The Business of Sierra Bancorp	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014
The Business of Sierra Bancorp [Abstract]
The Business of Sierra Bancorp	*Note 1 – The Business of Sierra Bancorp* Sierra Bancorp (the “Company”) is a California corporation headquartered in Porterville, California, and is a registered bank holding company under federal banking laws. The Company was formed to serve as the holding company for Bank of the Sierra (the “Bank”), and has been the Bank's sole shareholder since August 2001. The Company exists primarily for the purpose of holding the stock of the Bank and of such other subsidiaries it may acquire or establish. At the present time, the Company's only other subsidiaries are Sierra Statutory Trust II and Sierra Capital Trust III, which were formed in March 2004 and June 2006, respectively, solely to facilitate the issuance of capital trust pass-through securities (TRUPS). Pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB's) standard on the consolidation of variable interest entities, these trusts are not reflected on a consolidated basis in the Company's financial statements. References herein to the “Company” include Sierra Bancorp and its consolidated subsidiary, the Bank, unless the context indicates otherwise. The Bank is a California state-chartered bank headquartered in Porterville, California, that offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services primarily to communities in the central and southern regions of the San Joaquin Valley. Our branch footprint stretches from Fresno on the north to Bakersfield on the south, and on the southern end extends east through the Tehachapi plateau and into the northwestern tip of the Mojave Desert. The Bank was incorporated in September 1977 and opened for business in January 1978, and in the ensuing years has grown to be the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Our growth has primarily been organic, but includes the acquisition of Sierra National Bank in 2000. We currently operate 25 full service branch offices throughout our geographic footprint, as well as an internet branch which provides the ability to open deposit accounts online. The Bank has received regulatory approval for another branch in Bakersfield, California, which is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2015. In addition to our full-service branches the Bank has specialized lending units which include a real estate industries center, an agricultural credit center, and an SBA lending unit, and we operate offsite ATMs at six different non-branch locations. The Bank's deposit accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to maximum insurable amounts. On July 17, 2014 the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Santa Clara Valley Bank (OTC: SCVE) of Santa Paula, California, a community bank with $129 million in assets and branches located in Santa Paula, Santa Clarita, and Fillmore, California. The agreement calls for the payment of cash consideration of $12.3 million, or $6.00 per share, to SCVE's common shareholders and cash consideration of $3.0 million to SCVE's preferred shareholders to retire outstanding preferred stock and associated warrants. Included in the $12.3 million payment is $700,000 that the Company will pay to cash out existing in-the-money warrants. All requisite regulatory approvals have been received, and the acquisition was approved by the shareholders of Santa Clara Valley Bank at a special meeting held October 29, 2014. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014. One-time acquisition costs totaled $267,000 in the third quarter of 2014, and if the transaction is consummated in the anticipated time frame management has projected that they will add around $2.0 million to Sierra Bancorp's pre-tax non-interest expense in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Note 1 – The Business of Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp (the “Company”) is a California corporation headquartered in Porterville, California, and is a registered bank holding company under federal banking laws. The Company was formed to serve as the holding company for Bank of the Sierra (the “Bank”), and has been the Bank's sole shareholder since August 2001. The Company exists primarily for the purpose of holding the stock of the Bank and of such other subsidiaries it may acquire or establish. At the present time, the Company's only other subsidiaries are Sierra Statutory Trust II and Sierra Capital Trust III, which were formed in March 2004 and June 2006, respectively, solely to facilitate the issuance of capital trust pass-through securities (TRUPS). Pursuant to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB's) standard on the consolidation of variable interest entities, these trusts are not reflected on a consolidated basis in the Company's financial statements. References herein to the “Company” include Sierra Bancorp and its consolidated subsidiary, the Bank, unless the context indicates otherwise.

The Bank is a California state-chartered bank headquartered in Porterville, California, that offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services primarily to communities in the central and southern regions of the San Joaquin Valley. Our branch footprint stretches from Fresno on the north to Bakersfield on the south, and on the southern end extends east through the Tehachapi plateau and into the northwestern tip of the Mojave Desert. The Bank was incorporated in September 1977 and opened for business in January 1978, and in the ensuing years has grown to be the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Our growth has primarily been organic, but includes the acquisition of Sierra National Bank in 2000. We currently operate 25 full service branch offices throughout our geographic footprint, as well as an internet branch which provides the ability to open deposit accounts online. The Bank has received regulatory approval for another branch in Bakersfield, California, which is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of 2015. In addition to our full-service branches the Bank has specialized lending units which include a real estate industries center, an agricultural credit center, and an SBA lending unit, and we operate offsite ATMs at six different non-branch locations. The Bank's deposit accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to maximum insurable amounts.

On July 17, 2014 the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Santa Clara Valley Bank (OTC: SCVE) of Santa Paula, California, a community bank with $129 million in assets and branches located in Santa Paula, Santa Clarita, and Fillmore, California. The agreement calls for the payment of cash consideration of $12.3 million, or $6.00 per share, to SCVE's common shareholders and cash consideration of $3.0 million to SCVE's preferred shareholders to retire outstanding preferred stock and associated warrants. Included in the $12.3 million payment is $700,000 that the Company will pay to cash out existing in-the-money warrants. All requisite regulatory approvals have been received, and the acquisition was approved by the shareholders of Santa Clara Valley Bank at a special meeting held October 29, 2014. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014. One-time acquisition costs totaled $267,000 in the third quarter of 2014, and if the transaction is consummated in the anticipated time frame management has projected that they will add around $2.0 million to Sierra Bancorp's pre-tax non-interest expense in the fourth quarter of 2014.