCQX:CYSM), to acquire an estimated $35 million in deposits and certain assets of a branch of Community Bank of Santa Maria located in Lompoc, California. Bank of the Sierra's purchase is scheduled for completion Spring 2018, pending regulatory approval.

Bank of the Sierra President and CEO, Kevin McPhaill, is enthusiastic about the acquisition. "We are excited to expand our footprint in Santa Barbara County and provide outstanding financial services to the residents and businesses of the Lompoc area. Our team is working diligently to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. Being a good community partner is much more than occupying a building in a city. We strive to support every community we serve, through volunteerism, reinvestment, and charitable giving through our Sierra Grant Program, and we look forward to serving the community of Lompoc."

Janet Silveria, President and CEO of Community Bank of Santa Maria commented that the transaction is a strategic move for both organizations. "Community Bank of Santa Maria has experienced tremendous growth in loans and deposits in our primary market of Santa Maria. This move provides us the opportunity to focus all our bank resources on that niche market and improves the overall financial strength of the organization."

About Sierra Bancorp & Bank of the Sierra

Sierra Bancorp is the holding company for Bank of the Sierra(www.bankofthesierra.com), which is in its 41st year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains an online branch, and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center, a real estate industries center, and an SBA center. In 2018, Bank of the Sierra received a Bauer Financial 5-star rating, an honor only awarded to the strongest financial institutions in the country.

About Community Bank of Santa Maria

Community Bancorp of Santa Maria is the one-bank holding company of Community Bank of Santa Maria. Community Bank of Santa Maria opened for business on March 1, 2001, and currently operates three branches; two in Santa Maria, and their division, Lompoc Community Bank, in Lompoc. Community Bancorp of Santa Maria stock is traded on the OTCQX under the symbol CYSM.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be considered forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions. These include statements as to the anticipated benefits of the merger, including future financial and operating results, cost savings and enhanced revenues that may be realized from the merger as well as other statements of expectations regarding the merger and any other statements regarding future results or expectations. Each of Sierra Bancorp and OCB Bancorp intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions. The companies' respective abilities to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Factors which could have a material effect on the operations and future prospects of each of Sierra Bancorp and OCB Bancorp and the resulting company, include but are not limited to: the businesses of Sierra Bancorp and/or OCB Bancorp may not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame; revenues following the merger may be lower than expected; customer and employee relationships and business operations may be disrupted by the merger; the ability to obtain required regulatory and shareholder approvals, and the ability to complete the merger on the expected timeframe may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected; changes in interest rates, general economic conditions, legislative/regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve; the quality and composition of the loan and securities portfolios; demand for loan products; deposit flows; competition; demand for financial services in the companies' respective market areas; their implementation of new technologies; their ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; and accounting principles, policies, and guidelines, and other risk factors detailed from time to time. Sierra Bancorp and OCB Bancorp undertake no obligation to update or clarify these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.