Edgar Filing: BANNER CORP

banrprospsup32612.htm

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell these securities and are not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)

Registration No. 333-156340

Subject to Completion, Dated March 26, 2012

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(To Prospectus Dated August 25, 2009)

124,000 Shares of Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A

Liquidation Preference Amount $1,000 Per Share

This prospectus supplement relates to the offer and sale of 124,000 shares of our Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, $.01 par value per share (the “Preferred Shares”), liquidation preference amount $1,000 per share, by the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”). We issued the Preferred Shares to Treasury on November 21, 2008 as part of Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Capital Purchase Program (the “CPP”) in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of any Preferred Shares sold by Treasury.

Dividends on the Preferred Shares are payable quarterly in arrears on each February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15. The initial dividend rate is 5% per annum through February 14, 2014, and will increase to 9% per annum on and after February 15, 2014 if not otherwise redeemed earlier for cash by us. We may not pay dividends on the Preferred Shares without prior regulatory approval. We may redeem the Preferred Shares, at any time, in whole or in part, at our option, subject to prior approval by the appropriate federal banking agency, for cash, for a redemption price equal to 100% of the liquidation preference amount per Preferred Share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends to but excluding the date of redemption.

The Preferred Shares will not be listed for trading on any stock exchange or available for quotation on any national quotation system.

The public offering price and the allocation of the Preferred Shares in this offering will be determined by an auction process. During the auction period, potential bidders will be able to place bids to purchase Preferred Shares at any price (such bid price to be in increments of $0.01). However, the minimum size for any bid will be one Preferred Share. If Treasury decides to sell any of the offered Preferred Shares, the public offering price of such Preferred Shares will equal the clearing price set in the auction plus accrued dividends thereon. The clearing price will be equal to the highest price in the auction for which the quantity of all bids at or above such price equals the number of Preferred Shares that Treasury elects to sell. In certain cases, the bids of bidders may be pro-rated. Even if bids are received for all of the offered Preferred Shares, Treasury may decide not to sell any Preferred Shares, regardless of the clearing price set in the auction process. The method for submitting bids and a more detailed description of this auction process are described in “Auction Process” beginning on page S-37 of this prospectus supplement.

Investing in the Preferred Shares involves risks. You should read the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-10 of this prospectus supplement, page 3 of the accompanying prospectus and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 before making a decision to invest in the Preferred Shares.

	Per Share	Total
Public offering price(1)	$	$
Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by Treasury(2)	$	$
Proceeds to Treasury	$	$

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(1) Plus accrued dividends from and including February 15, 2012.

(2) Treasury has agreed to pay all underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes. We have agreed to pay all transaction fees, if any, applicable to the sale of the Preferred Shares and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for Treasury incurred in connection with this offering.

None of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve”), any state or other securities commission or any other federal or state bank regulatory agency has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The Preferred Shares are not savings accounts, deposits or other obligations of any bank, thrift or other depositary institution and are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other governmental agency or instrumentality.

The underwriters expect to deliver the Preferred Shares in book-entry form through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company and its participants against payment on or about April , 2012.

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Joint Book-Running Managers

BofA Merrill Lynch Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P.

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Co-Managers

Drexel Hamilton SL Hare Capital TBC Securities

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The date of this prospectus supplement is March , 2012.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus Supplement

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT	S-i
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	S-i
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	S-ii
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE	S-iii
SUMMARY	S-1
RISK FACTORS	S-10
USE OF PROCEEDS	S-30
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND
PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS	S-30
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES	S-31
AUCTION PROCESS	S-37
SELLING SHAREHOLDER	S-43
U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES	S-45
UNDERWRITING	S-50
LEGAL MATTERS	S-53
EXPERTS	S-53

Prospectus

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	iii
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	iii
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	iv
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	1
RISK FACTORS	3
USE OF PROCEEDS	17
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDEND REQUIREMENT	17
REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS	18
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK	19
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES	23
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANT	23
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK	25
SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS	28
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	29
LEGAL MATTERS	31
EXPERTS	31

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the additional information described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” before you make a decision to invest in the Preferred Shares. In particular, you should review the information under the heading “Risk Factors” set forth on page S-10 of this prospectus supplement, the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” set forth on page 3 in the accompanying prospectus and the information under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, which is incorporated by reference herein. You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any related free writing prospectus required to be filed with the SEC. Neither we nor Treasury nor the underwriters are making an offer to sell the Preferred Shares in any manner in which, or in any jurisdiction where, the offer or sale thereof is not permitted. We have not authorized any person to provide you with different or additional information. If any person provides you with different or additional information, you should not rely on it. You should assume that the information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, any such free writing prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein is accurate only as of its date or the date which is specified in those documents. Our business, financial condition, capital levels, cash flows, liquidity, results of operations and prospects may have changed since any such date.

As used throughout this prospectus supplement, the terms “we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company” refer to Banner Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. All references to “Banner” refer to Banner Corporation and those to “the Banks” refer to its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, collectively.

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain matters in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance or business. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact, are based on certain assumptions and are generally identified by use of the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would” and “could.” Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, assumptions and statements about future economic performance and projections of financial items. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated or implied by our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the credit risks of lending activities, including changes in the level and trend of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in our allowance for loan losses and provision for loan losses that may be impacted by deterioration in the housing and commercial real estate markets and may lead to increased losses and nonperforming assets in our loan portfolio, and may result in our allowance for loan losses not being adequate to cover actual losses and require us to materially increase our reserves; changes in general economic conditions, either nationally or in our market areas; changes in the levels of general interest rates and the relative differences between short and long-term interest rates, deposit interest rates, our net interest margin and funding sources; fluctuations in the demand for loans, the number of unsold homes, land and other properties and fluctuations in real estate values in our market areas; secondary market conditions for loans and our ability to sell loans in the secondary market; results of examinations of us by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”) and of our bank subsidiaries by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Banks (the “Washington DFI”) or other regulatory authorities, including the possibility that any such regulatory authority may, among other things, institute a

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formal or informal enforcement action against us or any of the Banks which could require us to increase our reserve for loan losses, write-down assets, change our regulatory capital position or affect our ability to borrow funds, or maintain or increase deposits, or impose additional requirements and restrictions on us, any of which could adversely affect our liquidity and earnings; our compliance with regulatory enforcement actions; the requirements and restrictions that have been imposed upon Banner and Banner Bank under the memoranda of understanding with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (in the case of Banner) and the FDIC and the Washington DFI (in the case of Banner Bank) and the possibility that Banner and Banner Bank will be unable to fully comply with the memoranda of understanding, which could result in the imposition of additional requirements or restrictions; legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect our business, including changes in regulatory policies and principles, or the interpretation of regulatory capital or other rules; the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the implementing regulations; our ability to attract and retain deposits; increases in premiums for deposit insurance; our ability to control operating costs and expenses; the use of estimates in determining fair value of certain of our assets and liabilities, which estimates may prove to be incorrect and result in significant changes in valuation; difficulties in reducing risk associated with the loans on our balance sheet; staffing fluctuations in response to product demand or the implementation of corporate strategies that affect our work force and potential associated charges; the failure or security breach of computer systems on which we depend; our ability to retain key members of our senior management team; costs and effects of litigation, including settlements and judgments; our ability to implement our business strategies; our ability to successfully integrate any assets, liabilities, customers, systems, and management personnel we may acquire into our operations and our ability to realize related revenue synergies and cost savings within expected time frames and any goodwill charges related thereto; our ability to manage loan delinquency rates; increased competitive pressures among financial services companies; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; the availability of resources to address changes in laws, rules, or regulations or to respond to regulatory actions; our ability to pay dividends on our common and preferred stock (including the Preferred Shares) and interest or principal payments on our debt (including our outstanding junior subordinated debentures) from a financial or regulatory standpoint or otherwise; adverse changes in the securities markets; inability of key third-party providers to perform their obligations to us; changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the financial institution regulatory agencies or the Financial Accounting Standards Board, including additional guidance and interpretation on accounting issues and details of the implementation of new accounting methods; the economic impact of war or any terrorist activities; other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory, and technological factors affecting our operations, pricing, products and services; future legislative changes in the United States Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Capital Purchase Program; and other risks detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including certain matters in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference. Any forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made. We do not undertake and specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference or the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These risks could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements by, or on behalf of, us. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, our forward-looking statements might not occur, and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and file with the SEC proxy statements, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as required of a U.S. listed company. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-888-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference rooms. Our SEC filings are also available to the public from the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov or

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on our website at http://www.bannerbank.com. However, the information on, or that can be accessible through, our website does not constitute a part of, and is not incorporated by reference in, this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Copies of the documents we file with the SEC are available if you call or write to: Investors Relation, Banner Corporation, P.O. Box 907, Walla Walla, Washington 99362, telephone: (800) 272-9933.

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a registration statement on Form S-3 filed by us with the SEC under the Securities Act. As permitted by the SEC, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not contain all the information in the registration statement filed with the SEC. For a more complete understanding of this offering, you should refer to the complete registration statement, including exhibits, on Form S-3 that may be obtained as described above. Statements contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus about the contents of any contract or other document are not necessarily complete. This prospectus supplement may also add, update and change information contained in the accompanying prospectus. To the extent that any statement that we make in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with the statements made in the accompanying prospectus, the statements made in the accompanying prospectus are deemed modified or superseded by the statements made in this prospectus supplement. If we have filed any contract or other document as an exhibit to the registration statement or any other document incorporated by reference in the registration statement, you should read the exhibit for a more complete understanding of the contract or other document or matter involved. Each statement regarding a contract or other document is qualified in its entirety by reference to the actual contract or other document.

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information that we file with it, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We incorporate by reference the following documents and any future filings made with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus supplement and prior to the termination of this offering (other than information “furnished” rather than “filed” and information that is modified or superseded by subsequently filed documents prior to the termination of this offering):

·	the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011;

·	the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on March 22, 2012; and

·	the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement related to its 2012 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on March 21, 2012.

We will provide without charge, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and a copy of any or all other contracts or documents which are referred to in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Copies of the documents we file with the SEC are available without charge to you on the Internet at http://www.bannerbank.com or if you call or write to: Investors Relation, Banner Corporation, P.O. Box 907, Walla Walla, Washington 99362, telephone: (800) 272-9933. The reference to our website is not intended to be an active link and the information on, or that can be accessible through, our website is not, and you must not consider such information to be, a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

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SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and may not contain all the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision to purchase the Preferred Shares. You should carefully read this entire prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as well as the information incorporated by reference herein and therein, before deciding whether to invest in the Preferred Shares. You should carefully consider the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein to determine whether an investment in the Preferred Shares is appropriate for you.

The Company

Banner Bank is a regional bank which offers a wide variety of commercial banking services and financial products to individuals, businesses and public sector entities in its primary market areas. Islanders Bank is a community bank which offers similar banking services to individuals, businesses and public entities located in the San Juan Islands. Our primary business is that of traditional banking institutions, accepting deposits and originating loans in locations surrounding our offices in portions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Banner Bank is also an active participant in the secondary market, engaging in mortgage banking operations largely through the origination and sale of one- to four-family residential loans. Lending activities include commercial business and commercial real estate loans, agriculture business loans, construction and land development loans, one- to four-family residential loans and consumer loans. A portion of Banner Bank’s construction and mortgage lending activities are conducted through its subsidiary, Community Financial Corporation, which is located in the Lake Oswego area of Portland, Oregon. Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “BANR.” Increased loan delinquencies and defaults, particularly in the residential construction and land development portions of our loan portfolio, have materially adversely affected our results of operations for the past four years. While delinquencies and other non-performing assets at December 31, 2011 were substantially reduced from a year earlier and our 2011 results of operations were much improved, including a return to profitability, it is still difficult to predict when and how general economic conditions and the weak housing markets that caused this increased level of delinquencies and defaults will meaningfully improve. However, we are encouraged by the recent quicker pace of problem asset resolution as well as the significant reduction in non-performing assets over the last year and remain diligent in our efforts to further improve our risk profile. Our goal is to position Banner Corporation with a moderate risk profile and to maintain that profile going forward.

Since becoming a public company in 1995, we have invested significantly in expanding our branch and distribution systems with a primary emphasis on strengthening our market presence in our five primary markets in the Northwest. Those markets include the four largest metropolitan areas in the Northwest, i.e., the Puget Sound region of Washington and the greater Boise, Idaho, Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington markets, as well as our historical base in the vibrant agricultural communities in the Columbia Basin region of Washington and Oregon. Our aggressive franchise expansion during this period included the acquisition and consolidation of eight commercial banks, as well as the opening of 27 new branches and relocating nine others.

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Over the past ten years, we also invested heavily in advertising campaigns designed to significantly increase the brand awareness for Banner Bank. These investments, which have been significant elements in our strategies to grow loans, deposits and customer relationships, have increased our presence within desirable marketplaces and allow us to better serve existing and future customers. This emphasis on growth and development resulted in an elevated level of operating expenses during much of this period; however, we believe that the expanded branch network and heightened brand awareness have created a franchise that is well positioned to allow us to successfully execute on our super community bank model. That strategy is focused on delivering customers, including middle market and small businesses, business owners, their families and employees, a compelling value proposition by providing the financial sophistication and breadth of products of a regional bank while retaining the appeal and superior service level of a community bank.

The Offering

The following summary contains basic information about the Preferred Shares and the auction process and is not intended to be complete and does not contain all the information that is important to you. For a more complete understanding of the Preferred Shares and the auction process, you should read the sections of this prospectus supplement entitled “Description of Preferred Shares” and “Auction Process” and any similar sections in the accompanying prospectus.

Issuer	Banner Corporation
Preferred Shares Offered by Treasury	124,000 shares of our Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, $.01 par value per share. The number of Preferred Shares to be sold will depend on the number of bids received in the auction described below and whether Treasury decides to sell any Preferred Shares in the auction process. See the section entitled “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Liquidation Preference	If we liquidate, dissolve or wind up (collectively, a “liquidation”), holders of the Preferred Shares will have the right to receive $1,000 per share, plus any accrued and unpaid dividends (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends) to, but not including, the date of payment, before any payments are made to holders of our common stock or any other capital stock that ranks, by its terms, junior as to rights upon liquidation to the Preferred Shares.
Dividends	Dividends on the Preferred Shares are payable quarterly in arrears on each February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15. The initial dividend rate is 5% per annum through February 14, 2014, and will increase to 9% per annum on and after February 15, 2014 if not otherwise redeemed earlier for cash by us. Holders of Preferred Shares sold by Treasury in the auction, if any, that are record holders on the record date for the May 15, 2012 dividend payment date will be entitled to any declared dividends payable on such date.
Maturity	The Preferred Shares have no maturity date.
Rank	The Preferred Shares rank (i) senior to common stock or any other capital stock that ranks, by its terms, junior as to dividend rights and/or rights upon liquidation to the Preferred Shares (collectively, the “Junior Stock”), (ii) equally with any shares of our capital stock

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	whose terms do not expressly provide that such class or series will rank senior or junior to the Preferred Shares as to dividend rights and/or rights upon liquidation (collectively, the “Parity Stock”) and (iii) junior to all of our existing and future indebtedness and any future senior securities, in each case as to dividend rights and/or rights upon liquidation.
Priority of Dividends	So long as the Preferred Shares remain outstanding, we may not declare or pay a dividend or other distribution on our common stock or any other shares of Junior Stock (other than dividends payable solely in common stock) or Parity Stock (other than dividends paid on a pro rata basis with the Preferred Shares), and we generally may not directly or indirectly purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of common stock, Junior Stock or Parity Stock unless all accrued and unpaid dividends on the Preferred Shares for all past dividend periods are paid in full.
Redemption	We may redeem the Preferred Shares, at any time, in whole or in part, at our option, subject to prior approval by the appropriate federal banking agency, for a redemption price equal to 100% of the liquidation preference amount per Preferred Share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends) to but excluding the date of redemption. We have not applied for such regulatory approval and have no present intention to redeem any of the Preferred Shares, although, in the future, we may seek such approval.
Voting Rights	Holders of the Preferred Shares generally have no voting rights. However, if we do not pay dividends on the Preferred Shares for six or more quarterly periods, whether or not consecutive, the holders of the Preferred Shares, voting as a single class with the holders of any other Parity Stock upon which like voting rights have been conferred and are exercisable, will be entitled to vote for the election of two additional directors to serve on our Board of Directors until all accrued and unpaid dividends (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends) on the Preferred Shares are paid in full. In addition, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66-2/3% of the outstanding Preferred Shares is required for us to authorize, create or increase the authorized number of shares of our capital stock ranking, as to dividends or amounts payable upon liquidation, senior to the Preferred Shares, to amend, alter or repeal any provision of our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation or the Articles of Amendment for the Preferred Shares in a manner that adversely affects the rights of the holders of the Preferred Shares or to consummate a binding share exchange or reclassification of the Preferred Shares or a merger or consolidation of us with another entity unless (x) the Preferred Shares remain outstanding or are converted into or exchanged for preference shares of the surviving entity or its ultimate parent and (y) the Preferred Shares remain outstanding or such preference shares have such terms that are not materially less favorable, taken as a whole,

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	than the rights of the Preferred Shares immediately prior to such transaction, taken as a whole.
Auction Process	The public offering price and the allocation of the Preferred Shares in this offering will be determined through an auction process conducted by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., the joint book-running managers in this offering, in their capacity as the auction agents. The auction process will entail a modified “Dutch auction” mechanic in which bids may be submitted through the auction agents or one of the other brokers that is a member of the broker network, which are collectively referred to in this prospectus supplement as the “network brokers,” established in connection with the auction process. Each broker will make suitability determinations with respect to its own customers wishing to participate in the auction process. The auction agents will not provide bidders with any information about the bids of other bidders or auction trends, or with advice regarding bidding strategies, in connection with the auction process. We encourage you to discuss any questions regarding the bidding process and suitability determinations applicable to your bids with your broker. We do not intend to submit any bids in the auction. For more information about the auction process, see “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Minimum Bid Size and Price Increments	This offering is being conducted using an auction process in which prospective purchasers are required to bid for the Preferred Shares. During the auction period, bids may be placed for Preferred Shares at any price (such bid price to be in increments of $0.01) with a minimum bid size of one Preferred Share. See “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Bid Submission Deadline	The auction will commence at 8:30 a.m., New York City time, on the date specified by the auction agents in a press release issued prior to the opening of the equity markets on such day, and will close at 6:30 p.m., New York City time, on the second business day immediately thereafter, which is referred to as the “submission deadline.”
Irrevocability of Bids	Bids that have not been modified or withdrawn by the time of the submission deadline are final and irrevocable, and bidders who submit bids that are accepted by Treasury will be obligated to purchase the Preferred Shares allocated to them. The auction agents are under no obligation to reconfirm bids for any reason, except as may be required by applicable securities laws; however, the auction agents, in their sole discretion, may require that bidders confirm their bids before the auction process closes. See “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Clearing Price	The price at which the Preferred Shares will be sold to the public will be the clearing price set by the auction process plus accrued dividends thereon. The clearing price will be determined based on the number of valid, irrevocable bids at the time of the submission

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	deadline that Treasury decides, in its sole discretion, to accept. The clearing price will be equal to the highest price in the auction for which the quantity of all bids at or above such price equals the number of Preferred Shares that Treasury has elected to sell.

	Unless Treasury decides not to sell any Preferred Shares or as otherwise described below, the Preferred Shares will be sold to bidders at the clearing price plus accrued dividends. Even if bids are received for all or more of the offered Preferred Shares, Treasury may decide not to sell any Preferred Shares in the auction process or may sell less than all of the offered Preferred Shares. If Treasury decides to sell Preferred Shares in the auction, after Treasury confirms its acceptance of the clearing price and the number of Preferred Shares to be sold, the auction agents and each network broker that has submitted a successful bid will notify successful bidders that the auction has closed and that their bids have been accepted by Treasury (subject, in some cases, to pro-ration, as described below). The clearing price and number of Preferred Shares to be sold are also expected to be announced by press release on the business day following the end of the auction. See “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Number of Preferred Shares to be Sold	Even if bids are received for all or more of the offered Preferred Shares, Treasury may decide not to sell any Preferred Shares or may decide only to sell a portion of the Preferred Shares in the auction process, regardless of the clearing price. If Treasury elects to sell any Preferred Shares in the auction, Treasury must sell those shares (which may only represent a portion of the offered Preferred Shares) at the clearing price. In no event will Treasury sell more Preferred Shares than the number of Preferred Shares for which there are bids. See “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Allocation; Pro-Ration	If Treasury elects to sell Preferred Shares in the offering, then any accepted bids submitted in the auction above the clearing price will receive allocations in full, while any accepted bids submitted at the clearing price may experience pro-rata allocation. See “Auction Process” in this prospectus supplement.
Use of Proceeds	We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of any Preferred Shares sold by Treasury. See “Use of Proceeds.”
Listing	The Preferred Shares will not be listed for trading on any stock exchange nor will they be available for quotation on any national quotation system.
Risk Factors	See “Risk Factors” and other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of factors you should consider carefully before making a decision to invest in the Preferred Shares.

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Auction Agents	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P.
Network Brokers	See page S-38 for a list of brokers participating as network brokers in the auction process.

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Summary of Selected Consolidated Financial Information

The following table sets forth selected consolidated financial information as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007 and is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. This information should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, which has been filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. See “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” in this prospectus supplement.

FINANCIAL CONDITION DATA:
	December 31
(In thousands)	2011			2010			2009			2008			2007

Total assets	$	4,257,312		$	4,406,082		$	4,722,221		$	4,584,368		$	4,492,658
Loans receivable, net		3,213,426			3,305,716			3,694,852			3,886,211			3,763,790
Cash and securities (1)		754,396			729,345			640,657			419,718			354,809
Deposits		3,475,654			3,591,198			3,865,550			3,778,850			3,620,593
Borrowings		212,649			267,761			414,315			318,421			372,039
Common stockholders’ equity		411,748			392,472			287,721			317,433			437,846
Total stockholders’ equity		532,450			511,472			405,128			433,348			437,846

Shares outstanding		17,553			16,165			3,077			2,450			2,323
Shares outstanding excluding unearned, restricted shares held in ESOP		17,519			16,130			3,042			2,416			2,289
OPERATING DATA:
	For the Years Ended December 31
(In thousands)		2011			2010			2009			2008			2007

Interest income	$	197,563		$	218,082		$	237,370		$	273,158		$	295,497
Interest expense		32,992			60,312			92,797			125,345			145,690
Net interest income before provision for loan losses		164,571			157,770			144,573			147,813			149,807
Provision for loan losses		35,000			70,000			109,000			62,500			5,900
Net interest income		129,571			87,770			35,573			85,313			143,907

Deposit fees and other service charges		22,962			22,009			21,394			21,540			16,573
Mortgage banking operations		5,154			6,370			8,893			6,045			6,270
Other-than-temporary impairment losses		3,000			(4,231	)		(1,511	)		--			--
Net change in valuation of financial instruments
carried at fair value		(624	)		1,747			12,529			9,156			11,574
Other operating income		3,498			3,253			2,385			2,888			3,978

REO operations		22,262			26,025			7,147			2,283			189
Goodwill write-off		--			--			--			121,121			--
Other operating expenses		135,842			134,776			134,933			136,616			127,300

Income (loss) before provision for income tax expense (benefit)		5,457			(43,883	)		(62,817	)		(135,078	)		54,813
Provision for income tax expense (benefit)		--			18,013			(27,053	)		(7,085	)		17,890

Net income (loss)	$	5,457		$	(61,896	)	$	(35,764	)	$	(127,993	)	$	36,923

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PER COMMON SHARE DATA:
	At or For the Years Ended December 31
	2011			2010			2009			2008			2007
Net income (loss):
Basic	$	(0.15	)	$	(7.21	)	$	(16.31	)	$	(55.58	)	$	17.71
Diluted		(0.15	)		(7.21	)		(16.31	)		(55.58	)		17.43
Common stockholders’ equity per share (2)(9)		23.50			24.33			94.58			131.39			191.24
Common stockholders’ tangible equity per share (2)(9)		23.14			23.80			90.94			125.71			131.11
Cash dividends		0.10			0.28			0.28			3.50			5.39
Dividend payout ratio (basic)		(66.67	)%		(3.88	)%		(1.72	)%		(6.30	)%		30.43	%
Dividend payout ratio (diluted)		(66.67	)%		(3.88	)%		(1.72	)%		(6.30	)%		30.92	%

OTHER DATA:
	December 31
		2011	2010	2009	2008	2007

Full time equivalent employees		1,078	1,060	1,060	1,095	1,139
Number of branches		89	89	89	86	84

KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS:
	At or For the Years Ended December 31
	2011		2010		2009		2008		2007
Performance Ratios:
Return on average assets (3)	0.13	%	(1.36	)%	(0.78	)%	(2.78 )	%	0.91	%
Return on average common equity (4)	1.37		(17.19	)	(11.69	)	(30.90	)	10.07
Average common equity to average assets	9.31		7.90		6.71		8.99		9.06
Interest rate spread (5)	3.99		3.61		3.23		3.36		3.86
Net interest margin (6)	4.05		3.67		3.33		3.45		4.00
Non-interest income to average assets	0.79		0.64		0.96		0.86		0.95
Non-interest expense to average assets	3.69		3.53		3.12		5.65		3.15
Efficiency ratio (7)	79.62		86.03		75.47		138.72		67.74
Average interest-earning assets to interest- bearing liabilities	106.9		104.32		104.55		103.21		103.52

Selected Financial Ratios:
Allowance for loan losses as a percent of total loans at end of period	2.52		2.86		2.51		1.90		1.20
Net charge-offs as a percent of average outstanding loans during the period	1.50		1.88		2.28		0.84		0.08
Non-performing assets as a percent of total assets	2.79		5.77		6.27		4.56		0.99
Allowance for loan losses as a percent of non-performing loans (8)	110.09		64.30		44.55		40.14		108.13
Common stockholders’ tangible equity to tangible assets (9)	9.54		8.73		5.87		6.64		6.89

Consolidated Capital Ratios:
Total capital to risk-weighted assets	18.07		16.92		12.73		13.11		11.72
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets	16.80		15.65		11.47		11.86		10.58
Tier 1 leverage capital to average assets	13.44		12.24		9.62		10.32		10.04

(1)	Includes securities available-for-sale and held-to-maturity.
(2)	Calculated using shares outstanding excluding unearned restricted shares held in ESOP and adjusted for 1-for-7 reverse stock split.
(3)	Net income divided by average assets.
(4)	Net income divided by average common equity.

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(5)	Difference between the average yield on interest-earning assets and the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
(6)	Net interest income before provision for loan losses as a percent of average interest-earning assets.
(7)	Other operating expenses divided by the total of net interest income before loan losses and other operating income (non interest income).
(8)	Non-performing loans consist of nonaccrual and 90 days past due loans.
(9)	Common stockholders’ tangible equity per share and the ratio of tangible common stockholders’ equity to tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures. We calculate tangible common equity by excluding the balance of goodwill, other intangible assets and preferred equity from stockholders’ equity. We calculate tangible assets by excluding the balance of goodwill and other intangible assets from total assets. We believe that this is consistent with the treatment by our bank regulatory agencies, which exclude goodwill and other intangible assets from the calculation of risk-based capital ratios. In addition, excluding preferred equity, the level of which may vary from company to company, allows investors to more easily compare our capital adequacy to other companies in the industry that also use this measure. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide information to investors that is useful in understanding the basis of our capital position. However, these non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and are not a substitute for any analysis based on GAAP. Because not all companies use the same calculation of tangible common equity and tangible assets, this presentation may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures as calculated by other companies.

		December 31,
		2011		2010		2009		2008		2007
(In thousdands)

Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures:
Stockholders’ equity	$	532,450	$	511,472	$	405,128	$	433,348	$	437,846
Goodwill		--		--		--		-		121,108
Other intangible assets, net		6,331		8,609		11,070		13,716		16,546

Tangible equity		526,119		502,863		394,058		419,632		300,192
Preferred equity		120,701		119,000		117,407		115,915		-

Tangible common equity		405,418		383,863		276,651		303,717		300,192

Total assets		4,257,312		4,406,082		4,722,221	$	4,584,368	$	4,492,658
Goodwill		--		--		--		-		121,108
Other intangible assets, net		6,331		8,609		11,070		13,716		16,546

Tangible assets	$	4,250,981	$	4,397,473	$	4,711,151	$	4,570,652	$	4,355,004

Per Common Share

Equity	$	23.50	$	24.33	$	94.58	$	131.39	$	191.24
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net		0.36		0.53		3.64		5.68		60.13
Tangible equity	$	23.14	$	23.80	$	90.94	$	125.71	$	131.11

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our Preferred Shares is subject to risks inherent in our business, risks relating to the structure of the Preferred Shares and risks relating to the auction process being conducted as part of this offering. The material risks and uncertainties that management believes affect your investment in the Preferred Shares are described below and in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 incorporated by reference herein. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and in the accompanying prospectus and information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If any of these risks or uncertainties are realized, our business, financial condition, capital levels, cash flows, liquidity, results of operations and prospects, as well as our ability to pay dividends on the Preferred Shares, could be materially and adversely affected and the market price of the Preferred Shares could decline significantly and you could lose some or all of your investment.

Risk Factors Related to our Business

Our business may continue to be adversely affected by downturns in the national economy and the regional economies on which we depend.

Our operations are significantly affected by national and regional economic conditions. Weakness in the national economy or the economies of the markets in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects. Substantially all of our loans are to businesses and individuals in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. All of our branches and most of our deposit customers are also located in these three states. Beginning in 2008, Washington, Oregon and Idaho have experienced significant home price declines, increased foreclosures and high unemployment rates, and each state continues to face fiscal challenges, which may have adverse long term effects on economic conditions. As a result of the high concentration of our customer base in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, the deterioration of businesses in the Puget Sound area, or one or more businesses with a large employee base in that area, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects. In addition, weakness in the global economy has adversely affected many businesses operating in our markets that are dependent upon international trade.

A further deterioration in economic conditions or a prolonged delay in economic recovery in the market areas we serve, in particular the Puget Sound area of Washington State, the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, Boise, Idaho and the agricultural regions of the Columbia Basin, could result in the following consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations:

·	demand for our products and services may decline;

·	loan delinquencies, problem assets and foreclosures may increase;

·	collateral for loans, especially real estate, may decline further in value, in turn reducing customers’ borrowing power, reducing the value of assets and collateral associated with existing loans; and

·	the amount of our low-cost or non-interest-bearing deposits may decrease.

Declining property values have increased the loan-to-value ratios on a significant portion of our residential mortgage loan portfolio, which exposes us to greater risk of loss.

Many of our residential mortgage loans are secured by liens on mortgage properties in which the borrowers have little or no equity because either we originated the loan with a relatively high combined loan-to-value ratio or because of the decline in home values in our market areas. Residential loans with high combined loan-to-value ratios will be more sensitive to declining property values than those with lower

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combined loan-to-value ratios and therefore may experience a higher incidence of default and severity of losses. In addition, if the borrowers sell their homes, such borrowers may be unable to repay their loans in full from the sale proceeds. As a result, these loans may experience higher rates of delinquencies, defaults and losses.

Our loan portfolio includes loans with a higher risk of loss.

We originate construction and land loans, commercial and multifamily mortgage loans, commercial business loans, consumer loans, agricultural mortgage loans and agricultural loans primarily within our market areas. We had approximately $2.65 billion outstanding in these types of higher risk loans at December 31, 2011 compared to approximately $2.72 billion at December 31, 2010. These loans typically present different risks to us for a number of reasons, including those discussed below:

Construction and Land Loans. At December 31, 2011, construction and land loans were $319 million or 10% of our total loan portfolio. This type of lending contains the inherent difficulty in estimating both a property’s value at completion of the project and the estimated cost (including interest) of the project. If the estimate of construction cost proves to be inaccurate, we may be required to advance funds beyond the amount originally committed to permit completion of the project. If the estimate of value upon completion proves to be inaccurate, we may be confronted at, or prior to, the maturity of the loan with a project the value of which is insufficient to assure full repayment. In addition, speculative construction loans to a builder are often associated with homes that are not pre-sold, and thus pose a greater potential risk to us than construction loans to individuals on their personal residences. Loans on land under development or held for future construction also poses additional risk because of the lack of income being produced by the property and the potential illiquid nature of the collateral. These risks can be significantly impacted by supply and demand conditions. As a result, this type of lending often involves the disbursement of substantial funds with repayment dependent on the success of the ultimate project and the ability of the borrower to sell the property, rather than the ability of the borrower or guarantor to independently repay principal and interest. While our origination of these types of loans has decreased significantly in the last four years, we continue to have significant levels of construction and land loan balances. Most of our construction loans are for the construction of single family residences. Reflecting the current slowdown in the residential market, the secondary market for construction and land loans is not readily liquid, so we have less opportunity to mitigate our credit risk by selling part or all of our interest in these loans. If we foreclose on a construction or land loan, our holding period for the collateral typically may be longer than we have historically experienced because there are fewer potential purchasers of the collateral. The decline in the number of potential purchasers has contributed to the decline in the value of these loans. Accordingly, charge-offs on construction and land loans may be larger than those incurred by other segments of our loan portfolio. At December 31, 2011, construction and land loans that were non-performing were $28 million or 37% of our total non-performing loans.

Commercial and Multifamily Real Estate Loans. At December 31, 2011, commercial and multifamily real estate loans were $1.231 billion or 37% of our total loan portfolio. These loans typically involve higher principal amounts than other types of loans. Repayment is dependent upon income being generated from the property securing the loan in amounts sufficient to cover operating expenses and debt service, which may be adversely affected by changes in the economy or local market conditions. In addition, many of our commercial and multifamily real estate loans are not fully amortizing and contain large balloon payments upon maturity. Such balloon payments may require the borrower to either sell or refinance the underlying property in order to make the payment, which may increase the risk of default or non-payment. This risk is exacerbated in the current economic environment. At December 31, 2011, commercial and multifamily real estate loans that were non-performing were $10 million or 13% of our total non-performing loans.

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Commercial Business Loans. At December 31, 2011, commercial business loans were $601 million or 18% of our total loan portfolio. Our commercial loans are primarily made based on the cash flow of the borrower and secondarily on the underlying collateral provided by the borrower. The borrowers’ cash flow may be unpredictable, and collateral securing these loans may fluctuate in value. Most often, this collateral is accounts receivable, inventory, equipment or real estate. In the case of loans secured by accounts receivable, the availability of funds for the repayment of these loans may be substantially dependent on the ability of the borrower to collect amounts due from its customers. Other collateral securing loans may depreciate over time, may be difficult to appraise, may be illiquid and may fluctuate in value based on the success of the business. At December 31, 2011, commercial business loans that were non-performing were $13 million or 18% of our total non-performing loans.

Agricultural Loans. At December 31, 2011, agricultural loans were $218 million or 7% of our total loan portfolio. Repayment is dependent upon the successful operation of the business, which is greatly dependent on many things outside the control of either us or the borrowers. These factors include weather, commodity prices, and interest rates among others. Collateral securing these loans may be difficult to evaluate, manage or liquidate and may not provide an adequate source of repayment. At December 31, 2011, agricultural loans that were non-performing were $2 million or 3% of our total non-performing loans.

Consumer Loans. At December 31, 2011, consumer loans were $284 million or 9% of our total loan portfolio. Consumer loans (such as personal lines of credit) are collateralized, if at all, with assets that may not provide an adequate source of payment of the loan due to depreciation, damage, or loss. In addition, consumer loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and thus are more likely to be adversely affected by job loss, divorce, illness or personal bankruptcy. Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws, including federal and state bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount that can be recovered on these loans. At December 31, 2011, consumer loans that were non-performing were $3 million, or 4% of our total non-performing loans.

If our allowance for loan losses is not adequate, we may be required to make further increases in our provisions for loan losses and to charge off additional loans in the future, which could adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, we recorded a provision for loan losses of $35.0 million, compared to $70.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. We also recorded net loan charge-offs of $49.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, compared to $67.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Despite the decrease from the prior year, we are still experiencing elevated levels of loan delinquencies and credit losses by historical standards. Slow sales and excess inventory in most housing markets, along with declines in property values, have been the primary cause of the elevated levels of delinquencies and foreclosures for residential construction and land development loans, which, including related real estate owned, represent 46% of our non-performing assets at December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2011, our total non-performing assets had decreased to $118.9 million compared to $254.3 million at December 31, 2010. Further, our portfolio is concentrated in construction and land loans, commercial business and commercial real estate loans, all of which generally have a higher risk of loss than residential mortgage loans. If current weak conditions in the housing and real estate markets continue, we expect that we will continue to experience higher than normal delinquencies and credit losses. Moreover, if weak economic conditions in our market areas persist, we could experience significantly higher delinquencies and credit losses. As a result, we may be required to make further increases in our provision for loan losses and to charge off additional loans in the future, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

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Our allowance for loan losses may prove to be insufficient to absorb losses in our loan portfolio which would cause our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition to be adversely affected.

Lending money is a substantial part of our business and each loan carries a certain risk that it will not be repaid in accordance with its terms or that any underlying collateral will not be sufficient to assure repayment. This risk is affected by, among other things:

·	cash flow of the borrower and/or the project being financed;

·	in the case of a collateralized loan, the changes and uncertainties as to the future value of the collateral;

·	the duration of the loan;

·	the character and creditworthiness of a particular borrower; and

·	changes in economic and industry conditions.

We maintain an allowance for loan losses, which is a reserve established through a provision for loan losses charged to expense, which we believe is appropriate to provide for probable losses in our loan portfolio. The amount of this allowance is determined by our management through periodic reviews and consideration of several factors, including, but not limited to:

·	our general reserve, based on our historical default and loss experience, certain macroeconomic factors, and management’s expectations of future events;

·	our specific reserve, based on our evaluation of non-performing loans and their underlying collateral; and

·	an unallocated reserve to provide for other credit losses inherent in our portfolio that may not have been contemplated in the other loss factors.

The determination of the appropriate level of the allowance for loan losses inherently involves a high degree of subjectivity and requires us to make various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of many of our loans. In determining the amount of the allowance for loan losses, we review our loans and loss and delinquency experience, and evaluate economic conditions and make significant estimates of current credit risks and future trends, all of which may undergo material changes. If our estimates are incorrect, the allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in our loan portfolio, resulting in the need for additions to our allowance through an increase in the provision for loan losses. Continuing deterioration in economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding existing loans, identification of additional problem loans and other factors, both within and outside of our control, may require an increase in the allowance for loan losses. Our allowance for loan losses was 2.52% of total loans outstanding and 110% of non-performing loans at December 31, 2011. In addition, bank regulatory agencies periodically review our allowance for loan losses and may require an increase in the provision for possible loan losses or the recognition of further loan charge-offs, based on judgments different than those of management. In addition, if charge-offs in future periods exceed the allowance for loan losses, we will need additional provisions to increase the allowance for loan losses. Any increases in the provision for loan losses will result in a decrease in net income and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and capital.

If our non-performing assets increase, our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, our non-performing assets (which consist of nonaccruing loans, accruing loans 90 days or more past due, non-performing investment securities, and other real estate owned) were $119 million and $254 million, respectively, or 2.79% and 5.77% of total assets, respectively. Our non-performing assets adversely affect our net income in various ways:

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·	We do not record interest income on nonaccrual loans, non-performing investment securities, or real estate owned.

·	We must provide for probable loan losses through a current period charge to the provision for loan losses.

·	Non-interest expense increases when we must write down the value of properties in our other real estate owned portfolio to reflect changing market values or recognize other-than-temporary impairment on non-performing investment securities.

·	There are legal fees associated with the resolution of problem assets, as well as carrying costs, such as taxes, insurance, and maintenance fees related to our other real estate owned.

·	The resolution of non-performing assets requires the active involvement of management, which can distract them from more profitable activity.

If additional borrowers become delinquent and do not pay their loans and we are unable to successfully manage our non-performing assets, our losses and troubled assets could increase significantly, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We are required to comply with the terms of the memorandum of understanding that we have entered into with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and lack of compliance could result in additional regulatory actions.

On March 23, 2010, the FDIC and the DFI entered into an agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding, or the “Bank MOU”, with Banner Bank, which remained in effect until March 19, 2012.

On March 29, 2010, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco entered into a Memorandum of Understanding , or the “FRB MOU”, with Banner Corporation. Under the terms of the FRB MOU, Banner Corporation, without prior written approval, or non-objection, of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, may not:

·	appoint any new director or senior executive officer or change the responsibilities of any current senior executive officers;

·	receive dividends or any other form of payment or distribution representing a reduction in capital from Banner Bank;

·	declare or pay any dividends, or make any other capital distributions, including, dividends on the Preferred Shares, and payments on our junior subordinated debentures underlying our trust preferred securities;

·	incur, renew, increase, or guarantee any debt;

·	issue any trust preferred securities; and

·	purchase or redeem any of our capital stock (including the Preferred Shares).

Under the FRB MOU, we also agreed to take any required action to ensure compliance by Banner Bank with the Bank MOU and to submit to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for review and approval a plan to maintain minimum levels of capital at Banner Bank, as well as cash flow projections for Banner Corporation through 2011. We are also limited and/or prohibited, in certain circumstances, in our ability to enter into contracts to pay and to make golden parachute severance and indemnification payments. Under the FRB MOU, the Company is required to provide the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco with quarterly progress reports regarding its compliance with the provisions of the FRB MOU and Banner Corporation financial statements.

At December 31, 2011, Banner Corporation and the Banks each exceeded all current regulatory capital requirements, including the requirements included in both the Bank MOU and FRB MOU. (See Item 1, “Business–Regulation,” and Note 18 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in our

S-14

Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, for additional information regarding regulatory capital requirements for Banner and the Banks).

The FRB MOU will remain in effect until stayed, modified, terminated or suspended by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. If Banner Corporation were found not in compliance with the FRB MOU, it could be subject to various remedies, including among others, the power to enjoin “unsafe or unsound” practices, to require affirmative action to correct any conditions resulting from any violation or practice, to direct an increase in capital, to restrict growth, to remove officers and/or directors, and to assess civil monetary penalties. Management of Banner Corporation has been taking action and implementing programs to comply with the requirements of the FRB MOU. Although compliance will be determined by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, management believes that Banner Corporation has complied and will continue to comply in all material respects with the provisions of the FRB MOU. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco may determine in its sole discretion that the matters covered by the FRB MOU have not been addressed satisfactorily, or that any current or past actions, violations or deficiencies could be the subject of further regulatory enforcement actions. Such enforcement actions could involve penalties or limitations on our business and negatively affect our ability to implement our business plan, pay dividends on our capital stock (including the Preferred Shares) or the value of our capital stock (including the Preferred Shares), as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Our growth or future losses may require us to raise additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed or the cost of that capital may be very high.

We are required by federal regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations. We may at some point, however, need to raise additional capital to support continued growth or be required by our regulators to increase our capital resources. Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on conditions in the capital markets at that time, which are outside our control, and on our financial condition, liquidity and performance. Accordingly, we cannot make assurances that we will be able to raise additional capital if needed on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, our ability to further expand our operations could be materially impaired and our financial condition and liquidity could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if we are unable to raise additional capital when required by our bank regulators, we may be subject to adverse regulatory action. See “We are required to comply with the terms of memoranda of understanding that we have entered into with the FDIC and DFI and the Federal Reserve and lack of compliance could result in additional regulatory actions.”

We may have continuing losses and significant variation in our quarterly results.

We reported a net loss of $2.4 million available to common shareholders during the year ended December 31, 2011 compared to a net loss of $69.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. While significantly improved from last year, our operating results for the year ended December 31, 2011 continued to reflect our high, although declining, levels of delinquencies, non-performing loans, net of charge-offs and charges related to foreclosed real estate. In addition, several other factors affecting our business can cause significant variations in our quarterly results of operations. In particular, variations in the volume of our loan originations and sales, the differences between our cost of funds and the average interest rate earned on investments, special FDIC insurance charges, significant changes in real estate valuations and the fair valuation of our junior subordinated debentures or our investment securities portfolio could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

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If our investments in real estate are not properly valued or sufficiently reserved to cover actual losses, or if we are required to increase our valuation reserves, our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We obtain updated valuations in the form of appraisals and broker price opinions when a loan has been foreclosed and the property taken in as real estate owned (REO) and at certain other times during the assets holding period. Our net book value (NBV) in the loan at the time of foreclosure and thereafter is compared to the updated market value of the foreclosed property less estimated selling costs (fair value). A charge-off is recorded for any excess in the asset’s NBV over its fair value. If our valuation process is incorrect, or if property values decline, the fair value of the investments in real estate may not be sufficient to recover our carrying value in such assets, resulting in the need for additional charge-offs. Significant charge-offs to our investments in real estate could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

In addition, bank regulators periodically review our REO and may require us to recognize further charge-offs. Any increase in our charge-offs, as required by the bank regulators, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

The value of securities in our investment securities portfolio may be negatively affected by disruptions in securities markets.

The market for some of the investment securities held in our portfolio has become increasingly volatile in recent years. These market conditions have affected and may further detrimentally affect the value of these securities, such as through reduced valuations because of the perception of heightened credit and liquidity risks. There can be no assurance that the declines in market value associated with this volatility will not result in other-than-temporary impairments of these assets, which would lead to accounting charges that could have a material adverse effect on our net income and capital levels.

Decreased volumes and lower gains on sales of mortgage loans could adversely impact our non-interest income.

Our mortgage banking operations provide a significant portion of our non-interest income. We generate mortgage revenues primarily from gains on the sale of single-family mortgage loans pursuant to programs currently offered by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and non-GSE investors. These entities account for a substantial portion of the secondary market in residential mortgage loans. Any future changes in these programs, our eligibility to participate in such programs, the criteria for loans to be accepted or laws that significantly affect the activity of such entities could, in turn, materially adversely affect our results of operations. Further, in a rising or higher interest rate environment, our originations of mortgage loans may decrease, resulting in fewer loans that are available to be sold to investors. This would result in a decrease in mortgage banking revenues and a corresponding decrease in non-interest income. In addition, our results of operations are affected by the amount of non-interest expense associated with mortgage banking activities, such as salaries and employee benefits, occupancy, equipment and data processing expense and other operating costs. During periods of reduced loan demand, our results of operations may be adversely affected to the extent that we are unable to reduce expenses commensurate with the decline in loan originations.

Our results of operations, liquidity and financial condition are subject to interest rate risk.

Our earnings and cash flows are largely dependent upon our net interest income. Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors that are beyond our control, including general economic conditions and policies of various governmental and regulatory agencies and, in particular, the Federal Reserve. Changes in monetary policy, including changes in interest rates, could influence not only the interest we receive on loans and investments and the amount of interest we pay on deposits and borrowings, but these changes could also affect (i) our ability to originate loans and obtain deposits, (ii) the fair value of our financial assets and

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liabilities and (iii) the average duration of our mortgage-backed securities portfolio and other interest-earning assets. If the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings increase at a faster rate than the interest rates received on loans and other investments, our net interest income, and therefore earnings, could be adversely affected. Earnings could also be adversely affected if the interest rates received on loans and other investments fall more quickly than the interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. In addition, a substantial amount of our loans have adjustable interest rates. As a result, these loans may experience a higher rate of default in a rising interest rate environment. Further, a significant portion of our adjustable rate loans have interest rate floors below which the loan’s contractual interest rate may not adjust. Approximately 60% of our loan portfolio was comprised of adjustable or floating-rate loans at December 31, 2011, and approximately $1.5 billion, or 73%, of those loans contained interest rate floors, below which the loans’ contractual interest rate may not adjust. At December 31, 2011, the weighted average floor interest rate of these loans was 5.40%. At that date, approximately $1.2 billion, or 84%, of these loans were at their floor interest rate. The inability of our loans to adjust downward can contribute to increased income in periods of declining interest rates, although this result is subject to the risks that borrowers may refinance these loans during periods of declining interest rates. Also, when loans are at their floors, there is a further risk that our interest income may not increase as rapidly as our cost of funds during periods of increasing interest rates which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Any substantial, unexpected, prolonged change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Further, a prolonged period of exceptionally low market interest rates, such as we are currently experiencing, could have an adverse effect on our results of operations as a result of substantially reduced asset yields. Also, our interest rate risk modeling techniques and assumptions likely may not fully predict or capture the impact of actual interest rate changes on our balance sheet or projected operating results.

Further deterioration in the financial position of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle may result in future impairment losses on our investment in Federal Home Loan Bank stock.

At December 31, 2011, we owned $37.4 million of stock of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, or FHLB. As a condition of membership at the FHLB, we are required to purchase and hold a certain amount of FHLB stock. Our stock purchase requirement is based, in part, upon the outstanding principal balance of advances from the FHLB and is calculated in accordance with the Capital Plan of the FHLB. Our FHLB stock has a par value of $100, is carried at cost, and is subject to recoverability testing. The FHLB announced that it had a risk-based capital deficiency under the regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), its primary regulator, as of December 31, 2008, and that it would suspend future dividends and the repurchase and redemption of outstanding common stock. As a result, the FHLB has not paid a dividend since the fourth quarter of 2008. In August 2009, under the FHFA's prompt corrective action regulations, the FHLB received a capital classification of "undercapitalized" and has subsequently remained so classified, due to, among other things, risk-based capital deficiencies as of March 31, 2009 and June 30, 2009, the deterioration in the value of its private-label mortgage-backed securities and the amount of accumulated unrealized losses stemming from that deterioration, and the amount of its retained earnings. On October 25, 2010, the FHLB entered into a Consent Order with the FHFA. The Consent Order required, among other matters, the FHLB meet and maintain certain minimum financial requirements. The FHLB has communicated that with the exception of a retained earnings requirement, it is in compliance with the minimum financial requirements and has continued taking the specified actions and is working toward meeting the agreed-upon milestones and timelines for completing capital management, asset composition, and other operational and risk management improvements as indicated in the Consent Order. As a result, we have not recorded an impairment on our investment in FHLB stock. However, further deterioration in the FHLB’s financial position may result in future impairment in the value of those securities. We will continue to monitor the financial condition of the FHLB and its compliance with the Consent Order as it relates to, among other things, the recoverability of our investment.

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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will, among other things, tighten capital standards, create a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and result in new laws and regulations that are expected to increase our costs of operations.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) has had a significant impact on the bank regulatory structure for financial institutions, as well as the lending, deposit, investment, trading and operating activities of financial institutions and their holding companies. The Dodd-Frank Act requires various federal agencies to adopt a broad range of new implementing rules and regulations, and to prepare numerous studies and reports for Congress. Much of the impact of the Dodd-Frank Act still remains to be seen in the coming months or years, as the effective dates of the many implementing regulations of the Dodd-Frank Act are gradually phased in.

Among the many requirements in the Dodd-Frank Act for new banking regulations is a requirement for new capital regulations to be adopted within 18 months after the date of enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. These regulations must be at least as stringent as, and may call for higher levels of capital than, current regulations. Generally, trust preferred securities will no longer be eligible as Tier 1 capital, but the Company’s currently outstanding trust preferred securities will be grandfathered and its currently outstanding TARP preferred securities will continue to qualify as Tier 1 capital. In addition, the banking regulators are required to seek to make capital requirements for banks and bank holding companies countercyclical so that capital requirements increase in times of economic expansion and decrease in times of economic contraction.

Certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are expected to have a near term impact on Banner. For example, effective July 21, 2011, a federal prohibition on the payment of interest on demand deposits was eliminated, thus allowing businesses to have interest-bearing checking accounts. Depending on competitive responses, this significant change to existing law could have an adverse impact on the Company’s interest expense.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act created a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with broad powers to supervise and enforce consumer protection laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has broad rule-making authority for a wide range of consumer protection laws that apply to all banks and savings institutions, including the authority to prohibit “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts and practices. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has examination and enforcement authority over all banks and savings institutions with more than $10 billion in assets. Financial institutions, such as the Banks with $10 billion or less in assets, will continue to be examined for compliance with the consumer laws by their primary bank regulators.

As the Company and Banks continue to monitor developments under the Dodd-Frank Act and to assess the ultimate impact of the legislation and yet to be written implementing rules and regulations on community banks, at a minimum we expect to experience an increase in our operating and compliance costs. Any additional changes in our regulation and oversight, in the form of new laws, rules and regulations, could make compliance more difficult or expensive or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations or prospects.

Increases in deposit insurance premiums and special FDIC assessments will negatively impact our earnings.

The Dodd-Frank Act established 1.35% of total insured deposits as the minimum reserve ratio. The FDIC has adopted a plan under which it will meet this ratio by the statutory deadline of September 30, 2020. The Dodd-Frank Act requires the FDIC to offset the effect on institutions with assets less than $10 billion of the increase in the minimum reserve ratio to 1.35% from the former minimum of 1.15%. The FDIC has not announced how it will implement this offset. In addition to the statutory minimum ratio, the FDIC must set a designated reserve ratio or DRR, which may exceed the statutory minimum. The FDIC has set 2.0 as the DRR.

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As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC has adopted final regulations under which insurance premiums are based on an institution's total assets minus its tangible equity instead of its deposits. While our FDIC insurance premiums initially will be reduced by these regulations, it is possible that our future insurance premiums will increase under the final regulations.

Failure to manage our growth may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Our financial performance and profitability depend on our ability to manage past and possible future growth. Future acquisitions and growth may present operating, integration and other issues that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our financial condition.

Liquidity is essential to our business and the inability to obtain adequate funding may negatively affect growth and, consequently, our earnings capability and capital levels. An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of loans or investment securities and other sources could have a substantial negative effect on our liquidity. Currently, under the FRB MOU, we are required to obtain regulatory approval to incur, renew, increase or guarantee debt or issue trust preferred securities. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities on terms which are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy in general. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of a downturn in the Washington, Oregon or Idaho markets in which our loans are concentrated, negative operating results or adverse regulatory action against us. Our ability to borrow could also be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a disruption in the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry in light of the recent turmoil faced by banking organizations and the continued uncertainty in credit markets. In particular, our liquidity position could be significantly constrained if we are unable to access funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or other wholesale funding sources or if adequate financing is not available at acceptable interest rates. Finally, if we are required to rely more heavily on more expensive funding sources, our revenues may not increase proportionately to cover our costs. In this case, our results of operations and financial condition would be negatively affected. In addition, changes in recent years in the collateralization requirements and other provisions of the Washington and Oregon public funds deposit programs have changed the economic benefit associated with accepting public funds deposits, which may affect our need to utilize alternative sources of liquidity.

We may engage in FDIC-assisted transactions, which could present additional risks to our business.

We may have opportunities to acquire the assets and liabilities of failed banks in FDIC-assisted transactions, including transactions in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Although these FDIC-assisted transactions typically provide for FDIC assistance to an acquirer to mitigate certain risks, such as sharing exposure to loan losses and providing indemnification against certain liabilities of the failed institution, we are (and would be in future transactions) subject to many of the same risks we would face in acquiring another bank in a negotiated transaction, including risks associated with maintaining customer relationships and failure to realize the anticipated acquisition benefits in the amounts and within the timeframes we expect. In addition, because these acquisitions are structured in a manner that would not allow us the time and access to information normally associated with preparing for and evaluating a negotiated acquisition, we may face additional risks in FDIC-assisted transactions, including additional strain on management resources, management of problem loans, problems related to integration of personnel and operating systems and impact to our capital resources requiring us to raise additional capital. We cannot provide assurance that we would be successful in overcoming these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with FDIC-assisted transactions. Our inability to overcome these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

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New or changing tax, accounting, and regulatory rules and interpretations could significantly impact strategic initiatives, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.

The financial services industry is extensively regulated. Federal and state banking regulations are designed primarily to protect the deposit insurance funds and consumers, not to benefit a company's stockholders. These regulations may sometimes impose significant limitations on operations. The significant federal and state banking regulations that affect us are described in this report under the heading “Item 1. Business-Regulation.” These regulations, along with the currently existing tax, accounting, securities, insurance, and monetary laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations control the methods by which financial institutions conduct business, implement strategic initiatives and tax compliance, and govern financial reporting and disclosures. These laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations are constantly evolving and may change significantly over time.

Such changes could subject us to additional costs, limit the types of financial services and products we may offer, restrict mergers and acquisitions, investments, access to capital, the location of banking offices, and/or increase the ability of non-banks to offer competing financial services and products, among other things. Further, regulatory changes to the rules for overdraft fees for debit transactions and interchange fees have the potential to reduce our fee income which would result in a reduction of our non-interest income. Our failure to comply with laws, regulations or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil money penalties and/or reputational damage, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. While we have policies and procedures designed to prevent any such violations, there can be no assurance that such violations will not occur.

Our litigation-related costs might continue to increase.

The Banks are subject to a variety of legal proceedings that have arisen in the ordinary course of the Banks’ business. In the current economic environment, the Banks’ involvement in litigation has increased significantly, primarily as a result of defaulted borrowers asserting claims to defeat or delay foreclosure proceedings. There can be no assurance that our loan workout and other activities will not expose us to additional legal actions, including lender liability or environmental claims. The Banks believe that they have meritorious defenses in legal actions where they have been named as defendants and are vigorously defending these suits. Although management, based on discussion with litigation counsel, believes that such proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, liquidity or results of operations of the Banks, there can be no assurance that a resolution of any pending or future legal matter will not result in significant liability to the Banks nor have a material adverse impact on their financial condition, liquidity and results of operations or the Banks’ ability to meet applicable regulatory requirements. Moreover, the expenses of any legal proceedings will adversely affect the Banks’ results of operations and cash flows until they are resolved.

Because of our participation in the TARP Capital Purchase Program, we are subject to several restrictions, including restrictions on compensation paid to our executives.

Our ability to attract and retain key officers and employees may be impacted by legislation and regulation affecting the financial services industry. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) became law. The ARRA, through the implementing regulations of the U.S. Treasury, significantly expanded the executive compensation restrictions originally imposed on TARP participants, including us. Among other things, these restrictions limit our ability to pay bonuses and other incentive compensation and make severance payments. These restrictions will continue to apply to us for as long as any of the Preferred Shares we issued pursuant to the TARP Capital Purchase Program are held by the U.S. Treasury. These restrictions may negatively affect our ability to compete with financial institutions that are not subject to the same limitations.

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We are dependent on key personnel and the loss of one or more of those key personnel may materially and adversely affect our prospects.

Competition for qualified employees and personnel in the banking industry is intense and there are a limited number of qualified persons with knowledge of, and experience in, the community banking industry where the Banks conduct their business. The process of recruiting personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our strategies is often lengthy. In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has imposed significant limitations on executive compensation for recipients, such as us, of funds under the TARP Capital Purchase Program, which may make it more difficult for us to retain and recruit key personnel. Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to attract and retain qualified management, loan origination, finance, administrative, marketing and technical personnel and upon the continued contributions of our management and personnel. In particular, our success has been and continues to be highly dependent upon the abilities of key executives, including our President, and certain other employees. In addition, our success has been and continues to be highly dependent upon the services of our directors, many of whom are at or nearing retirement age, and we may not be able to identify and attract suitable candidates to replace such directors.

Our business may be adversely affected by an increasing prevalence of fraud and other financial crimes.

Our loans to businesses and individuals and our deposit relationships and related transactions are subject to exposure to the risk of loss due to fraud and other financial crimes. Nationally, reported incidents of fraud and other financial crimes have increased. We have also experienced losses due to apparent fraud and other financial crimes. While we have policies and procedures designed to prevent such losses, there can be no assurance that such losses will not occur.

Managing reputational risk is important to attracting and maintaining customers, investors and employees.

Threats to our reputation can come from many sources, including adverse sentiment about financial institutions generally, unethical practices, employee misconduct, failure to deliver minimum standards of service or quality, compliance deficiencies, and questionable or fraudulent activities of our customers. We have policies and procedures in place to protect our reputation and promote ethical conduct, but these policies and procedures may not be fully effective. Negative publicity regarding our business, employees, or customers, with or without merit, may result in the loss of customers, investors and employees, costly litigation, a decline in revenues and increased governmental regulation.

We operate in a highly competitive industry and market areas.

The Banks face substantial competition in all phases of their operations from a variety of different competitors. Our future growth and success will depend on our ability to compete effectively in this highly competitive environment. To date, the Banks have been competitive by focusing on their business lines in their market areas and emphasizing the high level of service and responsiveness desired by their customers. We compete for loans, deposits and other financial services with other commercial banks, thrifts, credit unions, brokerage houses, mutual funds, insurance companies and specialized finance companies. Many of our competitors offer products and services which we do not offer, and many have substantially greater resources and lending limits, name recognition and market presence that benefit them in attracting business. In addition, larger competitors may be able to price loans and deposits more aggressively than the Banks do, and newer competitors may also be more aggressive in terms of pricing loan and deposit products than we are in order to obtain a share of the market. Some of the financial institutions and financial services organizations with which we compete are not subject to the same degree of regulation as is imposed on bank holding companies, federally insured state-chartered banks and national banks and federal savings banks. As a result, these nonbank competitors have certain advantages over us in accessing funding and in providing various services.

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Our ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including the following:

·	the ability to develop, maintain and build upon long-term customer relationships based on top-quality service, high ethical standards and safe, sound assets;

·	the ability to expand our market position;

·	the scope, relevance and pricing of products and services offered to meet customer needs and demands;

·	the rate at which we introduce new products and services relative to our competitors;

·	customer satisfaction with our level of service; and

·	industry and general economic trends.

Failure to perform in any of these areas could significantly weaken our competitive position, which could adversely affect our growth, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

We rely on communications, information, operating and financial control systems technology from third-party service providers, and we may suffer an interruption in those systems.

We rely heavily on third-party service providers for much of our communications, information, operating and financial control systems technology, including our internet banking services and data processing systems. Any failure or interruption of these services or systems or breaches in security of these systems could result in failures or interruptions in our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, servicing and/or loan origination systems. The occurrence of any failures or interruptions may require us to identify alternative sources of such services, and we cannot assure you that we could negotiate terms that are as favorable to us, or could obtain services with similar functionality as found in our existing systems without the need to expend substantial resources, if at all.

If we defer payments of interest on our outstanding junior subordinated debentures or if certain defaults relating to those debentures occur, we will be prohibited from declaring or paying dividends or distributions on, and from redeeming and making liquidation payments with respect to, our capital stock (including the Preferred Shares).

As of December 31, 2011, we had outstanding $123.7 million aggregate principal amount ($49.9 million at fair value) of junior subordinated debentures issued in connection with the sale of trust preferred securities through statutory business trusts. We have also guaranteed these trust preferred securities. There are currently six separate series of these junior subordinated debentures outstanding, each series having been issued under a separate indenture and with a separate guarantee. Each of these indentures, together with the related guarantee, prohibits us, subject to limited exceptions, from declaring or paying any dividends or distributions on, or redeeming, repurchasing, acquiring or making any liquidation payments with respect to, any of our capital stock (including the Preferred Shares) at any time when (i) there shall have occurred and be continuing an event of default under such indenture or any event, act or condition that with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute an event of default under such indenture; (ii) we are in default with respect to payment of any obligations under such guarantee; or (iii) we have deferred payment of interest on the junior subordinated debentures outstanding under that indenture. In that regard, we are entitled, at our option but subject to certain conditions, to defer payments of interest on the junior subordinated debentures of each series from time to time for up to five years.

Events of default under the indenture generally consist of our failure to pay interest on the junior subordinated debt securities under certain circumstances, our failure to pay any principal of or premium on such junior subordinated debt securities when due, our failure to comply with certain covenants under the indenture, and certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or liquidation relating to us or the Banks. As a result of these provisions, if we were to elect to defer payments of interest on any series of junior subordinated debentures, or if any of the other events described in clause (i) or (ii) of the first paragraph of this risk factor

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were to occur, we would be prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends on our capital stock, from repurchasing or otherwise acquiring any such capital stock, and from making any payments to holders of capital stock in the event of our liquidation, which would likely have a material adverse effect on the market value of our capital stock. Moreover, without notice to or consent from the holders of our capital stock, we may issue additional series of junior subordinated debentures in the future with terms similar to those of our existing junior subordinated debentures or enter into other financing agreements that limit our ability to purchase or to pay dividends or distributions on our capital stock, including the Preferred Shares.

Also, Banner Corporation may not pay interest on the junior subordinated debentures without the prior written non-objection of the Federal Reserve. There can be no assurance that the Federal Reserve will continue to allow us to make payments on our junior subordinated debentures.

Risk Factors Related to an Investment in the Preferred Shares

The Preferred Shares are equity and are subordinated to all of our existing and future indebtedness; we are highly dependent on dividends and other amounts from our subsidiaries in order to pay dividends on, and redeem at our option, the Preferred Shares, which are subject to various prohibitions and other restrictions; and the Preferred Shares place no limitations on the amount of indebtedness we and our subsidiaries may incur in the future.

The Preferred Shares are equity interests in the Company and do not constitute indebtedness. As such, the Preferred Shares, like our common stock, rank junior to all existing and future indebtedness and other non-equity claims on the Company with respect to assets available to satisfy claims on the Company, including in a liquidation of the Company. Additionally, unlike indebtedness, where principal and interest would customarily be payable on specified due dates, in the case of perpetual preferred stock like the Preferred Shares, there is no stated maturity date (although the Preferred Shares are subject to redemption at our option) and dividends are payable only if, when and as authorized and declared by our board of directors and depend on, among other matters, our historical and projected results of operations, liquidity, cash flows, capital levels, financial condition, debt service requirements and other cash needs, financing covenants, applicable state law, federal and state regulatory prohibitions and other restrictions and any other factors our board of directors deems relevant at the time.

The Preferred Shares are not savings accounts, deposits or other obligations of any depository institution and are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other governmental agency or instrumentality. Furthermore, the Company is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its subsidiaries, and its subsidiaries have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to make any payments in respect of the Preferred Shares or to make funds available therefor. Because the Company is a holding company that maintains only limited cash at that level, its ability to pay dividends on, and redeem at its option, the Preferred Shares will be highly dependent upon the receipt of dividends, fees and other amounts from its subsidiaries, which, in turn, will be highly dependent upon the historical and projected results of operations, liquidity, cash flows and financial condition of its subsidiaries. In addition, the right of the Company to participate in any distribution of assets of any of its subsidiaries upon their respective liquidation or reorganization will be subject to the prior claims of the creditors (including any depositors) and preferred equity holders of the applicable subsidiary, except to the extent that the Company is a creditor, and is recognized as a creditor, of such subsidiary. Accordingly, the holders of the Preferred Shares will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future obligations and preferred equity of the Company’s subsidiaries. In addition, FDIC-insured depository institutions can be held liable for any loss incurred, or reasonably expected to be incurred, by the FDIC due to the default of an FDIC-insured depository institution controlled by the same holding company and for any assistance provided by the FDIC to another FDIC-insured depository institution that is in danger of default and that is controlled by the same holding company.

There are also various legal and regulatory prohibitions and other restrictions on the ability of the Company’s depository institution subsidiaries to pay dividends, extend credit or otherwise transfer funds to the

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Company or affiliates. Such dividend payments are subject to regulatory tests, generally based on current and retained earnings of such subsidiaries and other factors, and are currently prohibited without regulatory approval. Dividend payments to the Company from its depository institution subsidiaries may also be prohibited if such payments would impair the capital of the applicable subsidiary and in certain other cases. In addition, regulatory rules limit the aggregate amount of a depository institution’s loans to, and investments in, any single affiliate in varying thresholds and may prevent the Company from borrowing from their depository institution subsidiaries and require any permitted borrowings to be collateralized.

Currently, the FRB MOU requires the approval of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco for the payment of dividends on, and the redemption of, the Preferred Shares. In addition, the Company also is subject to various legal and regulatory policies and requirements impacting the Company’s ability to pay dividends on, or redeem, the Preferred Shares. Under the Federal Reserve’s capital regulations, in order to ensure Tier 1 capital treatment for the Preferred Shares, the Company’s redemption of any of the Preferred Shares must be subject to prior regulatory approval. The Federal Reserve also may require the Company to consult with it prior to increasing dividends. In addition, as a matter of policy, the Federal Reserve may restrict or prohibit the payment of dividends if (i) the Company’s net income available to shareholders for the past four quarters, net of dividends previously paid during that period, is not sufficient to fully fund the dividends; (ii) the Company’s prospective rate of earnings retention is not consistent with its capital needs and overall current and prospective financial condition; (iii) the Company will not meet, or is in danger of not meeting, its minimum regulatory capital ratios; or (iv) the Federal Reserve otherwise determines that the payment of dividends would constitute an unsafe or unsound practice. Recent and future regulatory developments may result in additional restrictions on the Company’s ability to pay dividends.

In addition, the terms of the Preferred Shares do not limit the amount of debt or other obligations we or our subsidiaries may incur in the future. Accordingly, we and our subsidiaries may incur substantial amounts of additional debt and other obligations that will rank senior to the Preferred Shares or to which the Preferred Shares will be structurally subordinated.

An active trading market for the Preferred Shares may not develop or be maintained.

The Preferred Shares are not currently listed on any securities exchange or available for quotation on any national quotation system and we do not anticipate listing the Preferred Shares. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Preferred Shares will develop or, if developed, will be maintained. If an active market is not developed and maintained, the market value and liquidity of the Preferred Shares may be materially and adversely affected.

The Preferred Shares may be junior in rights and preferences to our future preferred stock.

Subject to approval by the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the Preferred Shares then outstanding, voting as a separate class, we may issue preferred stock in the future the terms of which are expressly senior to the Preferred Shares. The terms of any such future preferred stock expressly senior to the Preferred Shares may prohibit or otherwise restrict dividend payments on the Preferred Shares. For example, the terms of any such senior preferred stock may provide that, unless full dividends for all of our outstanding preferred stock senior to the Preferred Shares have been paid for the relevant periods, no dividends will be paid on the Preferred Shares, and no Preferred Shares may be repurchased, redeemed, or otherwise acquired by us. In addition, in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the terms of any such senior preferred stock would likely prohibit us from making any payments on the Preferred Shares until all amounts due to holders of such senior preferred stock are paid in full.

Holders of the Preferred Shares have limited voting rights.

Unless and until we are in arrears on our dividend payments on the Preferred Shares for six quarterly periods, whether or not consecutive, the holders of the Preferred Shares will have no voting rights except with

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respect to certain fundamental changes in the terms of the Preferred Shares and certain other matters and except as may be required by applicable law. If dividends on the Preferred Shares are not paid in full for six quarterly periods, whether or not consecutive, the total number of positions on the Company’s board of directors will automatically increase by two and the holders of the Preferred Shares, acting as a class with any other shares of our preferred stock with parity voting rights to the Preferred Shares, will have the right to elect two individuals to serve in the new director positions. This right and the terms of such directors will end when we have paid in full all accrued and unpaid dividends for all past dividend periods. See “Description of Preferred Shares—Voting Rights” in this prospectus supplement.

We are subject to extensive regulation, and ownership of the Preferred Shares may have regulatory implications for holders thereof.

We are subject to extensive federal and state banking laws, including the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and federal and state banking regulations, that impact the rights and obligations of owners of the Preferred Shares, including, for example, our ability to declare and pay dividends on, and to redeem, the Preferred Shares. Although the Company does not believe the Preferred Shares are considered “voting securities” currently, if they were to become voting securities for the purposes of the BHCA, whether because the Company has missed six dividend payments and holders of the Preferred Shares have the right to elect directors as a result, or for other reasons, a holder of 25% of more of the Preferred Shares, or a holder of a lesser percentage of our Preferred Shares that is deemed to exercise a “controlling influence” over us, may become subject to regulation under the BHCA. In addition, if the Preferred Shares become “voting securities”, then (a) any bank holding company or foreign bank that is subject to the BHCA may need approval to acquire or retain more than 5% of the then outstanding Preferred Shares, and (b) any holder (or group of holders acting in concert) may need regulatory approval to acquire or retain 10% or more of the Preferred Shares. A holder or group of holders may also be deemed to control us if they own one-third or more of our total equity, both voting and non-voting, aggregating all shares held by the investor across all classes of stock. Holders of the Preferred Shares should consult their own counsel with regard to regulatory implications.

Our compensation expense may increase substantially after Treasury’s sale of the Preferred Shares.

As a result of our participation in the CPP, among other things, we are subject to Treasury’s current standards for executive compensation and corporate governance for the period during which Treasury holds our Preferred Shares. These standards were most recently set forth in the Interim Final Rule on TARP Standards for Compensation and Corporate Governance, published June 15, 2009. If the auction is successful and Treasury elects to sell all of the Preferred Shares, these executive compensation and corporate governance standards will no longer be applicable and our compensation expense for our executive officers and other senior employees may increase substantially.

If we redeem the Preferred Shares, you may be unable to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable investment at the same or greater rate of return.

We have the right to redeem the Preferred Shares, in whole or in part, at our option at any time, subject to prior regulatory approval. In addition, the FRB MOU prohibits the redemption of the Preferred Shares without regulatory approval, and the redemption of the Preferred Shares is also prohibited under certain circumstances pursuant to the terms of our outstanding junior subordinated debentures. If we are permitted to, and choose to, redeem the Preferred Shares in part, we have been informed by DTC that it is their current practice to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant (through which beneficial owners hold their interest) to be redeemed. If we are permitted to, and choose to, redeem the Preferred Shares, we are likely to do so if we are able to obtain a lower cost of capital. If prevailing interest rates are relatively low if or when we choose to redeem the Preferred Shares, you generally will not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable investment at the same or greater rate of return. Furthermore, if we redeem the Preferred Shares in part, the liquidity of the outstanding Preferred Shares may be limited.

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If we do not redeem the Preferred Shares prior to February 15, 2014, the cost of this capital to us will increase substantially and could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and cash flows.

We have the right to redeem the Preferred Shares, in whole or in part, at our option at any time. If we do not redeem the Preferred Shares prior to February 15, 2014, the cost of this capital to us will increase substantially on and after that date, with the dividend rate increasing from 5.0% per annum to 9.0% per annum, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and cash flows. See “Description of Preferred Shares—Redemption and Repurchases” in this prospectus supplement. Any redemption by us of the Preferred Shares would require prior regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve. We have not applied for such regulatory approval and have no present intention to redeem any of the Preferred Shares, although, in the future, we may seek such approval and, if such approval is obtained (as to which no assurance can be given), redeem the Preferred Shares for cash.

Treasury is a federal agency and your ability to bring a claim against Treasury under the federal securities laws in connection with a purchase of Preferred Shares may be limited.

The doctrine of sovereign immunity, as limited by the Federal Tort Claims Act (the “FTCA”), provides that claims may not be brought against the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof unless specifically permitted by act of Congress. The FTCA bars claims for fraud or misrepresentation. At least one federal court, in a case involving a federal agency, has held that the United States may assert its sovereign immunity to claims brought under the federal securities laws. In addition, Treasury and its officers, agents, and employees are exempt from liability for any violation or alleged violation of the anti-fraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act by virtue of Section 3(c) thereof. The underwriters are not claiming to be agents of Treasury in this offering. Accordingly, any attempt to assert such a claim against the officers, agents or employees of Treasury for a violation of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act resulting from an alleged material misstatement in or material omission from this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are a part or resulting from any other act or omission in connection with the offering of the Preferred Shares by Treasury would likely be barred.

Risk Factors Related to the Auction Process

The price of the Preferred Shares could decline rapidly and significantly following this offering.

The public offering price of the Preferred Shares, which will be the clearing price plus accrued dividends thereon, will be determined through an auction process conducted by Treasury and the auction agents. Prior to this offering there has been no public market for the Preferred Shares, and the public offering price may bear no relation to market demand for the Preferred Shares once trading begins. We have been informed by both Treasury and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., as the auction agents, that they believe that the bidding process will reveal a clearing price for the Preferred Shares offered in the auction process. If there is little or no demand for the Preferred Shares at or above the public offering price once trading begins, the price of the Preferred Shares would likely decline following this offering. Limited or less-than-expected liquidity in the Preferred Shares, including decreased liquidity due to a sale of less than all of the offered Preferred Shares, could also cause the trading price of the Preferred Shares to decline. In addition, the auction process may lead to more volatility in, or a decline in, the trading price of the Preferred Shares after the initial sales of the Preferred Shares in this offering. If your objective is to make a short-term profit by selling the Preferred Shares you purchase in the offering shortly after trading begins, you should not submit a bid in the auction.

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The auction process for this offering may result in a phenomenon known as the “winner’s curse,” and, as a result, investors may experience significant losses.

The auction process for this offering may result in a phenomenon known as the “winner’s curse.” At the conclusion of the auction process, successful bidders that receive allocations of Preferred Shares in this offering may infer that there is little incremental demand for the Preferred Shares above or equal to the public offering price. As a result, successful bidders may conclude that they paid too much for the Preferred Shares and could seek to immediately sell their Preferred Shares to limit their losses should the price of the Preferred Shares decline in trading after the auction process is completed. In this situation, other investors that did not submit bids that are accepted by Treasury may wait for this selling to be completed, resulting in reduced demand for the Preferred Shares in the public market and a significant decline in the price of the Preferred Shares. Therefore, we caution investors that submitting successful bids and receiving allocations may be followed by a significant decline in the value of their investment in the Preferred Shares shortly after this offering.

The auction process for this offering may result in a situation in which less price sensitive investors play a larger role in the determination of the public offering price and constitute a larger portion of the investors in this offering, and, as a result, the public offering price may not be sustainable once trading of Preferred Shares begins.

In a typical public offering of securities, a majority of the securities sold to the public are purchased by professional investors that have significant experience in determining valuations for companies in connection with such offerings. These professional investors typically have access to, or conduct their own, independent research and analysis regarding investments in such offerings. Other investors typically have less access to this level of research and analysis, and as a result, may be less sensitive to price when participating in the auction. Because of the auction process used in this auction, these less price sensitive investors may have a greater influence in setting the public offering price (because a larger number of higher bids may cause the clearing price in the auction to be higher than it would otherwise have been absent such bids) and may have a higher level of participation in this offering than is normal for other public offerings. This, in turn, could cause the auction process to result in a public offering price that is higher than the price professional investors are willing to pay for the Preferred Shares. As a result, the price of the Preferred Shares may decrease once trading of the Preferred Shares begins. Also, because professional investors may have a substantial degree of influence on the trading price of the Preferred Shares over time, the price of the Preferred Shares may decline and not recover after this offering. Furthermore, if the public offering price of the Preferred Shares is above the level that investors determine is reasonable for the Preferred Shares, some investors may attempt to short sell the Preferred Shares after trading begins, which would create additional downward pressure on the trading price of the Preferred Shares.

The clearing price for the Preferred Shares may bear little or no relationship to the price for the Preferred Shares that would be established using traditional valuation methods, and, as a result, the trading price of the Preferred Shares may decline significantly following the issuance of the Preferred Shares.

The public offering price of the Preferred Shares will be equal to the clearing price plus accrued dividends thereon. The clearing price of the Preferred Shares may have little or no relationship to, and may be significantly higher than, the price for the Preferred Shares that otherwise would be established using traditional indicators of value, such as our future prospects and those of our industry in general; our revenues, earnings, and other financial and operating information; multiples of revenue, earnings, capital levels, cash flows, and other operating metrics; market prices of securities and other financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to us; and the views of research analysts. The trading price of the Preferred Shares may vary significantly from the public offering price. Potential investors should not submit a bid in the auction for this offering unless they are willing to take the risk that the price of the Preferred Shares could decline significantly.

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Successful bidders may receive the full number of Preferred Shares subject to their bids, so potential investors should not make bids for more Preferred Shares than they are prepared to purchase.

Each bidder may submit multiple bids. However, as bids are independent, each bid may result in an allocation of Preferred Shares. Allocation of the Preferred Shares will be determined by, first, allocating Preferred Shares to any bids made above the clearing price, and second, allocating Preferred Shares on a pro-rata basis among bids made at the clearing price. If Treasury elects to sell Preferred Shares in the offering, the bids of successful bidders that are above the clearing price will be allocated all of the Preferred Shares represented by such bids, and only accepted bids submitted at the clearing price will experience pro-rata allocation, if any. Bids that have not been modified or withdrawn by the time of the submission deadline are final and irrevocable, and bidders who submit bids that are accepted by Treasury will be obligated to purchase the Preferred Shares allocated to them. Accordingly, the sum of a bidder’s bid sizes as of the submission deadline should be no more than the total number of Preferred Shares the bidder is willing to purchase, and investors are cautioned against submitting a bid that does not accurately represent the number of Preferred Shares that they are willing and prepared to purchase.

Submitting a bid does not guarantee an allocation of Preferred Shares, even if a bidder submits a bid at or above the public offering price of the Preferred Shares.

The auction agents, in their sole discretion, may require that bidders confirm their bids before the auction closes (although the auction agents are under no obligation to reconfirm bids for any reason, except as may be required by applicable securities laws). If a bidder is requested to confirm a bid and fails to do so within the permitted time period, that bid may be deemed to have been withdrawn and, accordingly, that bidder may not receive an allocation of Preferred Shares even if the bid is at or above the public offering price. The auction agents may, however, choose to accept any such bid even if it has not been reconfirmed. In addition, the auction agents may determine in some cases to impose size limits on the aggregate size of bids that they choose to accept from any bidder (including any network broker), and may reject any bid that they determine, in their discretion, has a potentially manipulative, disruptive or other adverse effect on the auction process or the offering. Furthermore, if Treasury elects to sell Preferred Shares in the offering, each accepted bid submitted above the clearing price will be allocated all of the Preferred Shares represented by such bid. However, any accepted bids submitted in the auction at the clearing price may experience pro-rata allocation. Treasury could also decide, in its sole discretion, not to sell any Preferred Shares in this offering after the clearing price has been determined. As a result of these factors, you may not receive an allocation for all the Preferred Shares for which you submit a bid.

We cannot assure you that the auction will be successful or that the full number of offered Preferred Shares will be sold.

If sufficient bids are received and accepted by the auction agents to enable Treasury to sell the offered Preferred Shares in this offering, the public offering price will be set at the clearing price plus accrued dividends thereon, unless Treasury decides, in its sole discretion, not to sell any Preferred Shares in this offering after the clearing price is determined. The clearing price will be determined based on the number of valid, irrevocable bids at the time of the submission deadline that Treasury decides, in its sole discretion, to accept. The clearing price will be equal to the highest price in the auction for which the quantity of all bids at or above such price equals the number of Preferred Shares that Treasury has elected to sell. Even if bids are received for all or more of the offered Preferred Shares, Treasury is not obligated to sell any Preferred Shares regardless of the clearing price set through the auction process. The liquidity of the Preferred Shares may be limited if less than all of the offered Preferred Shares are sold by Treasury. Possible future sales of Treasury’s remaining Preferred Shares, if any are held following this offering, could affect the trading price of the Preferred Shares sold in this offering.

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Submitting bids through a network broker or any other broker that is not an auction agent may in some circumstances shorten deadlines for potential investors to submit, modify or withdraw their bids.

In order to participate in the auction, bidders must have an account with, and submit bids to purchase Preferred Shares through, either an auction agent or a network broker. Brokers that are not network brokers will need to submit their bids, either for their own account or on behalf of their customers, through an auction agents or a network broker. Potential investors and brokers that wish to submit bids in the auction and do not have an account with an auction agents or a network broker must either establish such an account prior to bidding in the auction or cause a broker that has such an account to submit a bid through that account. Network brokers and other brokers will impose earlier submission deadlines than those imposed by the auction agent in order to have sufficient time to aggregate bids received from their respective customers and to transmit the aggregate bid to an auction agent (or, in the case of non-network brokers submitting bids through a network broker, to such network broker to transmit to the auction agents) before the auction closes. As a result of such earlier submission deadlines, potential investors who submit bids through a network broker, or brokers that submit bids through an auction agent or a network broker, will need to submit or withdraw their bids earlier than other bidders, and it may in some circumstances be more difficult for such bids to be submitted, modified or withdrawn.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

The Preferred Shares offered by this prospectus supplement are being sold for the account of Treasury. Any proceeds from the sale of these Preferred Shares will be received by Treasury for its own account, and we will not receive any proceeds from the sale of any Preferred Shares offered by this prospectus supplement.

RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND

PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS

The following table sets forth our ratios of earnings(1) to fixed charges and preferred stock dividends for the periods indicated.

											Year Ended December 31
			2011		2010			2009			2008			2007

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

	Excluding Interest on Deposits		1.33	x	------	(2)		------	(3)		------		(4)	4.37	x
		less Goodwill impairment	1.33	x	------	(2)		------	(3)		0.13	x		4.37	x

	Including Interest on Deposits		1.13	x	0.37		x	0.39		x	------		(5)	1.38	x
		less Goodwill impairment	1.13	x	0.37		x	0.39		x	0.89	x		1.38	x

_____________

(1)	Earnings have been calculated by adding fixed charges to consolidated income from continuing operations. Fixed charges consist of interest expense, amortization of deferred financing costs and preferred stock dividends. For all periods, we computed the ratios of earnings to fixed charges and preferred stock dividends by dividing earnings by fixed charges. If we do not redeem the Preferred Shares prior to February 15, 2014, the cost of this capital to us will increase substantially on and after that date, with the dividend rate increasing from 5.0% to 9.0% per annum, which would adversely affect our ratio of earnings to fixed charges and preferred stock dividends.
(2)	The earnings coverage for the year ended December 31, 2010 was inadequate to cover fixed charges by $26.2 million.
(3)	The earnings coverage for the year ended December 31, 2009 was inadequate to cover fixed charges by $43.5 million.
(4)	The earnings coverage for the year ended December 31, 2008 was inadequate to cover fixed charges by $119.0 million.
(5)	The earnings coverage for the year ended December 31, 2007 was inadequate to cover fixed charges by $8.7 million.

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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES

This section summarizes specific terms and provisions of the Preferred Shares. The description of the Preferred Shares contained in this section is qualified in its entirety by the actual terms of the Preferred Shares, as are stated in the Articles of Amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, a copy of which was attached as Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 24, 2008 and incorporated by reference into this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” in this prospectus supplement.

General

The Preferred Shares constitutes a series of our perpetual, cumulative, preferred stock, consisting of 124,000 shares, par value $.01 per share, having a liquidation preference amount of $1,000 per share. The Preferred Shares have no maturity date. We issued the Preferred Shares to Treasury on November 21, 2008 in connection with the CPP for an aggregate purchase price of $124 million in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Preferred Shares qualify as Tier 1 capital for regulatory purposes.

Dividends

Rate. Dividends on the Preferred Shares are payable quarterly in arrears, when, as and if authorized and declared by our board of directors out of legally available funds, on a cumulative basis on the $1,000 per share liquidation preference amount plus the amount of accrued and unpaid dividends for any prior dividend periods, at a rate of (i) 5% per annum, from the original issuance date to but excluding the first day of the first dividend period commencing on or after the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date (i.e., 5% per annum from November 21, 2008 to but excluding February 15, 2014), and (ii) 9% per annum, from and after the first day of the first dividend period commencing on or after the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date (i.e., 9% per annum on and after February 15, 2014). Dividends are payable quarterly in arrears on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 of each year. Each dividend will be payable to holders of record as they appear on our stock register on the applicable record date, which will be the 15th calendar day immediately preceding the related dividend payment date (whether or not a business day), or such other record date determined by our board of directors that is not more than 60 nor less than ten days prior to the related dividend payment date. Each period from and including a dividend payment date (or the date of the issuance of the Preferred Shares) to but excluding the following dividend payment date is referred to as a “dividend period.” Dividends payable for each dividend period are computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. If a scheduled dividend payment date falls on a day that is not a business day, the dividend will be paid on the next business day as if it were paid on the scheduled dividend payment date, and no interest or other additional amount will accrue on the dividend. The term “business day” means any day except Saturday, Sunday and any day on which banking institutions in the State of New York generally are authorized or required by law or other governmental actions to close.

Holders of Preferred Shares sold by Treasury in the auction, if any, that are record holders on the record date for the May 15, 2012 dividend payment date will be entitled to any declared dividends payable on such date.

Dividends on the Preferred Shares are cumulative. If for any reason our board of directors does not declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares for a particular dividend period, or if the board of directors declares less than a full dividend, we will remain obligated to pay the unpaid portion of the dividend for that period and the unpaid dividend will compound on each subsequent dividend date (meaning that dividends for future dividend periods will accrue on any unpaid dividend amounts for prior dividend periods).

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We are not obligated to pay holders of the Preferred Shares any dividend in excess of the dividends on the Preferred Shares that are payable as described above. There is no sinking fund with respect to dividends on the Preferred Shares.

Priority of Dividends. So long as the Preferred Shares remains outstanding, we may not declare or pay a dividend or other distribution on our common stock or any other shares of Junior Stock (other than dividends payable solely in common stock) or Parity Stock (other than dividends paid on a pro rata basis with the Preferred Shares), and we generally may not directly or indirectly purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of common stock, Junior Stock or Parity Stock unless all accrued and unpaid dividends on the Preferred Shares for all past dividend periods are paid in full.

“Junior Stock” means our common stock and any other class or series of our stock the terms of which expressly provide that it ranks junior to the Preferred Shares as to dividend rights and/or as to rights on liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company. We currently have no outstanding class or series of stock constituting Junior Stock other than our common stock.

“Parity Stock” means any class or series of our stock, other than the Preferred Shares, the terms of which do not expressly provide that such class or series will rank senior or junior to the Preferred Shares as to dividend rights and/or as to rights on liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, in each case without regard to whether dividends accrue cumulatively or non-cumulatively. We currently have no outstanding class or series of stock constituting Parity Stock.

Liquidation Rights

In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Company, holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive for each share of the Preferred Shares, out of the assets of the Company or proceeds available for distribution to our stockholders, subject to any rights of our creditors, before any distribution of assets or proceeds is made to or set aside for the holders of our common stock and any other class or series of our stock ranking junior to the Preferred Shares, payment of an amount equal to the sum of (i) the $1,000 liquidation preference amount per share and (ii) the amount of any accrued and unpaid dividends on the Preferred Shares (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends). To the extent the assets or proceeds available for distribution to stockholders are not sufficient to fully pay the liquidation payments owing to the holders of the Preferred Shares and the holders of any other class or series of our stock ranking equally with the Preferred Shares, the holders of the Preferred Shares and such other stock will share ratably in the distribution.

For purposes of the liquidation rights of the Preferred Shares, neither a merger or consolidation of the Company with another entity, including a merger or consolidation in which the holders of Preferred Shares receive cash, securities or other property for their shares, nor a sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets will constitute a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Company.

Redemptions and Repurchases

We may redeem the Preferred Shares, at any time, in whole or in part, at our option, subject to prior approval by the appropriate federal banking agency, for a redemption price equal to 100% of the liquidation preference amount per Preferred Share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends to but excluding the date of redemption (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends), provided that any declared but unpaid dividend payable on a redemption date that occurs subsequent to the record date for the dividend will be payable to the holder of record of the redeemed shares on the dividend record date.

To exercise the redemption right described above, we must give notice of the redemption to the holders of record of the Preferred Shares by first class mail, not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days before the date of redemption. Each notice of redemption given to a holder of Preferred Shares must state:

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(i) the redemption date; (ii) the number of Preferred Shares to be redeemed and, if less than all the shares held by such holder are to be redeemed, the number of such shares to be redeemed from such holder; (iii) the redemption price; and (iv) the place or places where certificates for such shares are to be surrendered for payment of the redemption price. In the case of a partial redemption of the Preferred Shares, the shares to be redeemed will be selected either pro rata or in such other manner as our board of directors determines to be fair and equitable.

The Securities Purchase Agreement between us and Treasury provides that so long as Treasury continues to own any Preferred Shares, we may not repurchase any Preferred Shares from any other holder of such shares unless we offer to repurchase a ratable portion of the Preferred Shares then held by Treasury on the same terms and conditions.

Preferred Shares that we redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire will revert to authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock, which may then be reissued by us as any series of preferred stock other than the Preferred Shares.

No Conversion Rights

Holders of the Preferred Shares have no right to exchange or convert their shares into common stock or any other securities.

Voting Rights

The holders of the Preferred Shares do not have voting rights other than those described below, except to the extent specifically required by Washington law.

Whenever dividends have not been paid on the Preferred Shares for six or more quarterly dividend periods, whether or not consecutive, the authorized number of directors of the Company will automatically increase by two and the holders of the Preferred Shares will have the right, with the holders of shares of any other classes or series of Voting Parity Stock outstanding at the time, voting together as a class, to elect two directors (the “Preferred Directors”) to fill such newly created directorships at our next annual meeting of stockholders (or at a special meeting called for that purpose prior to the next annual meeting) and at each subsequent annual meeting of stockholders until all accrued and unpaid dividends (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends) for all past dividend periods on all outstanding Preferred Shares have been paid in full at which time this right will terminate with respect to the Preferred Shares, subject to revesting in the event of each and every subsequent default by us in the payment of dividends on the Preferred Shares.

No person may be elected as a Preferred Director who would cause us to violate any corporate governance requirements of any securities exchange or other trading facility on which our securities may then be listed or traded that listed or traded companies must have a majority of independent directors. Upon any termination of the right of the holders of the Preferred Shares and Voting Parity Stock as a class to vote for directors as described above, the Preferred Directors will cease to be qualified as directors, the terms of office of all Preferred Directors then in office will terminate immediately and the authorized number of directors will be reduced by the number of Preferred Directors which had been elected by the holders of the Preferred Shares and the Voting Parity Stock. Any Preferred Director may be removed at any time, with or without cause, and any vacancy created by such a removal may be filled, only by the affirmative vote of the holders a majority of the outstanding Preferred Shares voting separately as a class together with the holders of shares of Voting Parity Stock, to the extent the voting rights of such holders described above are then exercisable. If the office of any Preferred Director becomes vacant for any reason other than removal from office, the remaining Preferred Director may choose a successor who will hold office for the unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurred.

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The term “Voting Parity Stock” means with regard to any matter as to which the holders of the Preferred Shares are entitled to vote, any series of Parity Stock (as defined under “—Dividends-Priority of Dividends” above) upon which voting rights similar to those of the Preferred Shares have been conferred and are exercisable with respect to such matter. We currently have no outstanding shares of Voting Parity Stock.

Although the Company does not believe the Preferred Shares are considered “voting securities” currently, if they were to become “voting securities” for the purposes of the BHCA, whether because the Company has missed six dividend payments and holders of the Preferred Shares have the right to elect directors as a result, or for other reasons, a holder of 25% of more of the Preferred Shares, or a holder of a lesser percentage of our Preferred Shares that is deemed to exercise a “controlling influence” over us, may become subject to regulation under the BHCA. In addition, if the Preferred Shares become “voting securities”, then (a) any bank holding company or foreign bank that is subject to the BHCA may need approval to acquire or retain more than 5% of the then outstanding Preferred Shares, and (b) any holder (or group of holders acting in concert) may need regulatory approval to acquire or retain 10% or more of the Preferred Shares. A holder or group of holders may also be deemed to control us if they own one-third or more of our total equity, both voting and non-voting, aggregating all shares held by the investor across all classes of stock. Holders of the Preferred Shares should consult their own legal counsel with regard to regulatory implications.

In addition to any other vote or consent required by Washington law or by our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, the vote or consent of the holders of at least 66-2/3% of the outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, is required in order to do the following:

	•	amend or alter our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation or the Articles of Amendment for the Preferred Shares to authorize or create or increase the authorized amount of, or any issuance of, any shares of, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of, any class or series of our capital stock ranking senior to the Preferred Shares with respect to either or both the payment of dividends and/or the distribution of assets on any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company; or

	•	amend, alter or repeal any provision of our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation or the Articles of Amendment for the Preferred Shares in a manner that adversely affects the rights, preferences, privileges or voting powers of the Preferred Shares; or

	•	consummate a binding share exchange or reclassification involving the Preferred Shares or a merger or consolidation of the Company with another entity, unless (i) the Preferred Shares remain outstanding or, in the case of a merger or consolidation in which the Company is not the surviving or resulting entity, are converted into or exchanged for preference securities of the surviving or resulting entity or its ultimate parent, and (ii) the Preferred Shares remaining outstanding or such preference securities, have such rights, preferences, privileges, voting powers, limitations and restrictions, taken as a whole, as are not materially less favorable than the rights, preferences, privileges, voting powers, limitations and restrictions of the Preferred Shares immediately prior to consummation of the transaction, taken as a whole;

provided, however, that (1) any increase in the amount of our authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock, including authorized Preferred Shares necessary to satisfy preemptive or similar rights granted by us to other persons prior to November 21, 2008, and (2) the creation and issuance, or an increase in the authorized or issued amount, of any other series of preferred stock, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any other series of preferred stock, ranking equally with and/or junior to the Preferred Shares with respect to the payment of dividends, whether such dividends are cumulative or non-cumulative and the distribution of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, will not be deemed to adversely affect the rights, preferences, privileges or voting powers of the Preferred Shares and will not require the vote or consent of the holders of the Preferred Shares.

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To the extent holders of the Preferred Shares are entitled to vote, holders of Preferred Shares will be entitled to one vote for each share then held.

The voting provisions described above will not apply if, at or prior to the time when the vote or consent of the holders of the Preferred Shares would otherwise be required, all outstanding Preferred Shares have been redeemed by us or called for redemption upon proper notice and sufficient funds have been set aside by us for the benefit of the holders of Preferred Shares to effect the redemption.

Book-Entry Procedures

The Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”) will act as securities depositary for the Preferred Shares. We will issue one or more fully registered global securities certificates in the name of DTC’s nominee, Cede & Co. These certificates will represent the total aggregate number of Preferred Shares sold in the auction. We will deposit these certificates with DTC or a custodian appointed by DTC. We will not issue certificates to you for the Preferred Shares that you purchase, unless DTC’s services are discontinued as described below.

Title to book-entry interests in the Preferred Shares will pass by book-entry registration of the transfer within the records of DTC in accordance with its procedures. Book-entry interests in the Preferred Shares may be transferred within DTC in accordance with procedures established for these purposes by DTC. Each person owning a beneficial interest in the Preferred Shares must rely on the procedures of DTC and the participant through which such person owns its interest to exercise its rights as a holder of the Preferred Shares.

DTC has advised us that it is a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and a “clearing agency” registered under the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds securities that its participants (“Direct Participants”) deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among Direct Participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in Direct Participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. Direct Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations, and certain other organizations. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as securities brokers and dealers, including the underwriters, banks and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Direct Participant, either directly or indirectly (“Indirect Participants”). The rules applicable to DTC and its Direct and Indirect Participants are on file with the SEC.

When you purchase Preferred Shares within the DTC system, the purchase must be by or through a Direct Participant. The Direct Participant will receive a credit for the Preferred Shares on DTC’s records. You, as the actual owner of the Preferred Shares, are the “beneficial owner.” Your beneficial ownership interest will be recorded on the Direct and Indirect Participants’ records, but DTC will have no knowledge of your individual ownership. DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the Direct Participants to whose accounts Preferred Shares are credited.

You will not receive written confirmation from DTC of your purchase. The Direct or Indirect Participants through whom you purchased Preferred Shares should send you written confirmations providing details of your transactions, as well as periodic statements of your holdings. The Direct and Indirect Participants are responsible for keeping an accurate account of the holdings of their customers like you.

Transfers of ownership interests held through Direct and Indirect Participants will be accomplished by entries on the books of Direct and Indirect Participants acting on behalf of the beneficial owners.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to Direct Participants, by Direct Participants to Indirect Participants, and by Direct Participants and Indirect Participants to beneficial owners

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will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time.

We understand that, under DTC’s existing practices, in the event that we request any action of the holders, or an owner of a beneficial interest in a global security such as you desires to take any action which a holder is entitled to take under our charter, DTC would authorize the Direct Participants holding the relevant shares to take such action, and those Direct Participants and any Indirect Participants would authorize beneficial owners owning through those Direct and Indirect Participants to take such action or would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them.

Any redemption notices with respect to the Preferred Shares will be sent to Cede & Co. If less than all of the Preferred Shares are being redeemed, DTC will reduce each Direct Participant’s holdings of Preferred Shares in accordance with its procedures.

In those instances where a vote is required, neither DTC nor Cede & Co. itself will consent or vote with respect to the Preferred Shares. Under its usual procedures, DTC would mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns Cede & Co.’s consenting or voting rights to those Direct Participants whose accounts the Preferred Shares are credited to on the record date, which are identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.

Dividends on the Preferred Shares will be made directly to DTC’s nominee (or its successor, if applicable). DTC’s practice is to credit participants’ accounts on the relevant payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC’s records unless DTC has reason to believe that it will not receive payment on that payment date.

Payments by Direct and Indirect Participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” These payments will be the responsibility of the participant and not of DTC, us or any agent of ours.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the Preferred Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Additionally, we may decide to discontinue the book-entry only system of transfers with respect to the Preferred Shares. In that event, we will print and deliver certificates in fully registered form for Preferred Shares. If DTC notifies us that it is unwilling to continue as securities depositary, or it is unable to continue or ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act and a successor depositary is not appointed by us within 90 days after receiving such notice or becoming aware that DTC is no longer so registered, we will issue Preferred Shares in definitive form, at our expense, upon registration of transfer of, or in exchange for, such global security.

According to DTC, the foregoing information with respect to DTC has been provided to the financial community for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a representation, warranty or contract modification of any kind.

Global Clearance and Settlement Procedures

Initial settlement for the Preferred Shares will be made in immediately available funds. Secondary market trading among DTC’s Participants will occur in the ordinary way in accordance with DTC’s rules and will be settled in immediately available funds using DTC’s Same-Day Funds Settlement System.

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AUCTION PROCESS

The following describes the auction process used to determine the public offering price of the Preferred Shares. That process differs from methods traditionally used in other underwritten public offerings. Treasury and the underwriters will determine the public offering price and the allocation of the Preferred Shares in this offering by an auction process conducted by the joint book-running managers, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., in their capacity as the “auction agents.” This auction process will involve a modified “Dutch auction” mechanic in which the auction agents (working with a number of other brokers) will receive and accept bids from bidders for the Preferred Shares. We do not intend to submit any bids in the auction. After the auction closes and those bids become irrevocable (which will occur automatically at the submission deadline to the extent such bids have not been modified or withdrawn at that time), the auction agents will determine the clearing price for the sale of the Preferred Shares offered hereby and, if Treasury chooses to proceed with the offering, the underwriters will allocate Preferred Shares to the winning bidders. The clearing price for the Preferred Shares may bear little or no relationship to the price that would be established using traditional valuation methods. You should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors — Risk Factors Related to the Auction Process” beginning on page S-26.

Eligibility and Account Status

In order to participate in the auction process, bidders must have an account with, and submit bids to purchase Preferred Shares through, either an auction agents or one of the network brokers. Brokers that are not network brokers will need to submit their bids, either for their own account or on behalf of their customers, through the auction agents or a network broker. If you wish to bid in the auction and do not have an account with an auction agent or a network broker, you will either need to establish such an account prior to bidding in the auction (which may be difficult to do before the submission deadline) or contact your existing broker and request that it submit a bid through an auction agents or a network broker. Network brokers and other brokers will have deadlines relating to the auction that are earlier than those imposed by the auction agents, as described below under “— The Auction Process — The Bidding Process.”

Because the Preferred Shares are complex financial instruments for which there is no established trading market, the auction agents, each network broker and any other broker that submits bids through the auction agents or any network broker will be required to establish and enforce client suitability standards, including eligibility, account status and size, to evaluate whether an investment in the Preferred Shares is appropriate for any particular investor. Each of them will individually apply its own standards in making that determination, but in each case those standards will be implemented in accordance with the applicable requirements and guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). If you do not meet the relevant suitability requirements of an auction agent or another broker, you will not be able to bid in the auction. Accounts at an auction agent or any other broker, including broker accounts, are also subject to the customary rules of those institutions. You should contact your brokerage firm to better understand how you may submit bids in the auction process.

An auction agent or network brokers may require bidders (including any brokers that may be bidding on behalf of their customers) to submit additional information, such as tax identification numbers, a valid e-mail address and other contact information, and other information that may be required to establish or maintain an account.

The auction agents and the network brokers, upon request, will provide certain information to you in connection with the offering, including this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and forms used by such brokers, if any, to submit bids. Additionally, you should understand that:

·	before submitting a bid in the auction, you should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference, including all the risk factors;

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the clearing price will be determined based on the number of valid, irrevocable bids at the time of the submission deadline that Treasury decides, in its sole discretion, to accept. The clearing price will be equal to the highest price in the auction for which the quantity of all bids at or above such price equals the number of Preferred Shares that Treasury has elected to sell;

·	if there is little or no demand for the Preferred Shares at or above the clearing price once trading begins, the price of the Preferred Shares will decline;

·	the liquidity of any market for the Preferred Shares may be affected by the number of Preferred Shares that Treasury elects to sell in this offering, and the price of the Preferred Shares may decline if the Preferred Shares are illiquid;

the auction agents, in their sole discretion, have the right to reconfirm any bid by contacting the purported bidder directly and to impose size limits on the aggregate size of bids that it chooses to accept from any bidder, including network brokers (although the auction agents are under no obligation to reconfirm bids for any reason, except as may be required by applicable securities laws). If you are requested to reconfirm a bid and fail to do so in a timely manner, the auction agents may deem your bid to have been withdrawn, but alternatively may in their discretion choose to accept any such bid even if it has not been reconfirmed;

·	the auction agents may reject any bid that they determine, in their discretion, has a potentially manipulative, disruptive or other adverse effect on the auction process or the offering; and

·	the auction agents will not provide bidders with any information about the bids of other bidders or auction trends, or with advice regarding bidding strategies, in connection with the auction process.

None of the underwriters, Treasury or us have undertaken any efforts to qualify the Preferred Shares for sale in any jurisdiction outside the United States. Except to the limited extent that this offering will be open to certain non-U.S. investors under private placement exemptions in certain countries other than the United States, investors located outside the United States should not expect to be eligible to participate in this offering.

Even if a bidder places a bid in the auction, it may not receive an allocation of the Preferred Shares in the offering for a number of reasons described below. You should consider all the information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in determining whether to submit a bid, the number of Preferred Shares you seek to purchase and the price per share you are willing to pay.

The following brokers have agreed to be network brokers for purposes of the auction process: BB&T Capital Markets, a division of Scott & Stringfellow, LLC, Blaylock Robert Van, LLC, Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., CastleOak Securities, L.P., CL King & Associates, D.A. Davidson & Co., FBR Capital Markets & Co., Guzman & Company, Jefferies & Company, Inc., Joseph Gunnar & Co. LLC, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., Lebenthal & Co., LLC, M.R. Beal & Company, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc., Samuel A. Ramirez & Co., Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, The Williams Capital Group, L.P., Toussaint Capital Partners, LLC, Utendahl Capital Partners, L.P., Wedbush Morgan Securities Inc. and WR Hambrecht + Co., LLC. The network brokers will not share in any underwriting discounts or fees paid by us in connection with the offering of the Preferred Shares but may, subject to applicable FINRA and SEC rules and regulations, charge a separate commission to their own customers.

The Auction Process

The following describes how the auction agents will conduct the auction process:

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General

The auction will commence at 8:30 a.m., New York City time, on the date specified by the auction agents in a press release issued prior to the opening of the equity markets on such day, and will end at 6:30 p.m., New York City time, on the second business day immediately thereafter (the “submission deadline”). Unless you submit your bids through an auction agent, your broker will have an earlier deadline for accepting bids. If a malfunction, technical or mechanical problem, calamity, crisis or other similar event occurs that the auction agents believe may interfere with the auction process, the auction agents may (in consultation with Treasury) decide to extend the auction or cancel and reschedule the auction. The auction agents and the network brokers will advise bidders of any such decision to extend or cancel and reschedule the auction using e-mail, telephone or facsimile, and will attempt to make such notification prior to the time the auction is scheduled to close. If the auction process is extended such that it closes at a later time on the same business day, any bids previously submitted will continue to be valid unless amended or cancelled by the bidder, but if the auction is extended such that it closes on the following business day or later, or is cancelled, all bids will be cancelled at the time of such extension or cancellation.

·	The auction agents and the network brokers will contact potential investors with information about the auction process and how to participate and will solicit bids from prospective investors via electronic message, telephone and facsimile. The minimum size of any bid is one Preferred Share.

The Bidding Process

·	The auction agents and the network brokers will only accept bids in the auction process in increments of whole Preferred Shares; no fractional interests will be sold.

No maximum price or auction price range has been established in connection with the auction process, which means that there is no floor or ceiling on the price per share that you or any other bidder can bid in the auction. Each bid must specify a price (such bid price to be in increments of $0.01) or such bid will be rejected.

Once the auction begins, you may submit your bids either directly through an auction agent or through any network broker. Bids through the network brokers will be aggregated and submitted to the auction agents as single bids at each price increment by those brokers. Bids will only be accepted if they are made on an unconditional basis (i.e., no “all-or-none” bids will be accepted).

·	In connection with submitting a bid, you will be required to provide the following information:

·	the number of Preferred Shares that you are interested in purchasing (only in whole shares—no fractional interests);

·	the price per share you are willing to pay (such bid price to be in increments of $0.01); and

·	any additional information that may be required to enable an auction agent and/or network broker to identify you, confirm your eligibility and suitability for participating in this offering, and, if you submit a successful bid, consummate a sale of Preferred Shares to you.

You may submit multiple bids. Canceling one bid does not cancel any other bid. However, as bids are independent, each bid may result in an allocation of Preferred Shares. Consequently, the sum of your bid sizes should be no more than the total number of Preferred Shares you are willing to purchase. In addition, the auction agents may impose size limits on the aggregate size of bids that they choose to accept from any bidder (including any network broker), although the auction agents are under no obligation to do so or to reconfirm bids for any reason, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

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At any time prior to the submission deadline, you may modify your bids to increase or decrease the number of Preferred Shares bid for or the price bid per share and may withdraw your bid and reenter the auction. Network brokers, however, will impose earlier submission deadlines than that imposed by the auction agents in order to have sufficient time to aggregate bids received from their respective customers and to transmit the aggregate bid to the auction agents before the auction closes. If you are bidding through a network broker, or another broker that is submitting bids through the auction agents or a network broker, you should be aware of any earlier submission deadlines that may be imposed by your broker.

Conditions for valid bids, including eligibility standards and account funding requirements, may vary from broker to broker. Some brokers, for example, may require a prospective investor to maintain a minimum account balance or to ensure that its account balance is equal to or in excess of the amount of its bid. No funds will be transferred to the underwriters until the acceptance of the bid and the allocation of Preferred Shares.

A bid received by an auction agent or any network broker involves no obligation or commitment of any kind prior to the submission deadline. Therefore, you will be able to withdraw a bid at any time prior to the submission deadline (or any deadline imposed by a network broker, if you are bidding through a network broker). Following the submission deadline, however, all bids that have not been modified or withdrawn by you prior to the submission deadline will be considered final and irrevocable and may be accepted. The auction agents and Treasury will rely on your bid in setting the public offering price and in sending notices of acceptance to successful bidders.

·	If you are requested to reconfirm a bid and fail to do so in a timely manner, the auction agents may deem your bid to have been withdrawn. The auction agents may, however, choose to accept your bid even if it has not been reconfirmed.

·	The auction agents may reject any bid that they determine, in their discretion, has a potentially manipulative, disruptive or other adverse effect on the auction process or the offering.

·	The auction agents will not provide bidders with any information about the bids of other bidders or auction trends, or with advice regarding bidding strategies, in connection with the auction process.

No funds will be transferred to the underwriters until the acceptance of the bid and the allocation of the Preferred Shares. However, the auction agents or any network broker may require you to deposit funds or securities in your brokerage accounts with value sufficient to cover the aggregate dollar amount of your bids. Bids may be rejected if you do not provide the required funds or securities within the required time. The auction agents or any network broker may, however, decide to accept successful bids regardless of whether you have deposited funds or securities in your brokerage accounts. In any case, if you are a successful bidder, you will be obligated to purchase the Preferred Shares allocated to you in the allocation process and will be required to deposit funds in your brokerage accounts prior to settlement, which is expected to occur three or four business days after the notices of acceptance are sent to you.

Pricing and Allocation

The auction agents will manage the master order book that will aggregate all bids and will include the identity of the bidders (or their brokers, in the case of bids submitted through a network broker). The master order book will not be available for viewing by bidders. Bidders whose bids are accepted will be informed about the result of their bids.

·	The clearing price will be determined based on the number of valid, irrevocable bids at the time of the submission deadline that Treasury decides, in its sole discretion, to accept. The clearing price

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will be equal to the highest price in the auction for which the quantity of all bids at or above such price equals the number of Preferred Shares that Treasury has elected to sell.

·	Unless Treasury decides not to sell any Preferred Shares or as otherwise described below, all Preferred Shares will be sold to bidders at the clearing price plus accrued dividends.

Promptly after the auction agents determine the clearing price, they will communicate that clearing price to Treasury. Treasury may decide not to sell any Preferred Shares after the clearing price is determined. Once Treasury confirms its acceptance of the clearing price and the number of Preferred Shares to be sold, the auction agents will confirm allocations of Preferred Shares to its clients and the network brokers. The underwriters will sell all Preferred Shares at the same price per share plus accrued dividends.

If Treasury elects to sell Preferred Shares in the offering, allocation of the Preferred Shares will be determined by, first, allocating Preferred Shares to any bids made above the clearing price, and second, allocating Preferred Shares on a pro-rata basis among bids made at the clearing price. The pro-rata allocation percentage for bids made at the clearing price will be determined by dividing the number of Preferred Shares to be allocated at the bidding increment equal to the clearing price by the number of Preferred Shares represented by bids at that bidding increment. Each accepted bid submitted at the clearing price will be allocated a number of Preferred Shares approximately equal to the pro-rata allocation percentage multiplied by the number of Preferred Shares represented by its bid, rounded to the nearest whole number of Preferred Shares. In no case, however, will any rounded amount exceed the original bid size.

After Treasury confirms its acceptance of the clearing price and the number of Preferred Shares to be sold, the auction agents and each network broker that has submitted successful bids will notify you, in the event your bids have been accepted by Treasury, by electronic message, telephone, facsimile or otherwise that the auction has closed and that your bids have been accepted by Treasury (subject, in some cases, to pro-ration, as described in this prospectus supplement). They may also provide you with a preliminary allocation estimate, which will be subsequently followed by a final allocation and confirmation of sale. In the event your bids are not accepted, you may be notified that your bids have not been accepted. As a result of the varying delivery times involved in sending e-mails over the Internet and other methods of delivery, you may receive notices of acceptance before or after other bidders.

The clearing price and number of Preferred Shares to be sold are expected to be announced via press release on the business day following the end of the auction. The price will also be included in the notice of acceptance and the confirmation of sale that will be sent to successful bidders, and will also be included in the final prospectus supplement for the offering.

·	Sales to investors will be settled through your account with the broker through which your bid was submitted.

If you submit bids that are accepted by Treasury, you will be obligated to purchase the Preferred Shares allocated to you regardless of whether you are aware that the notice of acceptance of your bid has been sent. Once an underwriter has sent out a notice of acceptance and confirmation of sale, it will not cancel or reject your bid. The auction agents and Treasury will rely on your bid in setting the public offering price and in sending notices of acceptance to successful bidders. As a result, you will be responsible for paying for all of the Preferred Shares that are finally allocated to you at the public offering price.

You should carefully review the procedures of, and communications from, the institution through which you bid to purchase Preferred Shares.

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Auction Process Developments

You should keep in contact with the institution through which your bid has been submitted and monitor your relevant e-mail accounts, telephone and facsimile for notifications related to this offering, which may include:

Potential Request for Reconfirmation. The auction agents, in their sole discretion, may ask you to reconfirm your bid by directly contacting you (or your broker, if you submitted your bid through a broker other than the auction agents), although the auction agents are under no obligation to reconfirm bids for any reason, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. If you are requested to reconfirm a bid and fail to do so in a timely manner, the auction agents may deem your bid to have been withdrawn. The auction agents may, however, choose to accept your bid even if it has not been reconfirmed.

·	Notice of Acceptance. Notification as to whether any of your bids are successful and have been accepted by Treasury. This notification will include the final clearing price. If your bids have been accepted by Treasury, you will be informed about the results of the auction process.

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SELLING SHAREHOLDER

The table below sets forth information concerning the resale of the Preferred Shares by Treasury. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of any Preferred Shares sold by Treasury. Our operations are regulated by various U.S. governmental authorities, including in certain respects by Treasury. Other than through its role as a regulator and the acquisition of the Preferred Shares, Treasury has not held any position or office or had any other material relationship with us or any of our predecessors or affiliates within the past three years.

Treasury acquired the Preferred Shares as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was established pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA”). EESA was enacted into law on October 3, 2008 to restore confidence and stabilize the volatility in the U.S. banking system and to encourage financial institutions to increase their lending to customers and to each other.

The following description was provided by Treasury and is derived from the website of Treasury. Treasury is the executive agency of the United States government responsible for promoting economic prosperity and ensuring the financial security of the United States. Treasury is responsible for a wide range of activities, such as advising the President of the United States on economic and financial issues, encouraging sustainable economic growth and fostering improved governance in financial institutions. Treasury operates and maintains systems that are critical to the nation’s financial infrastructure, such as the production of coin and currency, the disbursement of payments to the American public, revenue collection and the borrowing of funds necessary to run the federal government. Treasury works with other federal agencies, foreign governments, and international financial institutions to encourage global economic growth, raise standards of living and, to the extent possible, predict and prevent economic and financial crises. Treasury also performs a critical and far-reaching role in enhancing national security by implementing economic sanctions against foreign threats to the United States, identifying and targeting the financial support networks of national security threats and improving the safeguards of our financial systems. In addition, under the EESA, Treasury was given certain authority and facilities to restore the liquidity and stability of the financial system.

The doctrine of sovereign immunity, as limited by the FTCA, provides that claims may not be brought against the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof unless specifically permitted by act of Congress. The FTCA bars claims for fraud or misrepresentation. The courts have held, in cases involving federal agencies and instrumentalities, that the United States may assert its sovereign immunity to claims brought under the federal securities laws. Thus, any attempt to assert a claim against Treasury alleging a violation of the federal securities laws, including the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, resulting from an alleged material misstatement in or material omission from this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are a part, or any other act or omission in connection with the offering to which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relate, likely would be barred. In addition, Treasury and its members, officers, agents, and employees are exempt from liability for any violation or alleged violation of the anti-fraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act by virtue of Section 3(c) thereof. The underwriters are not claiming to be agents of Treasury in this offering. Accordingly, any attempt to assert such a claim against the members, officers, agents or employees of Treasury for a violation of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act resulting from an alleged material misstatement in or material omission from this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are a part or resulting from any other act or omission in connection with the offering to which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relates likely would be barred. See “Risk Factors – Treasury is a federal agency and your ability to bring a claim against Treasury under the federal securities laws in connection with a purchase of Preferred Shares may be limited.”

The table below sets forth information with respect to the number of Preferred Shares beneficially owned by Treasury as of March 26, 2012, the number of Preferred Shares being offered by Treasury in this offering,

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and the number of Preferred Shares to be beneficially owned by Treasury after this offering, assuming all the Preferred Shares offered by Treasury in this offering are sold. The percentages below are calculated based on 124,000 Preferred Shares issued and outstanding as of March 26, 2012.

	Beneficial Ownership Prior to the Offering(1)(2)							Beneficial Ownership After the Offering
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner	Number of Preferred Shares Beneficially Owned(1)		Percent			Preferred Shares Being Offered		Number of Preferred Shares Beneficially Owned(1)(2)		Percent
United States Department of the Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20220		124,000		100	%		124,000		0		0	%

_________________

(1)	In accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act, a person is deemed to be the beneficial owner, for purposes of this table, of any Preferred Shares over which such person has voting or investment power and of which such person has the right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days.
(2)	Treasury also owns a warrant to purchase 243,998 of the shares of our common stock.

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U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

The following discussion summarizes the material U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable to “U.S. holders” and “non-U.S. holders” (each as defined below) with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Preferred Shares. This summary is based upon current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time (the “Code”), Treasury regulations and judicial and administrative authority, all of which are subject to differing interpretations or change, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary is limited to investors who will hold the Preferred Shares as capital assets and does not discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be important to particular investors in light of their individual circumstances. This discussion does not address the tax consequences to investors who are subject to special tax rules, such as banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, governments and governmental entities, broker-dealers, partnerships and their partners, tax-exempt organizations, investors that will hold the Preferred Shares as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion, constructive sale, or other integrated security transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, U.S. expatriates, or U.S. holders that have a functional currency that is not the U.S. dollar, all of whom may be subject to tax rules that differ significantly from those summarized below. In addition, this summary does not address any alternative minimum tax consequences or any state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences. Each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal, state, local, and non-U.S. income and other tax considerations of the purchase, ownership, and disposition of the Preferred Shares.

For purposes of this summary, you are a “U.S. holder” if you are a beneficial owner of the Preferred Shares and you are for U.S. federal income tax purposes (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust if it (A) is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person. You are a “non-U.S. holder” if you are a beneficial owner of the Preferred Shares that is an individual, corporation, estate or trust that is not a U.S. holder.

If a partnership (including any other entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is a holder of the Preferred Shares, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partnership or a partner of a partnership holding Preferred Shares, you should consult your own tax advisors as to the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Preferred Shares.

U.S. Holders

Distributions on the Preferred Shares. In general, if distributions are made with respect to the Preferred Shares, the distributions will be treated as dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Any portion of a distribution in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits is treated first as a nontaxable return of capital reducing your tax basis in the Preferred Shares. Any amount in excess of your tax basis is treated as capital gain, the tax treatment of which is discussed below under “Sale or Redemptions of the Preferred Shares.”

Dividends received by individual holders of the Preferred Shares will generally be subject to a reduced maximum tax rate of 15% if such dividends are treated as “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The rate reduction does not apply to dividends that are paid to individual stockholders with respect to Preferred Shares that are held for 60 days or less during the 121-day period beginning on the date which is 60 days before the date on which the Preferred Shares become ex-dividend. Furthermore, the rate reduction does not apply to dividends received to the extent that an individual holder elects to treat the dividends as “investment income” for purposes of determining the holder’s limit for the deduction of

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investment interest under Section 163(d) of the Code. The 15% dividend rate is scheduled to expire December 31, 2012, at which time the rate will revert back to ordinary income rates previously in effect and applicable to dividends unless the Code is amended to provide for a different rate. In addition, under the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, dividends received after December 31, 2012 by U.S. holders that are individuals could be subject to the 3.8% tax on net investment income. You should consult your own tax advisors regarding the implications of these rules in light of your particular circumstances.

Dividends received by corporate holders of the Preferred Shares may be eligible for a dividends received deduction equal to 70% of the amount of the distribution, subject to applicable limitations, including limitations related to “debt financed portfolio stock” under Section 246A of the Code and to the holding period requirements of Section 246 of the Code. In addition, any amount received by a corporate holder that is treated as a dividend may, depending on the circumstances, constitute an “extraordinary dividend” subject to the provisions of Section 1059 of the Code (except as may otherwise be provided in Treasury regulations yet to be promulgated). Under Section 1059, a corporate holder that has held shares for two years or less before the dividend announcement date generally must reduce the tax basis of all of the holder’s shares (but not below zero) by the “non-taxed portion” of any “extraordinary dividend” and, if the non-taxed portion exceeds the holder’s tax basis for the shares, must treat any excess as gain from the sale or exchange of the shares in the year the payment is received. Individual holders of Preferred Shares that receive any “extraordinary dividends” that are treated as “qualified dividend income” (as discussed above) will be required to treat any losses on the sale of such Preferred Shares as long-term capital losses to the extent of such dividends. We strongly encourage you to consult your own tax advisor regarding the extent, if any, to which these provisions may apply to you in light of your particular facts and circumstances.

Sale or Redemption of the Preferred Shares. On the sale or exchange of the Preferred Shares to a party other than us, you generally will realize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between (a) the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property you receive on the sale and (b) your tax basis in the Preferred Shares. We strongly encourage you to consult your own tax advisors regarding applicable rates, holding periods and netting rules for capital gains and losses in light of your particular facts and circumstances. Certain limitations exist on the deduction of capital losses by both corporate and non-corporate taxpayers.

On the redemption of Preferred Shares by us, your surrender of the Preferred Shares for the redemption proceeds will be treated either as a payment received upon sale or exchange of the Preferred Shares or as a distribution with respect to all of your equity interests in us. Resolution of this issue will turn on the application of Section 302 of the Code to your individual facts and circumstances.

The redemption will be treated as gain or loss from the sale or exchange of Preferred Shares (as discussed above) if:

·	the redemption is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to you within the meaning of Section 302(b)(2) of the Code;

·	your interest in the Preferred Shares and any other equity interest in us is completely terminated (within the meaning of Section 302(b)(3) of the Code) as a result of such redemption; or

·	the redemption is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” (within the meaning of Section 302(b)(1) of the Code). In general, redemption proceeds are “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” if the redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of your interest in the issuer.

In determining whether any of these tests has been met, you must take into account not only the Preferred Shares and other equity interests in us that you actually own, but also shares and other equity interests that you constructively own within the meaning of Section 318 of the Code.

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If none of the above tests giving rise to sale or exchange treatment is satisfied, then a payment made in redemption of the Preferred Shares will be treated as a distribution that is subject to the tax treatment described above under “Distributions on the Preferred Shares.” The amount of the distribution will be equal to the amount of cash and the fair market value of property you receive without any offset for your tax basis in the Preferred Shares. Your tax basis in the redeemed Preferred Shares should be transferred to your remaining Preferred Shares. If, however, you have no remaining Preferred Shares, your basis could be lost.

Any redemption proceeds that are attributable to any declared but unpaid dividends on the Preferred Shares will generally be subject to the rules described above under “U.S. Holders - Distributions on the Preferred Shares.”

We strongly encourage you to consult your own tax advisor regarding: (a) whether a redemption payment will qualify for sale or exchange treatment under Section 302 of the Code or, alternatively, will be characterized as a distribution; and (b) the resulting tax consequences to you in light of your individual facts and circumstances.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. Information reporting will generally apply to noncorporate U.S. holders with respect to payments of dividends on the Preferred Shares and to certain payments of proceeds on the sale or other disposition of the Preferred Shares. Certain noncorporate U.S. holders may be subject to U.S. backup withholding (currently at a rate of 28%) on payments of dividends on the Preferred Shares and certain payments of proceeds on the sale or other disposition of the Preferred Shares unless the beneficial owner of the Preferred Shares furnishes the payor or its agent with a taxpayer identification number, certified under penalties of perjury, and certain other information, or otherwise establishes, in the manner prescribed by law, an exemption from backup withholding.

U.S. backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be allowed as a credit against a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, which may entitle the U.S. holder to a refund, provided the U.S. holder timely furnishes the required information to the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”).

Non-U.S. Holders

Distributions on the Preferred Shares. Distributions treated as dividends as described above under “U.S. Holders – Distributions on the Preferred Shares” paid to a non-U.S. holder of the Preferred Shares will generally be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However, distributions that are effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. holder of a trade or business within the United States are not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied. Instead, such distributions are subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder were a United States person as defined under the Code, unless an applicable income tax treaty provides otherwise. Any such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

For purposes of obtaining a reduced rate of withholding under an income tax treaty or an exemption from withholding for dividends effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business, a non-U.S. holder will generally be required to provide a U.S. taxpayer identification number as well as certain information concerning the holder’s country of residence and entitlement to tax benefits. A non-U.S. holder can generally meet the certification requirements by providing a properly executed IRS Form W-8BEN (if the holder is claiming the benefits of an income tax treaty) or Form W-8ECI (if the dividends are effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States) or suitable substitute form.

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Sale or Redemption of the Preferred Shares. A non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax on gain realized on the sale, exchange, redemption (except as discussed below) or other disposition of the Preferred Shares except for (i) certain non-resident alien individuals that are present in the United States for 183 or more days in the taxable year of the sale or disposition, (ii) gain that is effectively connected with the conduct by the non-U.S. holder of a trade or business within the United States (and, if a tax treaty applies, is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-U.S. holder in the United States), (iii) non-U.S. holders that are subject to tax pursuant to certain provisions of U.S. federal income tax law applicable to certain expatriates, and (iv) gain if we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

We would not be treated as a “United States real property holding corporation” if less than 50% of our assets throughout a prescribed testing period consist of interests in real property located within the United States, excluding, for this purpose, interest in real property solely in a capacity as a creditor. To the extent that we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes and a non-U.S. holder was not eligible for a treaty exemption, any gain on the sale of our Preferred Shares would be treated as effectively connected with a trade or business within the United States and the purchaser of the stock could be required to withhold 10% of the purchase price and remit such amount to the IRS. Gain that is treated as effectively connected with a trade or business within the United States will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-U.S. holder was a United States person as defined under the Code, unless an applicable income tax treaty provides otherwise. Any such effectively connected income received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

We believe that we are not currently and do not anticipate becoming a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

A payment made to a non-U.S. holder in redemption of the Preferred Shares may be treated as a dividend, rather than as a payment in exchange for such stock, in the circumstances discussed above under “U.S. Holders – Sale or Redemption of the Preferred Shares,” in which event such payment would be subject to tax as discussed above under “–Distributions on the Preferred Shares.” Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors to determine the proper tax treatment of any payment received in redemption of the Preferred Shares.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. Information returns will be filed with the IRS reporting payments of dividends on the Preferred Shares and the amount of tax, if any, withheld with respect to those payments. Copies of information returns reporting such dividends and withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which a non-U.S. holder resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty. Unless the non-U.S. holder complies with certification procedures to establish that it is not a U.S. person, information returns may be filed with the IRS in connection with the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of the Preferred Shares and the non-U.S. holder may be subject to U.S. backup withholding on dividend payments on the Preferred Shares or on the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of the Preferred Shares. Satisfaction of the certification procedures required to claim a reduced rate of withholding under a treaty described above in the section titled “Distributions on the Preferred Shares” will satisfy the certification requirements necessary to avoid backup withholding as well. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a non-U.S. holder will be allowed as a credit against such holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS. Non-U.S. holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of backup withholding in their particular circumstances and the availability of and procedure for obtaining an exemption from backup withholding under current Treasury regulations.

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New Legislation Relating to Foreign Accounts

Legislation enacted in 2010 may impose withholding taxes on certain types of payments made to “foreign financial institutions” and certain other non-U.S. entities after December 31, 2012. The legislation generally imposes a 30% withholding tax on dividends on or gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of Preferred Shares paid to a foreign financial institution unless the foreign financial institution enters into an agreement with the Treasury to among other things, undertake to identify accounts held by certain U.S. persons or U.S.-owned foreign entities, annually report certain information about such accounts, and withhold 30% on payments to account holders whose actions prevent it from complying with these reporting and other requirements. In addition, the legislation generally imposes a 30% withholding tax on the same types of payments to a foreign non-financial entity unless the entity certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner. Under recently issued IRS guidance, these rules generally would apply to payments of dividends on the Preferred Shares made after December 31, 2013, and payments of gross proceeds from a disposition of the Preferred Shares made after December 31, 2014. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding this legislation.

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UNDERWRITING

Treasury is offering the Preferred Shares through Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. as representatives of the several underwriters. The terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, dated March , 2012, govern the sale and purchase of the Preferred Shares. Each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase from Treasury, and Treasury has agreed to sell to such underwriter, the number of Preferred Shares set forth opposite the name of each underwriter below at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.

Underwriter	Number of Preferred Shares
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated
Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P.
Drexel Hamilton, LLC
SL Hare Capital, Inc.
TBC Securities, LLC
Total

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to purchase the Preferred Shares offered hereby are subject to certain conditions precedent and that the underwriters will purchase all of the Preferred Shares that Treasury determines to sell, if any are purchased. The number of Preferred Shares that Treasury may determine to sell will depend, in part, upon the success of the auction process. See “Auction Process — The Auction Process — Pricing and Allocation.”

The underwriters plan to offer the Preferred Shares for sale pursuant to the auction process described above under “Auction Process.” Preferred Shares sold by the underwriters to the public will be sold at the clearing price determined through that auction process plus accrued dividends thereon. During the auction period, bids may be placed for Preferred Shares at any price in increments of $0.01. The offering of the Preferred Shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part. As described under “Auction Process,” Treasury may decide not to sell any Preferred Shares in the auction process, regardless of the clearing price set in the auction process.

The underwriters are committed to purchase and pay for all such Preferred Shares, if any are purchased. The underwriting agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults, the purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may also be increased or this offering may be terminated. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters are conditional and may be terminated at their discretion based on their assessment of the state of the financial markets. The obligations of the underwriters may also be terminated upon the occurrence of the events specified in the underwriting agreement.

The following table shows the per share and total underwriting discounts and commissions that the underwriters will receive and the proceeds Treasury will receive.

Preferred Stock	Per Share	Total
Price to public(1)	$	$
Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by Treasury(2)
Proceeds to Treasury

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______________

(1)	Plus accrued dividends from and including February 15, 2012.
(2)	Treasury has agreed to pay all underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes. We have agreed to pay all transaction fees, if any, applicable to the sale of the Preferred Shares and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for Treasury incurred in connection with this offering.

We estimate that the total expenses of this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes, if any, will be approximately $ and are payable by us.

Restriction on Sales of Securities

We and Treasury have agreed, for the period beginning on and including the date of this prospectus supplement through and including the date that is 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, that we will not, without the prior written consent of the representatives, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of preferred stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, preferred stock or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of preferred stock.

The restrictions described in the immediately preceding paragraph will not apply to sales by Treasury of any of our Preferred Shares back to us. The underwriters may, in their sole discretion and at any time and from time to time, without notice, release all or any portion of the Preferred Shares and other securities from the foregoing restrictions.

Indemnity

We have agreed to indemnify Treasury and the underwriters and persons who control the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of these liabilities.

Stabilization

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions.

Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase Preferred Shares so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum, and are engaged in for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of Preferred Shares while this offering is in progress.

These stabilizing transactions may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our Preferred Shares or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our Preferred Shares. As a result, the price of our Preferred Shares in the open market may be higher than it would otherwise be in the absence of these transactions. Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our Preferred Shares. These transactions may be effected in the open market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

Listing

The Preferred Shares will not be listed for trading on any stock exchange or available for quotation on any national quotation system.

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Selling Restrictions

United Kingdom

Each underwriter shall be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed that:

•

it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the ‘‘FSMA’’)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the Preferred Shares in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to our company; and

•	it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the Preferred Shares in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are only being distributed to, and is only directed at, (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the ‘‘Order’’) or (iii) high net worth companies, unincorporated associations and other persons, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order or (iv) other persons to whom it may be lawfully communicated in accordance with the Order (all such persons together being referred to as ‘‘relevant persons’’). The Preferred Shares are only available to, and investment activity will only be engaged in with, relevant persons. Any person that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or either of their respective contents.

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (the ‘‘EEA’’) that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a ‘‘Relevant Member State’’), an offer to the public of any Preferred Shares that are the subject of the offering contemplated in this prospectus supplement may not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any Preferred Shares may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

(a) at any time to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

(b) at any time to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150 natural or legal persons (other than ‘‘qualified investors,’’ as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters; or

(c) in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of the Preferred Shares shall result in a requirement for us or the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression “an offer to the public of any Preferred Shares” in relation to the Preferred Shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the Preferred Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase the Preferred Shares, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State, the expression ‘‘Prospectus Directive’’ means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State) and includes any relevant

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implementing measure in each Relevant Member State and the expression ‘‘2010 PD Amending Directive’’ means Directive 2010/73/EU.

Conflict of Interest; Other Relationships

From time to time, the underwriters and their affiliates have provided, and may continue to provide, investment banking and other financial advisory services to us in the ordinary course of their businesses, and have received, and may continue to receive, compensation for such services.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the Company. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the Preferred Shares offered by this prospectus supplement and certain other legal matters will be passed upon for us by Breyer & Associates PC, McLean, Virginia. The underwriters are represented by Sidley Austin llp, New York, New York.

EXPERTS

Our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011 have been incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in reliance upon the report of Moss Adams, LLP, registered independent public accountants, incorporated by reference herein and therein and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

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PROSPECTUS

Banner Corporation

124,000 Shares of Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, Liquidation Preference Amount $1,000 Per Share

(or Depositary Shares Evidencing Fractional Interests in Such Shares)

1,707,989 Shares of Common Stock and Warrant to Purchase Such Shares

This prospectus relates to (i)124,000 shares of our Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, liquidation preference amount $1,000 per share, or, in the event such shares are deposited with a depositary, as described in this prospectus, depositary shares evidencing fractional interests in such shares, (ii) a warrant, or portions thereof, which expires on November 21, 2018, to purchase 1,707,989 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.89 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and (iii) the shares of our common stock which may be purchased upon exercise of the warrant. The shares of the Series A Preferred Stock and the warrant were issued by us on November 21, 2008 to the United States Department of the Treasury as part of Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program Capital Purchase Program in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933.

The selling securityholders who may sell or otherwise dispose of the securities offered by this prospectus include Treasury and any other holders of the securities covered by this prospectus to whom Treasury has transferred its registration rights in accordance with the terms of the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury. The selling securityholders may offer the securities from time to time directly or through underwriters, broker-dealers or agents and in one or more public or private transactions and at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. If these securities are sold through underwriters, broker-dealers or agents, the selling securityholders will be responsible for underwriting discounts or commissions or agents’ commissions, if any. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of securities by the selling securityholders.

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BANR.” Neither the Series A Preferred Stock nor the warrant is currently listed on any established securities exchange or quotation system and we do not intend to seek such a listing for these securities unless we are requested to do so by Treasury.

The securities offered by this prospectus are not savings accounts, deposits or other obligations of any bank and are not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Investing in the securities offered by this prospectus involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 3 of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is August 25, 2009.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	iii
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	iii
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	iv
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	1
RISK FACTORS	3
USE OF PROCEEDS	17
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDEND REQUIREMENT	17
REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS	18
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK	19
DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES	23
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANT	23
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK	25
SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS	28
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	29
LEGAL MATTERS	31
EXPERTS	31

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) using a “shelf” registration, or continuous offering, process. Under this process, the selling securityholders may from time to time sell or otherwise dispose of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings.

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any supplement to this prospectus. We have not, and the selling securityholders have not, authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus. The selling securityholders are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, our securities only in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of our securities. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made under this prospectus shall, under any circumstances, create any implication that there has been no change in our affairs since the date of this prospectus or that the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus is correct as of any time subsequent to the date of such information.

All references in this prospectus to “Banner,” “we,” “us,” “our” or similar references mean Banner Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries and all references in this prospectus supplement to “Banner Corporation” mean Banner Corporation excluding its subsidiaries, in each case unless otherwise expressly stated or the context otherwise requires. When we refer to “Banner Bank” and “Islanders Bank” in this prospectus, we mean our subsidiaries, Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, respectively, each of which is a Washington state-chartered commercial bank. We sometimes refer to Banner Bank and Islanders Bank as, collectively, the “Banks” and, individually, a “Bank.”

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would” and “could.” These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including:

the credit risks of lending activities, including changes in the level and trend of loan delinquencies and write-offs, which may be affected by deterioration in the housing and commercial real estate markets, may lead to increased losses and nonperforming assets in our loan portfolio, and may result in our allowance for loan losses not being adequate to cover actual losses and require us to materially increase our reserves, write-down assets, change our regulatory capital position or affect our ability to borrow funds or maintain or increase deposits, which could adversely affect our liquidity or earnings;

·	changes in general economic conditions, either nationally or in our market areas;

·	changes in the levels of general interest rates and the relative differences between short and long-term interest rates, deposit interest rates, our net interest margin and funding sources;

·	fluctuations in the demand for loans and in real estate values in our market areas;

·	changes as a result of regulatory exams and/or agreements with our regulators, including the possibility that any such regulatory authority may, among other things, require us to increase our reserve for loan losses or to write-down assets or impose restrictions on the operation of our business;

·	fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices, crop yields and weather conditions;

·	our ability to control operating costs and expenses, including further FDIC insurance premiums and possible shared-risk assessments for Washington and Oregon public funds deposits;

iii

·	the use of estimates in determining fair value of certain of our assets, which estimates may prove to be incorrect or result in significant declines in valuation;

·	difficulties in reducing risk associated with the loans on our balance sheet;

·	our ability to implement our branch expansion strategy;

·	our ability to successfully integrate any assets, liabilities, customers, systems, and management personnel we have acquired or may in the future acquire into our operations and our ability to realize any anticipated revenue synergies and cost savings within expected time frames;

·	our ability to manage loan delinquency rates;

·	our ability to retain key members of our senior management team;

·	costs and effects of litigation, including settlements and judgments;

·	increased competitive pressures among financial services companies;

·	changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits;

·	legislative or regulatory changes that adversely affect our business;

·	adverse changes in the securities markets;

·	inability of key third-party providers to perform their obligations to us;

·	changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the financial institution regulatory agencies or the Financial Accounting Standards Board;

·	war or terrorist activities; and

·	other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory, and technological factors affecting our operations, pricing, products and services and the other risks described elsewhere in this prospectus and the incorporated documents and in our other filings with the SEC.

Some of these and other factors are discussed in this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus and in the incorporated documents. Such developments could have an adverse impact on our financial position and our results of operations.

Any forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking statements discussed in this prospectus or the incorporated documents might not occur, and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Accordingly, we file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any reports, statements or other information that we may file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the SEC’s Internet site is http://www.sec.gov.

The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference the information we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information that we incorporate by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and the information we later file with the SEC that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus will automatically update information previously contained in this prospectus and any incorporated document. Any statement contained in this prospectus or in a document incorporated by reference in this prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded to the extent that a later statement contained in this prospectus or in an incorporated document modifies or supersedes such earlier statement.

This prospectus incorporates by reference the documents listed below that we have filed with the SEC (excluding any portion of any such document that has been furnished to and deemed not to be filed with the SEC):


Report(s)		Period(s) of Report(s) or Date(s) Filed
• Annual Report on Form 10-K		For the year ended December 31, 2008

• Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q		For the quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2009

We incorporate by reference these documents and any future documents we may file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, excluding any document or portion thereof that has been furnished to and deemed not to be filed with the SEC.

These documents are available without charge to you on the Internet at http://www.bannerbank.com or if you call or write to: Investor Relations, Banner Corporation, P.O. Box 907, Walla Walla, Washington 99362, telephone: (800) 272-9933. The reference to our website is not intended to be an active link and the information on our website is not, and you must not consider the information to be, a part of this prospectus.

We have also filed a registration statement with the SEC relating to the securities offered by this prospectus. This prospectus, which constitutes part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information presented or incorporated by reference in the registration statement and its exhibits. You may obtain from the SEC a copy of the registration statement and exhibits that we filed with the SEC as described above. The registration statement may contain additional information that may be important to you.

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. As a result, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you or that you should consider before investing in our securities. You should read this entire prospectus, including the “Risk Factors” section, and the documents incorporated by reference, which are described under “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus.

Banner Corporation

Banner Corporation is a bank holding company incorporated in the State of Washington. We are primarily engaged in the business of planning, directing and coordinating the business activities of our wholly owned subsidiaries, Banner Bank and Islanders Bank. Banner Bank is a Washington-chartered commercial bank that conducts business from its main office in Walla Walla, Washington and, as of June 30, 2009, its 84 branch offices and 8 loan production offices located in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Islanders Bank is also a Washington-chartered commercial bank that we acquired in May 2007 and that conducts business from three locations in San Juan County, Washington. Banner Corporation is subject to regulation by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Federal Reserve”). Banner Bank and Islanders Bank are subject to regulation by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). The primary source of liquidity for us is dividend payments from Banner Bank and to a substantially lesser extent dividend payments from Islanders Bank. Banner Bank and Islanders Bank are subject to certain legal restrictions on their ability to pay dividends or make loans or advances to us. For information about these restrictions, please see “Regulatory Considerations” in this prospectus and “Item 1. Business—Regulation” and note 20 to our consolidated financial statements contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, which has been filed with the SEC and is available as described under “Where You Can Find More Information.”

As of June 30, 2009, we had total consolidated assets of $4.5 billion, total loans of $3.8 billion, total deposits of $3.7 billion and total stockholders’ equity of $409.5 million.

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “BANR.” Our principal executive offices are located at 10 South First Avenue, Walla Walla, Washington 99362-0265. Our telephone number is (509) 527-3636.

Securities Being Offered

On November 21, 2008, pursuant to the Troubled Asset Relief Program Capital Purchase Program of the United States Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), we sold to Treasury 124,000 shares of our Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), liquidation preference amount $1,000 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $124.0 million, and concurrently issued to Treasury a ten-year warrant to purchase up to 1,707,989 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.89 per share. The issuance of the Series A Preferred Stock and the warrant were completed in a private placement to Treasury exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. We were required under the terms of the related securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury to register for resale the shares of the Series A Preferred Stock, the warrant and the shares of our common stock underlying the warrant. This registration includes depositary shares, representing fractional interests in the Series A Preferred Stock, which may be resold pursuant to this prospectus in lieu of whole shares of Series A Preferred Stock in the event Treasury requests that we deposit the Series A Preferred Stock held by Treasury with a depositary under a depositary arrangement entered into in accordance with the securities purchase agreement. See “Description of Depositary Shares.” The terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, the warrant and our common stock are described under “Description of Series A Preferred Stock,” “Description of Warrant,” and “Description of Capital Stock.” The securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury is included as Exhibit 4.2 to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and is incorporated into this prospectus by reference. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities is subject to certain risks. You should carefully review the following risk factors and other information contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference, before deciding whether an investment in our securities is suited to your particular circumstances. The risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, results of operations and financial condition could suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements.

Risks Relating to Banner

Difficult economic and market conditions have adversely affected our industry.

We are particularly exposed to downturns in the U.S. housing market and general economic conditions. Dramatic declines in the housing market over the past year, with falling home prices and increasing foreclosures, unemployment and under-employment, have negatively impacted the credit performance of mortgage loans and resulted in significant write-downs of asset values by financial institutions, including government-sponsored entities, major commercial and investment banks, and regional financial institutions like us. Reflecting concern about the stability of the financial markets generally and the strength of counterparties, many lenders and institutional investors have reduced or ceased providing funding to borrowers, including to other financial institutions. This market turmoil and tightening of credit have led to an increased level of commercial and consumer delinquencies, lack of consumer confidence, increased market volatility and widespread reduction of business activity generally. The resulting economic pressure on consumers and lack of confidence in the financial markets have adversely affected our business, financial condition and results of operations. We do not expect that the difficult conditions in the economy and financial markets are likely to improve in the near future. A worsening of these conditions would likely exacerbate the adverse effects of these difficult market conditions on us and others in the financial institutions industry. In particular, we may face the following risks in connection with these events:

·	We potentially face increased regulation of our industry. Compliance with such regulation may increase our costs and limit our ability to pursue business opportunities.

·	Continued economic weakness may result in increased delinquencies and defaults in our loan portfolio, which would adversely affect our operating results.

The process we use to estimate losses inherent in our credit exposure requires difficult, subjective and complex judgments, including forecasts of economic conditions and how these economic conditions might impair the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans. The level of uncertainty concerning economic conditions may adversely affect the accuracy of our estimates which may, in turn, impact the reliability of the process.

·	Competition in our industry could intensify as a result of the increasing consolidation of financial services companies in connection with current market conditions.

·	We may be required to pay significantly higher FDIC premiums because market developments have significantly depleted the insurance fund of the FDIC and reduced the ratio of reserves to insured deposits.

Recently enacted legislation and other measures undertaken by the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and other governmental agencies may not be successful in stabilizing the U.S. financial system or improving the housing market.

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. On October 3, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA”) which, among other measures, authorized the Treasury Secretary to establish the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). The EESA gives broad authority to the Treasury to purchase, manage, modify, sell and insure the troubled mortgage related assets that triggered the current economic crisis as well as other troubled assets. The EESA includes additional provisions directed at bolstering the economy, including: authority for the Federal Reserve to pay interest on depository institution balances; mortgage loss mitigation and homeowner protection; temporary increase in FDIC insurance coverage from $100,000 to $250,000 through December

31, 2009; and authority for the Securities and Exchange Commission to suspend mark-to-market accounting requirements for any issuer or class for a specific category of transactions.

The EESA followed numerous actions by the Federal Reserve, Congress, Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and others to address the current liquidity and credit crisis that has followed the sub-prime meltdown that commenced in 2007. These measures include homeowner relief that encourages loan restructuring and modification; the establishment of significant liquidity and credit facilities for financial institutions and investment banks; the repeated lowering of the federal funds rate; emergency action against short selling practices; a temporary guaranty program for money market funds; the establishment of a commercial paper funding facility to provide back-stop liquidity to commercial paper issuers; coordinated international efforts to address illiquidity and other weaknesses in the banking sector.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Service has issued an unprecedented wave of guidance in response to the credit crisis, including a relaxation of limits on the ability of financial institutions that undergo an ownership change to utilize their pre-change net operating losses and net unrealized built-in losses. The relaxation of these limits may make significantly more attractive the acquisition of financial institutions whose tax basis in their loan portfolios significantly exceeds the fair market value of those portfolios.

Moreover, on October 14, 2008, the FDIC announced the establishment of a TLGP to provide full deposit insurance for all non-interest bearing transaction accounts and guarantees of particular newly issued senior unsecured debt issued by FDIC insured institutions and their holding companies. Under the program, the FDIC will guarantee timely payment of newly issued senior unsecured debt issued on or before October 31, 2009. The guarantee on debt issued before April 1, 2009, will expire no later than June 30, 2012. The guarantee on debt issued on or after April 1, 2009, will expire not later than December 31, 2012. The Bank has elected to participate in the TLGP.

The actual impact that EESA and such related measures undertaken to alleviate the credit crisis, including the extreme levels of volatility and limited credit availability currently being experienced, is unknown. The failure of such measures to help stabilize the financial markets and a continuation or worsening of current financial market conditions could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, access to credit or the trading price of our common stock.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) into law. The ARRA is intended to revive the U.S. economy by creating new jobs while reducing home foreclosures. In addition, the ARRA significantly expanded the original executive compensation and corporate governance provisions of Section 111 of the EESA, which pertains to financial institutions that have received or will receive financial assistance under TARP or related programs. The additional standards and restrictions imposed on us by the ARRA could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain management and other personnel of the highest quality and, consequently, our ability to compete effectively with other financial institutions that are not subject to these standards and restrictions.

Current levels of market volatility are unprecedented.

The capital and credit markets have been experiencing volatility and disruption for more than a year. In recent months, the volatility and disruption has reached unprecedented levels. In some cases, the markets have produced downward pressure on stock prices and credit availability for certain issuers without regard to those issuers’ underlying financial strength. If current levels of market disruption and volatility continue or worsen, our ability to access capital and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Our profitability depends significantly on economic conditions in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Our success depends primarily on the general economic conditions of the States of Washington, Oregon and Idaho and the specific local markets in which we operate. Unlike larger national or other regional banks that are more geographically diversified, we provide banking and financial services to customers located primarily in these three states. The local economic conditions in our market areas have a significant impact on the demand for our products and services as well as the ability of our customers to repay loans, the value of the collateral securing loans and the stability of our deposit funding sources. Adverse economic conditions unique to these Northwest markets

could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, a significant decline in general economic conditions, caused by inflation, recession, acts of terrorism, outbreak of hostilities or other international or domestic occurrences, unemployment, changes in securities markets, increases in credit costs or other factors could impact these state and local markets and, in turn, also have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Beginning in 2007 and continuing throughout 2008 and the first half of 2009, the housing market in the United States has experienced significant adverse trends, including accelerated price depreciation in some markets and rising delinquency and default rates. As a result of these trends, we experienced an increase in delinquency and default rates particularly on construction and land loans in our primary market areas. These trends if they continue or worsen could cause further credit losses and loan loss provisioning and could adversely affect our earnings and financial condition.

Weakness in the Washington, Oregon or Idaho real estate markets could hurt our business. Our business activities and credit exposure are primarily concentrated in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. While we did not participate in any sub-prime loan programs, our construction and land loan portfolios, our commercial and multifamily loan portfolios and certain of our other loans have been affected by the downturn in the residential real estate market. Substantially all of our loan portfolio consists of loans secured by real estate located in Washington, Oregon or Idaho. During the second half of 2008 and continuing in 2009, evidence of this downturn became more apparent in certain of the Washington, Oregon and Idaho markets we serve. If real estate values continue to decline, especially in Washington, Oregon or Idaho, the collateral for our loans will provide less security. As a result, our ability to recover on defaulted loans by selling the underlying real estate will be diminished, and we would be more likely to suffer losses on defaulted loans. The events and conditions described in this risk factor could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be required to make further increases in our provisions for loan losses and to charge off additional loans in the future, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

We are experiencing increasing loan delinquencies and credit losses and we substantially increased our provision for loan losses during 2008 and the first half of 2009, which adversely affected our results of operations. With the exception of residential construction and land development loans, non performing loans and assets generally reflect unique operating difficulties for individual borrowers rather than weakness in the overall economy of the Pacific Northwest; however, more recently the weak pace of general economic activity has become a significant contributing factor. Slower sales and excess inventory in certain housing markets have been the primary cause of the increase in delinquencies and foreclosures for residential construction and land development loans, which represented approximately 77% of our non-performing assets as of June 30, 2009. Further, our portfolio is concentrated in construction and land loans and commercial and multi-family loans, all of which have a higher risk of loss than residential mortgage loans. If current trends in the housing and real estate markets continue, we expect that we will continue to experience higher than normal delinquencies and credit losses. Moreover, if the current recession is prolonged, we expect that it could severely impact economic conditions in our market areas and that we could experience significantly higher delinquencies and credit losses. As a result, we may be required to make further increases in our provision for loan losses and to charge off additional loans in the future, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Recent negative developments in the financial industry and credit markets may continue to adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Negative developments beginning in the latter half of 2007 in the sub-prime mortgage market and the securitization markets for such loans, together with other factors, have resulted in uncertainty in the financial markets in general and a related general economic downturn throughout 2008 and into 2009. Many lending institutions, including us, have experienced substantial declines in the performance of their loans, including construction and land loans, multifamily loans, commercial loans and consumer loans. Moreover, competition among depository institutions for deposits and quality loans has increased significantly. In addition, the values of real estate collateral supporting many construction and land, commercial and multifamily and other commercial loans and home mortgages have declined and may continue to decline. Bank and bank holding company stock prices have been negatively affected, as has the ability of banks and bank holding companies to raise capital or borrow in

the debt markets compared to recent years. These conditions have had and may have a further material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, as a result of the foregoing factors, there is a potential for new federal or state laws and regulations regarding lending and funding practices and liquidity standards, and bank regulatory agencies are expected to be very aggressive in responding to concerns and trends identified in examinations, including the expected issuance of formal enforcement orders. Further negative developments in the financial industry and the impact of new legislation in response to those developments could restrict our business operations, including our ability to originate or sell loans, and adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Liquidity risk could impair our ability to fund operations and jeopardize our financial condition.

Liquidity is essential to our business. An inability to raise funds through deposits, borrowings, the sale of loans and other sources could have a substantial negative effect on our liquidity. Our access to funding sources in amounts adequate to finance our activities on terms which are acceptable to us could be impaired by factors that affect us specifically or the financial services industry or economy in general. Factors that could detrimentally impact our access to liquidity sources include a decrease in the level of our business activity as a result of a downturn in the Washington, Oregon or Idaho markets in which our loans are concentrated or adverse regulatory action against us. Our ability to borrow could also be impaired by factors that are not specific to us, such as a disruption in the financial markets or negative views and expectations about the prospects for the financial services industry in light of the recent turmoil faced by banking organizations and the continued deterioration in credit markets. In addition, recent changes in the collateralization requirements and other provisions of the Washington and Oregon public funds deposit programs have changed the economic benefit associated with accepting public funds deposits, which may affect our need to utilize alternative sources of liquidity.

We may elect or be compelled to seek additional capital in the future, but that capital may not be available when it is needed.

We are required by federal and state regulatory authorities to maintain adequate levels of capital to support our operations. In addition, we may elect to raise additional capital to support our business or to finance acquisitions, if any, or we may otherwise elect or be required to raise additional capital. In that regard, a number of financial institutions have recently raised considerable amounts of capital to address a deterioration in their results of operations and financial condition arising from the turmoil in the mortgage loan market, deteriorating economic conditions, declines in real estate values and other factors. Should we be required by regulatory authorities to raise additional capital, we may seek to do so through the issuance of, among other things, our common stock or preferred stock.

Our ability to raise additional capital, if needed, will depend on conditions in the capital markets, economic conditions and a number of other factors, many of which are outside our control, and on our financial performance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of our ability to raise additional capital if needed or on terms acceptable to us. If we cannot raise additional capital when needed, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If our allowance for loan losses is not sufficient to cover actual loan losses, our earnings could be reduced.

We make various assumptions and judgments about the collectibility of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of many of our loans. In determining the amount of the allowance for loan losses, we review our loans and the loss and delinquency experience, and evaluate economic conditions. Management recognizes that significant new growth in loan portfolios, new loan products and the refinancing of existing loans can result in portfolios comprised of unseasoned loans that may not perform in a historical or projected manner. If our assumptions are incorrect, the allowance for loan losses may not be sufficient to cover losses inherent in our loan portfolio, resulting in the need for additions to our allowance through an increase in the provision for loan losses. Material additions to the allowance or increases in our provision for loan losses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, bank regulators periodically review our allowance for loan losses and may require us to increase our provision for loan losses or recognize further loan charge-offs. Any increase in our allowance for loan losses or loan charge-offs as required by these regulatory authorities may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The maturity and repricing characteristics of our assets and liabilities are mismatched and subject us to interest rate risk which could adversely affect our net earnings and economic value.

Our financial condition and operations are influenced significantly by general economic conditions, including the absolute level of interest rates, as well as changes in interest rates and the slope of the yield curve. Our profitability is dependent to a large extent on our net interest income, which is the difference between the interest received from our interest-earning assets and the interest expense incurred on our interest-bearing liabilities. Significant changes in market interest rates or errors or misjudgments in our interest rate risk management procedures could have a material adverse effect on our net earnings and economic value. We currently believe that declining interest rates will adversely affect our near-term net earnings.

Our activities, like other financial institutions, inherently involve the assumption of interest rate risk. Interest rate risk is the risk that changes in market interest rates will have an adverse impact on our earnings and underlying economic value. Interest rate risk is determined by the maturity and repricing characteristics of our assets, liabilities and off-balance-sheet contracts. Interest rate risk is measured by the variability of financial performance and economic value resulting from changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is the primary market risk affecting our financial performance.

We believe that the greatest source of interest rate risk to us results from the mismatch of maturities or repricing intervals for our rate sensitive assets, liabilities and off-balance-sheet contracts. This mismatch, or “gap,” is generally characterized by a substantially shorter maturity structure for interest-bearing liabilities than interest-earning assets. Additional interest rate risk results from mismatched repricing indices and formulae (basis risk and yield curve risk), and product caps and floors and early repayment or withdrawal provisions (option risk), which may be contractual or market driven, that are generally more favorable to customers than to us.

Our primary monitoring tool for assessing interest rate risk is asset/liability simulation modeling, which is designed to capture the dynamics of balance sheet, interest rate and spread movements and to quantify variations in net interest income and net market value of equity resulting from those movements under different rate environments. We update and prepare our simulation modeling at least quarterly for review by senior management and our directors. We believe the data and assumptions are realistic representations of our portfolio and possible outcomes under the various interest rate scenarios. Nonetheless, the interest rate sensitivity of our net interest income and net market value of our equity could vary substantially if different assumptions were used or if actual experience differs from the assumptions used and, as a result, our interest rate risk management strategies may prove to be inadequate.

Our loan portfolio is concentrated in loans with a higher risk of loss.

We originate construction and land loans, commercial and multifamily mortgage loans, commercial business loans, consumer loans, agricultural mortgage loans and agricultural loans as well as residential mortgage loans primarily within our market areas. Generally, these types of loans, other than the residential mortgage loans, have a higher risk of loss than the residential mortgage loans. We had approximately $3.3 billion outstanding in these types of higher risk loans at June 30, 2009, which represented approximately 83% of our total portfolio. These loans have greater credit risk than residential real estate loans for a number of reasons, including those described below:

Construction and Land Loans. This type of lending contains the inherent difficulty in estimating both a property’s value at completion of the project and the estimated cost (including interest) of the project. If the estimate of construction cost proves to be inaccurate, we may be required to advance funds beyond the amount originally committed to permit completion of the project. If the estimate of value upon completion proves to be inaccurate, we may be confronted at, or prior to, the maturity of the loan with a project the value of which is insufficient to assure full repayment. In addition, speculative construction

loans to a builder are often associated with homes that are not pre-sold, and thus pose a greater potential risk to us than construction loans to individuals on their personal residences. Loans on land under development or held for future construction also pose additional risk because of the lack of income being produced by the property and the potential illiquid nature of the security. These risks can be significantly impacted by supply and demand conditions. As a result, this type of lending often involves the disbursement of substantial funds with repayment dependent on the success of the ultimate project and the ability of the borrower to sell or lease the property, rather than the ability of the borrower or guarantor to repay principal and interest. During the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, we significantly increased our origination of construction and land loans. While new construction and land loan originations decreased by approximately 35% in 2007 and an additional 59% in 2008, we continue to have a significant investment in construction and land loan balances. Most of our construction loans are for the construction of single family residences and most of our land loans are for properties ultimately intended to be improved with single family residences.

Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Loans. These loans typically involve higher principal amounts than other types of loans, and repayment is dependent upon income being generated from the property securing the loan in amounts sufficient to cover operating expenses and debt service, which may be adversely affected by changes in the economy or local market conditions. Commercial and multifamily mortgage loans also expose a lender to greater credit risk than loans secured by residential real estate because the collateral securing these loans typically may not be sold as easily as residential real estate. In addition, many of our commercial and multifamily real estate loans are not fully amortizing and contain large balloon payments upon maturity. Such balloon payments may require the borrower to either sell or refinance the underlying property in order to make the payment, which may increase the risk of default or non-payment, which risk is exacerbated in this current environment.

Commercial Business Loans. Our commercial loans are primarily made based on the cash flow of the borrower and secondarily on the underlying collateral provided by the borrower. The borrowers’ cash flow may be unpredictable, and collateral securing these loans may fluctuate in value. Most often, this collateral is accounts receivable, inventory, equipment or real estate. In the case of loans secured by accounts receivable, the availability of funds for the repayment of these loans may be substantially dependent on the ability of the borrower to collect amounts due from its customers. Other collateral securing loans may depreciate over time, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based on the success of the business.

Agricultural Loans. Repayment is dependent upon the successful operation of the business, which is greatly dependent on many things outside the control of either us or the borrowers. These factors include weather, commodity prices and interest rates, among others. Collateral securing these loans may be difficult to evaluate, manage or liquidate and may not provide an adequate source of repayment.

Consumer Loans. Consumer loans (such as personal lines of credit) are collateralized, if at all, with assets that may not provide an adequate source of payment of the loan due to depreciation, damage, or loss. In addition, consumer loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and thus are more likely to be adversely affected by job loss, divorce, illness or personal bankruptcy. Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws, including federal and state bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount that can be recovered on these loans.

We may face risks with respect to our recent acquisitions and future expansion.

We completed three bank acquisitions in 2007 and may acquire other financial institutions or parts of those institutions in the future. We also plan to continue to engage in additional de novo branch expansion although at a slower pace than in 2007. We may also consider and enter into new lines of business or offer new products or services. These activities involve a number of risks, including:

·	the time and costs associated with identifying and evaluating potential acquisitions and merger partners;

·	the estimates and judgments used to evaluate credit, operations, management and market risks with respect to the target institution may not be accurate;

·	the time and costs of evaluating new markets, hiring experienced local management and opening new offices, and the time lags between these activities and the generation of sufficient assets and deposits to support the costs of the expansion;

·	our ability to finance an acquisition and possible dilution to our existing shareholders;

·	the diversion of our management’s attention to the negotiation of a transaction, and the integration of the operations and personnel of the acquired businesses;

·	entry into new markets where we lack experience;

·	the introduction of new products and services into our business;

·	the incurrence and possible impairment of goodwill associated with an acquisition and possible adverse short-term effects on our results of operations; and

·	the risk of loss of key employees and customers.

We may incur substantial costs to acquire other companies, businesses or assets in the future, and the results of any such acquisition may not meet our expectations or enhance our results of operations. We may also incur substantial expenses integrating the operations of any acquired company, business or assets with our existing operations. In that regard, although we have no current integration plans, Islanders Bank, which we acquired in 2007, is currently utilizing the same accounting and financial systems that it had in place prior to the time of the acquisition, and we will incur expenses, which could be substantial, should we choose to migrate Islanders Bank to our accounting and financial systems. Also, we may issue equity securities, including common stock and securities convertible into shares of our common stock, in connection with future acquisitions, which could cause ownership and economic dilution to our current shareholders and to investors purchasing common stock.

If we are not able to achieve profitability on new branches it will negatively affect our results of operations.

We have expanded our presence throughout our market area, and although the pace of our de novo branch expansion slowed considerably in 2008, we intend to pursue further expansion by opening additional new branches. The success of our expansion strategy will depend on whether the revenue that we generate from the new branches will exceed the increased expenses resulting from operating these branches. Largely as a result of this de novo branching strategy, our operating expenses have increased significantly, adversely affecting our operating efficiency. As a result, our efficiency ratio, which is the ratio of non-interest expense to net interest income and other income, is higher than many of our competitor institutions. We expect that it may take a period of time before certain of these branches can become profitable, especially in areas in which we do not have an established presence, and it is possible that some of these branches may not achieve profitability. As a result, the expense of operating these branches may negatively affect our results of operations.

If external funds were not available, this could adversely impact our growth and prospects.

We rely on deposits and advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) of Seattle and other borrowings to fund our operations. Although we have historically been able to replace maturing deposits and advances if desired, we might not be able to replace such funds in the future if our financial condition or the financial condition of the FHLB of Seattle or market conditions were to change. Although we consider such sources of funds adequate for our liquidity needs, we may be compelled or elect to seek additional sources of financing in the future. Likewise, we may seek additional debt in the future to achieve our long-term business objectives, in connection with future acquisitions or for other reasons. Additional borrowings, if sought, may not be available to us or, if available, may not be on reasonable terms. If additional financing sources are unavailable or not available on reasonable terms, our financial condition, results of operations and future prospects could be materially adversely affected.

Our investment in Federal Home Loan Bank stock may be impaired.

At June 30, 2009, we owned $37.4 million in FHLB stock. As a condition of membership at the FHLB, we are required to purchase and hold a certain amount of FHLB stock. Our stock purchase requirement is based, in part, upon the outstanding principal balance of advances from the FHLB and is calculated in accordance with the Capital Plan of the FHLB. Our FHLB stock has a par value of $100, is carried at cost, and it is subject to recoverability

testing per SFAS No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. The FHLB recently announced that it had a risk-based capital deficiency under the regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the "FHFA"), its primary regulator, as of December 31, 2008, and that it would suspend future dividends and the repurchase and redemption of outstanding common stock. As a result, the FHLB did not pay a dividend for the fourth quarter of 2008 or the first two quarters of 2009. The FHLB has communicated that it believes the calculation of risk-based capital under the current rules of the FHFA significantly overstates the market risk of the FHLB's private-label mortgage-backed securities in the current market environment and that it has enough capital to cover the risks reflected in its balance sheet. As a result, we have not recorded an other-than-temporary impairment on our investment in FHLB stock. However, continued deterioration in the FHLB's financial position may result in impairment in the value of those securities. We will continue to monitor the financial condition of the FHLB as it relates to, among other things, the recoverability of our investment.

Strong competition within our market areas may limit our growth and adversely affect our operating results.

Competition in the banking and financial services industry is intense. We compete in our market areas with commercial banks, savings institutions, mortgage brokerage firms, credit unions, finance companies, mutual funds, insurance companies, and brokerage and investment banking firms operating locally and elsewhere. Some of these competitors have substantially greater resources and lending limits than we do, have greater name recognition and market presence that benefit them in attracting business, and offer certain services that we do not or cannot provide. In addition, larger competitors may be able to price loans and deposits more aggressively than we do. Our results of operations depend upon our continued ability to successfully compete in our market areas. The greater resources and deposit and loan products offered by some of our competitors may limit our ability to increase or maintain our interest-earning assets. In that regard, the negative economic conditions that began in 2007 and that continued in 2008 and the first half of 2009 have significantly reduced our origination of new loans, and we cannot assure you that our total loans or assets will increase or not decline in future periods.

The loss of key members of our senior management team could adversely affect our business.

We believe that our success depends largely on the efforts and abilities of our senior management. Their experience and industry contacts significantly benefit us. The competition for qualified personnel in the financial services industry is intense, and the loss of any of our key personnel or an inability to continue to attract, retain and motivate key personnel could adversely affect our business. Our compensation and ability to attract executive officers if limited as a result of our participation in TARP.

We are subject to extensive government regulation, which could adversely affect our business.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by federal, state and local governmental authorities and are subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing requirements and restrictions on part or all of our operations. Because our business is highly regulated, the laws, rules and regulations applicable to it are subject to regular modification and change. Regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in their supervisory and enforcement activities, including the imposition of restrictions on our operations, the classification of our assets and determination of the level of our allowance for loan losses. Any change in this regulation and oversight, whether in the form of regulatory policy, regulations, legislation or supervisory action, may have a material impact on our operations or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, prospects or profitability. In addition, we may be subject to new legislation in response to negative developments in the financial industry and the economy as described under “Recent negative developments in the financial industry and credit markets may continue to adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations,” which also could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We are subject to various regulatory requirements and may be subject to future regulatory restrictions and enforcement actions.

Currently, Banner Bank must obtain prior regulatory approval before adding any new director or senior executive officer or changing the responsibilities of any current senior executive officer. In addition, Banner Bank may not pay pursuant to or enter into certain severance and other forms of compensation agreements without regulatory approval. Further, we require the approval of the FDIC to participate in any additional borrowings under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program.

In light of the current challenging operating environment, along with our elevated level of non-performing assets, delinquencies, and adversely classified assets, we may be subject to additional increased regulatory scrutiny, regulatory restrictions, and potential enforcement actions. Such enforcement actions could place limitations on our business and adversely affect our ability to implement our business plans. Even though we remain well-capitalized in terms of our capital ratios, the regulatory agencies have the authority to restrict our operations to those consistent with adequately capitalized institutions. For example, if the regulatory agencies were to implement such a restriction, we would likely have limitations on our lending activities and be limited in our ability to utilize brokered deposits as a funding source, an area that has been a source of funds for us in recent years. The regulatory agencies also have the power to limit the rates paid by the Banks to attract retail deposits in their local markets. We also may be required to reduce our levels of construction and land development loans and classified or non-performing assets within specified time frames. These time frames might not necessarily result in maximizing the price which might otherwise be received for the underlying properties. In addition, if such restrictions were also imposed upon other institutions which operate in the Bank’s markets, multiple institutions disposing of properties at the same time could further diminish the potential proceeds received from the sale of these properties. If any of these or similar additional restrictions are placed on us, it would limit the resources currently available to us as a well-capitalized institution.

The value of securities in our investment securities portfolio may be negatively affected by continued disruptions in securities markets.

The market for some of the investment securities held in our portfolio has become generally illiquid and volatile over the past twelve months. Illiquid and volatile market conditions may detrimentally affect the value of these securities, such as through reduced valuations due to the perception of heightened credit and liquidity risks. There can be no assurance that the declines in market value associated with these disruptions will not result in other-than-temporary impairments of these assets, which would lead to accounting charges that could have a material adverse effect on our net income and capital levels.

The level of our commercial real estate loan portfolio may subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny.

The FDIC, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, have promulgated joint guidance on sound risk management practices for financial institutions with concentrations in commercial real estate lending. Under the guidance, a financial institution that is actively involved in commercial real estate lending should perform a risk assessment to identify concentrations. A financial institution may have a concentration in commercial real estate lending if, among other factors, (i) total reported loans for construction, land development, and other land represent 100% or more of total capital or (ii) total reported loans secured by multifamily and non-farm residential properties, loans for construction, land development and other land and loans otherwise sensitive to the general commercial real estate market, including loans to commercial real estate related entities, represent 300% or more of total capital. The guidance also indicates that management should employ heightened risk management practices including board and management oversight and strategic planning, development of underwriting standards, risk assessment and monitoring through market analysis and stress testing. While we believe we have implemented policies and procedures with respect to our commercial real estate loan portfolio consistent with this guidance, bank regulators could require us to implement additional policies and procedures consistent with their interpretation of the guidance which could result in additional costs to us.

Our deposit insurance premiums will increase substantially, which will adversely affect our operating results.

Our FDIC deposit insurance assessment expense for the six-month period ended June 30, 2009 was $5.6 million. Deposit insurance assessments increased in 2009 as a result of recent strains on the FDIC deposit insurance fund resulting from the cost of recent bank failures and an increase in the number of banks likely to fail over the next few years. Effective April 1, 2009, FDIC assessments increased, ranging between 12 and 45 basis points. Additional premiums are charged for institutions that rely on excessive amounts of brokered deposits, including CDARS, and excessive use of secured liabilities, including FHLB and FRB advances. The FDIC may adjust rates from one quarter to the next, except that no single adjustment can exceed three basis points without a rulemaking proceeding. In May 2009, the FDIC approved a special assessment of five basis points applied to the amount of assets reduced by the amount of Tier 1 capital as of June 30, 2009 (not to exceed 10 basis points of the deposit assessment base). Two additional special assessments, each of the same amount or less than the first special

assessment, may be imposed for the third and fourth quarters of 2009. The FDIC has announced that the first additional special assessment is likely and the second additional special assessment is less certain.

Our information systems may experience an interruption or breach in security.

We rely heavily on communications and information systems to conduct our business. Any failure, interruption or breach in security of these systems could result in failures or disruptions in our customer relationship management, general ledger, deposit, loan and other systems. While we have policies and procedures designed to prevent or limit the effect of the failure, interruption or security breach of our information systems, there can be no assurance that any such failures, interruptions or security breaches will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately addressed. The occurrence of any failures, interruptions or security breaches of our information systems could damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business, subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny, or expose us to civil litigation and possible financial liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud, and, as a result, investors and depositors could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which could materially adversely affect our business, the trading price of our common stock and our ability to attract additional deposits.

In connection with the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the implementation of the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, we document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This requires us to prepare an annual management report on our internal control over financial reporting, including among other matters, management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and an attestation report by our independent auditors addressing these assessments. If we fail to identify and correct any deficiencies in the design or operating effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting or fail to prevent fraud, current and potential shareholders and depositors could lose confidence in our internal controls and financial reporting, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, the trading price of our common stock and our ability to attract additional deposits.

We rely on dividends from subsidiaries for most of our revenue.

Banner Corporation is a separate and distinct legal entity from its subsidiaries. We receive substantially all of our revenue from dividends from our subsidiaries. These dividends are the principal source of funds to pay dividends on our preferred and common stock and interest and principal on our debt. Various federal and/or state laws and regulations limit the amount of dividends that Banner Bank, Islanders Bank and certain non-bank subsidiaries may pay to Banner Corporation. Also, our right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. In the event the Banks are unable to pay dividends to Banner Corporation, we may not be able to service debt, pay obligations or pay dividends on Banner Corporation preferred and common stock. The inability to receive dividends from the Banks could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to foreclose on single family home loans may be restricted.

New legislation proposed by Congress may give bankruptcy judges the power to reduce the increasing number of home foreclosures. Bankruptcy judges would be given the authority to restructure mortgages and reduce a borrower's payments. Property owners would be allowed to keep their property while working out their debts. This legislation may restrict our collection efforts on one-to-four family loans. Separately, the administration has announced a voluntary program under the Troubled Asset Relief Program law, which provides for government subsidies for reducing a borrower's interest rate, which a lender would have to match with its own money.

If other financial institutions holding deposits for government related entities in Washington or Oregon fail, we may be assessed a pro-rata share of the uninsured portion of the deposits by the States of Washington and Oregon.

We participate in the Washington Public Deposit Protection Program by accepting deposits from local governments, school districts and other municipalities located in the State of Washington. Under the recovery provisions of the 1969 Public Deposits Protection Act, when a participating bank fails and has public entity deposits that are not insured by the FDIC or assumed by a successor financial institution, the remaining banks that participate in the program are assessed a pro-rata share of the uninsured deposits. We also accept public funds deposits in the State of Oregon, but to a much lesser extent, subject to a similar arrangement.

We could see declines in our uninsured deposits, which would reduce the funds we have available for lending and other funding purposes.

The FDIC in the fourth quarter of 2008 increased the federal insurance of deposit accounts from $100,000 to $250,000 and provided 100% insurance coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts for participating members including Banner Bank and Islanders Bank. These increases of coverage, with the exception of IRA and certain retirement accounts, are scheduled to expire December 31, 2013. With the increase of bank failures, depositors are reviewing deposit relationships to maximize federal deposit insurance coverage. We may see outflows of uninsured deposits as customers restructure their banking relationships in setting up multiple accounts in multiple banks to maximize federal deposit insurance coverage.

Risks Relating to Both the Series A Preferred Stock and Our Common Stock

The Series A Preferred Stock is equity and is subordinate to all of our existing and future indebtedness; regulatory and contractual restrictions may limit or prevent us from paying dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock; and the Series A Preferred Stock places no limitations on the amount of indebtedness we and our subsidiaries may incur in the future.

Shares of the Series A Preferred Stock are equity interests in Banner Corporation and do not constitute indebtedness. As such, the Series A Preferred Stock, like our common stock, ranks junior to all indebtedness and other non-equity claims on Banner Corporation with respect to assets available to satisfy claims on Banner Corporation, including in a liquidation of Banner Corporation. Additionally, unlike indebtedness, where principal and interest would customarily be payable on specified due dates, in the case of preferred stock like the Series A Preferred Stock, as with our common stock, (1) dividends are payable only when, as and if authorized and declared by our Board of Directors and depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, debt service requirements, other cash needs and any other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant, and (2) as a Washington corporation, under Washington law we are subject to restrictions on payments of dividends out of lawfully available funds.

As a bank holding company, Banner Corporation’s ability to declare and pay dividends is dependent on certain federal regulatory considerations. Banner Corporation is an entity separate and distinct from its principal subsidiaries, Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, and derives substantially all of its revenue in the form of dividends from those subsidiaries. Accordingly, Banner Corporation is and will be dependent upon dividends from Banner Bank and Islanders Bank to pay the principal of and interest on its indebtedness, to satisfy its other cash needs and to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock and its common stock. Banner Bank’s and Islanders Bank’s ability to pay dividends is subject to their ability to earn net income and to meet certain regulatory requirements. In the event the Banks are unable to pay dividends to Banner Corporation, it may not be able to service its debt, pay its obligations or pay dividends on Banner Corporation’s common stock or the Series A Preferred Stock. See “Regulatory Considerations” in this prospectus and Note 20 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. Also, Banner Corporation’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. This includes claims under the liquidation account maintained for the benefit of certain eligible deposit account holders of Banner Bank established in connection with Banner Bank’s conversion from the mutual to the stock form of ownership.

Banner Corporation is also subject to certain contractual restrictions that could prohibit it from declaring or paying dividends or making liquidation payments on its common stock or the Series A Preferred Stock. See “If we defer payments of interest on our outstanding junior subordinated debentures or if certain defaults relating to those

debentures occur, we will be prohibited from declaring or paying dividends or distributions on, and from making liquidation payments with respect to, the Series A Preferred Stock” below.

In addition, the Series A Preferred Stock does not limit the amount of debt or other obligations we or our subsidiaries may incur in the future. Accordingly, we and our subsidiaries may incur substantial amounts of additional debt and other obligations that will rank senior to the Series A Preferred Stock or to which the Series A Preferred Stock will be structurally subordinated.

If we defer payments of interest on our outstanding junior subordinated debentures or if certain defaults relating to those debentures occur, we will be prohibited from declaring or paying dividends or distributions on, and from making liquidation payments with respect to, the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock.

As of June 30, 2009, we had outstanding $123.7 million aggregate principal amount of junior subordinated debentures issued in connection with the sale of trust preferred securities by certain of our subsidiaries that are statutory business trusts. We have also guaranteed those trust preferred securities. There are currently six separate series of these junior subordinated debentures outstanding, each series having been issued under a separate indenture and with a separate guarantee. Each of these indentures, together with the related guarantee, prohibits us, subject to limited exceptions, from declaring or paying any dividends or distributions on, or redeeming, repurchasing, acquiring or making any liquidation payments with respect to, any of our capital stock (including the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock) at any time when (i) there shall have occurred and be continuing an event of default under such indenture or any event, act or condition that with notice or lapse of time or both would constitute an event of default under such indenture; or (ii) we are in default with respect to payment of any obligations under such guarantee; or (iii) we have deferred payment of interest on the junior subordinated debentures outstanding under that indenture. In that regard, we are entitled, at our option but subject to certain conditions, to defer payments of interest on the junior subordinated debentures of each series from time to time for up to five years.

Events of default under each indenture generally consist of our failure to pay interest on the junior subordinated debentures outstanding under that indenture under certain circumstances, our failure to pay any principal of or premium on such junior subordinated debentures when due, our failure to comply with certain covenants under such indenture, and certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or liquidation relating to us or, in the case of certain of these indentures, any of our “significant subsidiaries” (as defined) that is a depository institution.

As a result of these provisions, if we were to elect to defer payments of interest on any series of junior subordinated debentures, or if any of the other events described in clause (i) or (ii) of the first paragraph of this risk factor were to occur, we would be prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock, from repurchasing or otherwise acquiring any of the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock, and from making any payments to holders of the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock in the event of our liquidation, which would likely have a material adverse effect on the market value of the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock. Moreover, without notice to or consent from the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock, we may issue additional series of junior subordinated debentures in the future with terms similar to those of our existing junior subordinated debentures or enter into other financing agreements that limit our ability to purchase or to pay dividends or distributions on our capital stock, including our common stock.

The prices of the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock may fluctuate significantly, and this may make it difficult for you to resell the Series A Preferred Stock and/or common stock when you want or at prices you find attractive.

There currently is no market for the Series A Preferred Stock, and we cannot predict how the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock will trade in the future. The market value of the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock will likely continue to fluctuate in response to a number of factors including the following, most of which are beyond our control, as well as the other factors described in this “Risk Factors” section:

·	actual or anticipated quarterly fluctuations in our operating and financial results;

·	developments related to investigations, proceedings or litigation that involve us;

·	changes in financial estimates and recommendations by financial analysts;

·	dispositions, acquisitions and financings;

·	actions of our current shareholders, including sales of common stock by existing shareholders and our directors and executive officers;

·	fluctuations in the stock price and operating results of our competitors;

·	regulatory developments; and

·	developments related to the financial services industry.

The market value of the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock may also be affected by conditions affecting the financial markets in general, including price and trading fluctuations, economic conditions and tax laws. These conditions may result in (i) volatility in the level of, and fluctuations in, the market prices of stocks generally and, in turn, the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock and (ii) sales of substantial amounts of the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock in the market, in each case that could be unrelated or disproportionate to changes in our operating performance. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market value of the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock.

There may be future sales of additional common stock or preferred stock or other dilution of our equity, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock or the Series A Preferred Stock.

We are not restricted from issuing additional common stock or preferred stock, including any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, common stock or preferred stock or any substantially similar securities. The market value of our common stock or the Series A Preferred Stock could decline as a result of sales by us of a large number of shares of common stock or preferred stock or similar securities in the market or the perception that such sales could occur.

The voting limitation provision in our Articles of Incorporation could limit your voting rights as a holder of the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock.

Our Articles of Incorporation provide that, subject to certain limited exceptions, if any person or group acting in concert acquires beneficial ownership of more than 10% of any class of our equity securities (which would include the Series A Preferred Stock as well as our common stock) without the prior approval by a two-thirds vote of our “Continuing Directors,” (as defined therein), then with respect to each share of voting stock in excess of 10% of all shares of our voting stock, such person will be entitled to cast only one-hundredth of one vote per share. See “Description of Capital Stock—Anti-takeover Effects-Restrictions on Voting Rights.” This means that any person owning more than 10% of our common stock will have limited voting rights with respect to the shares owned in excess of 10% of the number of shares of outstanding common stock. This also means that under the circumstances where the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have voting rights (see “Description of Series A Preferred Stock-- Voting Rights”), whether as a separate class or as a single class together with the holders of our common stock and/or any other class of our equity securities then outstanding, any person who holds shares of the Series A Preferred Stock representing (together with any shares of common stock and/or any other class of our equity securities then outstanding) more than 10% of the outstanding voting power with respect to the matter being voted upon, will be able to cast only one-hundredth of one vote per share for each share held in excess of the 10% limitation.

Anti-takeover provisions could negatively impact our shareholders.

Provisions in our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the corporate law of the State of Washington and federal regulations could delay, defer or prevent a third party from acquiring us, despite the possible benefit to our shareholders, or otherwise adversely affect the market price of any class of our equity securities, including our common stock and the Series A Preferred Stock. These provisions include: limitations on voting rights of beneficial owners of more than 10% of our equity securities, supermajority voting requirements for certain business combinations with any person who owns 10% or more of our outstanding common stock; the election of directors to staggered terms of three years; advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our Board of Directors and for proposing matters that shareholders may act on at shareholder meetings, a requirement that only directors may fill a vacancy in our Board of Directors, supermajority voting requirements to remove any of our directors and the other provisions described under “Description of Capital Stock─Anti-Takeover Effects.” In addition, we are subject to Washington laws, including one that prohibits us from engaging in a significant business combination with any shareholder who acquires 10% or more of our voting stock for a period of five years from the date of that

acquisition unless certain conditions are met. Additionally, our Articles of Incorporation authorize our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock, and preferred stock could be issued as a defensive measure in response to a takeover proposal. For further information, see “Description of Capital Stock—Preferred Stock.” These provisions may discourage potential takeover attempts, discourage bids for our common stock at a premium over market price or adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of, our common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for holders of our common stock to elect directors other than the candidates nominated by our Board of Directors.

Risks Specific to the Series A Preferred Stock

An active trading market for the Series A Preferred Stock may not develop.

The Series A Preferred Stock is not currently listed on any securities exchange and we do not anticipate listing the Series A Preferred Stock on an exchange unless we are requested to do so by Treasury pursuant to the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Series A Preferred Stock will develop, or, if developed, that an active trading market will be maintained. If an active market is not developed or sustained, the market value and liquidity of the Series A Preferred Stock may be adversely affected.

The Series A Preferred Stock may be junior in rights and preferences to our future preferred stock.

Subject to approval by the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock then outstanding, voting together as a separate class, we may issue preferred stock in the future the terms of which are expressly senior to the Series A Preferred Stock. The terms of any such future preferred stock expressly senior to the Series A Preferred Stock may restrict dividend payments on the Series A Preferred Stock. For example, the terms of any such senior preferred stock may provide that, unless full dividends for all of our outstanding preferred stock senior to the Series A Preferred Stock have been paid for the relevant periods, no dividends will be paid on the Series A Preferred Stock, and no shares of the Series A Preferred Stock may be repurchased, redeemed, or otherwise acquired by us. This could result in dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock not being paid when contemplated. In addition, in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the terms of the senior preferred stock may prohibit us from making payments on the Series A Preferred Stock until all amounts due to holders of the senior preferred stock in such circumstances are paid in full.

Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have limited voting rights.

Until and unless we are in arrears on our dividend payments on the Preferred Stock for six dividend periods, whether or not consecutive, the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will have no voting rights except with respect to certain fundamental changes in the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock and certain other matters and except as may be required by Washington law. If dividends on the Preferred Stock are not paid in full for six dividend periods, whether or not consecutive, the total number of positions on the Banner Corporation Board of Directors will automatically increase by two and the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock, acting as a class with any other parity securities having similar voting rights, will have the right to elect two individuals to serve in the new director positions. This right and the terms of such directors will end when we have paid in full all accrued and unpaid dividends for all past dividend periods. See “Description of Series A Preferred Stock—Voting Rights.” Based on the current number of members of the Banner Corporation Board of Directors (15), directors elected by the holders of the common stock would have a controlling majority of the board and would be able to take any action approved by them notwithstanding any objection by the directors elected by the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock.

If we are unable to redeem the Series A Preferred Stock after five years, the cost of this capital to us will increase substantially.

If we are unable to redeem the Series A Preferred Stock prior to February 15, 2014, the cost of this capital to us will increase substantially on that date, from 5.0% per annum (approximately $6.2 million annually) to 9.0% per annum (approximately $11.2 million). See “Description of Series A Preferred Stock—Redemption and

Repurchases.” Depending on our financial condition at the time, this increase in the annual dividend rate on the Series A Preferred Stock could have a material negative effect on our liquidity.

Risks Specific to the Common Stock

The securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury limits our ability to pay dividends on and repurchase our common stock.

The securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury provides that prior to the earlier of (i) November 21, 2011 and (ii) the date on which all of the shares of the Series A Preferred Stock have been redeemed by us or transferred by Treasury to third parties, we may not, without the consent of Treasury, (a) increase the cash dividend on our common stock or (b) subject to limited exceptions, redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire shares of our common stock or preferred stock other than the Series A Preferred Stock or trust preferred securities. In addition, we are unable to pay any dividends on our common stock unless we are current in our dividend payments on the Series A Preferred Stock. These restrictions, together with the potentially dilutive impact of the warrant described in the next risk factor, could have a negative effect on the value of our common stock. Moreover, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends only when, as and if declared by our Board of Directors. Although we have historically paid cash dividends on our common stock, we are not required to do so and our Board of Directors could reduce or eliminate our common stock dividend in the future.

The Series A Preferred Stock impacts net income available to our common shareholders and earnings per common share and the warrant we issued to Treasury may be dilutive to holders of our common stock.

The dividends declared on the Series A Preferred Stock will reduce the net income available to common shareholders and our earnings per common share. The Series A Preferred Stock will also receive preferential treatment in the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Banner Corporation. Additionally, the ownership interest of the existing holders of our common stock will be diluted to the extent the warrant we issued to Treasury in conjunction with the sale to Treasury of the Series A Preferred Stock is exercised. The shares of common stock underlying the warrant represent approximately 8.5% of the shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2009 (including the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrant in total shares outstanding). Although Treasury has agreed not to vote any of the shares of common stock it receives upon exercise of the warrant, a transferee of any portion of the warrant or of any shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of the warrant is not bound by this restriction.

The federal banking laws limit the ownership of our common stock.

Because we are a bank holding company, purchasers of 10% or more of our common stock may be required to obtain approvals under the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978, as amended, or Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (and in certain cases such approvals may be required at a lesser percentage of ownership). Specifically, under regulations adopted by the Federal Reserve, (a) any other bank holding company may be required to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve to acquire or retain 5% or more of the common stock and (b) any person other than a bank holding company may be required to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve to acquire or retain 10% or more of the common stock.

USE OF PROCEEDS

All securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will be sold by the selling securityholders and we will not receive the proceeds from such sales.

RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDEND REQUIREMENT

Our historical consolidated ratios of earnings to fixed charges and preferred stock dividend requirement for the periods indicated, both including and excluding interest on deposits, are set forth in the table below. The ratio of earnings to fixed charges and preferred stock dividend requirement is computed by dividing (i) income from continuing operations before income taxes and fixed charges by (ii) the sum of total fixed charges and (pre-tax) preferred stock dividend requirement. For purposes of computing these ratios, fixed charges excluding interest on

deposits represents interest expense on Federal Home Loan Bank advances and other borrowed funds and fixed charges including interest on deposits represents all interest expense.

Six Months

Ended

June 30,

2009

Year Ended December 31,

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Restated

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges

and Preferred Stock Dividend Requirement

Excluding interest on deposits

--(1)

--(2)

--(3)

4.37x

2.82x

1.58x

2.12x

less goodwill impairment

--(1)

1.09x

0.13x

4.37x

2.82x

1.58x

2.12x

Including interest on deposits

0.21x

0.25x

--(4)

1.38x

1.41x

1.21x

1.47x

less goodwill impairment

0.21x

1.01x

0.89x

1.38x

1.41x

1.21x

1.47x

___________________

The earnings coverage for some of these periods was inadequate to cover total fixed charges. The coverage deficiencies were:

(1)	for the six months ended June 30, 2009: $33.5 million.
(2)	for the six months ended June 30, 2008: $41.2 million.
(3)	for the year ended December 31, 2008: $119.0 million.

REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS

As a bank holding company under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, Banner Corporation is subject to regulation, supervision and examination by the Federal Reserve. For a discussion of elements of the regulatory framework applicable to bank holding companies and their subsidiaries, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 and the other documents incorporated herein by reference as described under “Where You Can Find More Information.” This regulatory framework is intended primarily for the protection of depositors and the federal deposit insurance fund and not for the protection of security holders, including holders of our common stock and the Series A Preferred Stock. As a result of this regulatory framework, our results of operations and financial condition are affected by actions of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, which insures the deposits of our banking subsidiaries within certain limits, and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Banks, which regulates Banner Bank and Islanders Bank.

Our ability to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock and our common stock depends primarily on dividends we receive from Banner Bank and Islanders Bank. Under federal regulations, the dollar amount of dividends the Banks may pay depends upon their capital position and recent net income. Generally, if a Bank satisfies its regulatory capital requirements, it may make dividend payments up to the limits prescribed under state law and FDIC regulations. However, an institution that has converted to a stock form of ownership may not declare or pay a dividend on, or repurchase any of, its common stock if the effect thereof would cause the regulatory capital of the institution to be reduced below the amount required for the liquidation account which was established in connection with the conversion. Banner Bank, our primary subsidiary, converted to a stock form of ownership and is therefore subject to the limitation described in the preceding sentence.

In addition, under Washington law, Banner Corporation is prohibited from paying a dividend if, after making such dividend payment, it would be unable to pay its debts as they become due in the usual course of business, or if its total liabilities, plus the amount that would be needed, in the event Banner Corporation were to be dissolved at the time of the dividend payment, to satisfy preferential rights on dissolution of holders of preferred stock ranking senior in right of payment to the capital stock on which the applicable distribution is to be made exceed our total assets. Banner Corporation must also maintain required capital levels of a bank holding company before it may pay dividends on its stock.

In addition to the foregoing regulatory considerations, there are numerous governmental requirements and regulations that affect our business activities. A change in applicable statutes, regulations or regulatory policy may have a material effect on our business and on our ability to pay dividends on our common stock and the Series A Preferred Stock.

Depository institutions, like Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, are also affected by various federal laws, including those relating to consumer protection and similar matters. Banner Corporation also has other financial services subsidiaries regulated, supervised and examined by the Federal Reserve, as well as other relevant state and federal regulatory agencies and self-regulatory organizations. Our non-bank subsidiaries may be subject to other laws and regulations of the federal government or the various states in which they are authorized to do business.

In addition to the foregoing regulatory restrictions, we are and may in the future become subject to contractual restrictions that would limit or prohibit us from paying dividends on our common stock, including those described under “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Both the Series A Preferred Stock and Our Common Stock-If we defer payments of interest on our outstanding junior subordinated debentures or if certain defaults relating to those debentures occur, we will be prohibited from declaring or paying dividends or distributions on, and from making liquidation payments with respect to, the Series A Preferred Stock or our common stock” and “Description of Capital Stock—Common Stock-Restrictions on Dividends and Repurchases Under Agreement with Treasury.”

DESCRIPTION OF SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK

This section summarizes specific terms and provisions of the Series A Preferred Stock. The description of the Series A Preferred Stock contained in this section is qualified in its entirety by the actual terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, as are stated in the articles of amendment to our Articles of Incorporation, a copy of which is included in Exhibit 3.2 to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

General

The Series A Preferred Stock constitutes a single series of our preferred stock, consisting of 124,000 shares, par value $0.01 per share, having a liquidation preference amount of $1,000 per share. The Series A Preferred Stock has no maturity date. We issued the shares of Series A Preferred Stock to Treasury on November 21, 2008 in connection with the TARP Capital Purchase Program for a purchase price of $124.0 million. Pursuant to the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury, we have agreed, if requested by Treasury, to enter into a depositary arrangement pursuant to which the shares of Series A Preferred Stock may be deposited and depositary shares, each representing a fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock as specified by Treasury, may be issued. See “Description of Depositary Shares.”

Dividends

Rate. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock are payable quarterly in arrears, when, as and if authorized and declared by our Board of Directors out of legally available funds, on a cumulative basis on the $1,000 per share liquidation preference amount plus the amount of accrued and unpaid dividends for any prior dividend periods, at a rate of (i) 5% per annum, from the original issuance date to but excluding the first day of the first dividend period commencing after the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date (i.e., 5% per annum from November 21, 2008 to but excluding February 15, 2014), and (ii) 9% per annum, from and after the first day of the first dividend period commencing after the fifth anniversary of the original issuance date (i.e., 9% per annum on and after February 15, 2014). Dividends are payable quarterly in arrears on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 of each year, commencing on February 15, 2009. Each dividend will be payable to holders of record as they appear on our stock register on the applicable record date, which will be the 15th calendar day immediately preceding the related dividend payment date (whether or not a business day), or such other record date determined by our Board of Directors that is not more than 60 nor less than ten days prior to the related dividend payment date. Each period from and including a dividend payment date (or the date of the issuance of the Series A Preferred Stock) to but excluding the following dividend payment date is referred to as a “dividend period.” Dividends payable for each dividend period are computed on the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months. If a scheduled dividend payment date falls on a day that is not a business day, the dividend will be paid on the next business day as

if it were paid on the scheduled dividend payment date, and no interest or other additional amount will accrue on the dividend. The term “business day” means any day except Saturday, Sunday and any day on which banking institutions in the State of New York generally are authorized or required by law or other governmental actions to close.

Dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock will be cumulative. If for any reason our Board of Directors does not declare a dividend on the Series A Preferred Stock for a particular dividend period, or if the Board of Directors declares less than a full dividend, we will remain obligated to pay the unpaid portion of the dividend for that period and the unpaid dividend will compound on each subsequent dividend date (meaning that dividends for future dividend periods will accrue on any unpaid dividend amounts for prior dividend periods).

We are not obligated to pay holders of the Series A Preferred Stock any dividend in excess of the dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock that are payable as described above. There is no sinking fund with respect to dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

Priority of Dividends. So long as the Series A Preferred Stock remains outstanding, we may not declare or pay a dividend or other distribution on our common stock or any other shares of Junior Stock (other than dividends payable solely in common stock) or Parity Stock (other than dividends paid on a pro rata basis with the Series A Preferred Stock), and we generally may not directly or indirectly purchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any shares of common stock, Junior Stock or Parity Stock unless all accrued and unpaid dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock for all past dividend periods are paid in full.

“Junior Stock” means our common stock and any other class or series of our stock the terms of which expressly provide that it ranks junior to the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights and/or as to rights on liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Banner Corporation. We currently have no outstanding class or series of stock constituting Junior Stock other than our common stock.

“Parity Stock” means any class or series of our stock, other than the Series A Preferred Stock, the terms of which do not expressly provide that such class or series will rank senior or junior to the Series A Preferred Stock as to dividend rights and/or as to rights on liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Banner Corporation, in each case without regard to whether dividends accrue cumulatively or non-cumulatively. We currently have no outstanding class or series of stock constituting Parity Stock.

Liquidation Rights

In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of Banner Corporation, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive for each share of Series A Preferred Stock, out of the assets of Banner Corporation or proceeds available for distribution to our shareholders, subject to any rights of our creditors, before any distribution of assets or proceeds is made to or set aside for the holders of our common stock and any other class or series of our stock ranking junior to the Series A Preferred Stock, payment of an amount equal to the sum of (i) the $1,000 liquidation preference amount per share and (ii) the amount of any accrued and unpaid dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock (including dividends accrued on any unpaid dividends). To the extent the assets or proceeds available for distribution to shareholders are not sufficient to fully pay the liquidation payments owing to the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of any other class or series of our stock ranking equally with the Series A Preferred Stock, the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and such other stock will share ratably in the distribution.

For purposes of the liquidation rights of the Series A Preferred Stock, neither a merger or consolidation of Banner Corporation with another entity nor a sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of Banner Corporation’s assets will constitute a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of Banner Corporation.

Redemption and Repurchases

Subject to the prior approval of the Federal Reserve, the Series A Preferred Stock is redeemable at our option in whole or in part at a redemption price equal to 100% of the liquidation preference amount of $1,000 per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends to but excluding the date of redemption (including dividends accrued

on any unpaid dividends), provided that any declared but unpaid dividend payable on a redemption date that occurs subsequent to the record date for the dividend will be payable to the holder of record of the redeemed shares on the dividend record date, and provided further that the Series A Preferred Stock may be redeemed prior to the first dividend payment date falling after the third anniversary of the original issuance date (i.e., prior to February 15, 2012) only if (i) we have, or our successor following a business combination with another entity which also participated in the TARP Capital Purchase Program has, raised aggregate gross proceeds in one or more Qualified Equity Offerings of at least the Minimum Amount and (ii) the aggregate redemption price of the Series A Preferred Stock does not exceed the aggregate net proceeds from such Qualified Equity Offerings by us and any successor. The “Minimum Amount” means $31.0 million plus, in the event we are succeeded in a business combination by another entity which also participated in the TARP Capital Purchase Program, 25% of the aggregate liquidation preference amount of the preferred stock issued by that entity to Treasury. A “Qualified Equity Offering” is defined as the sale for cash by Banner Corporation (or its successor) of preferred stock or common stock that qualifies as Tier 1 capital under applicable regulatory capital guidelines.

To exercise the redemption right described above, we must give notice of the redemption to the holders of record of the Series A Preferred Stock by first class mail, not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days before the date of redemption. Each notice of redemption given to a holder of Series A Preferred Stock must state: (i) the redemption date; (ii) the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock to be redeemed and, if less than all the shares held by such holder are to be redeemed, the number of such shares to be redeemed from such holder; (iii) the redemption price; and (iv) the place or places where certificates for such shares are to be surrendered for payment of the redemption price. In the case of a partial redemption of the Series A Preferred Stock, the shares to be redeemed will be selected either pro rata or in such other manner as our Board of Directors determines to be fair and equitable.

Subsequent to our issuance of the Series A Preferred Stock, on February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the ARRA into law. Among other things, the ARRA provides that subject to consulting with the appropriate federal banking agency (the Federal Reserve in our case), Treasury must permit repayment of funds provided under the TARP Capital Purchase Program without regard to whether the institution which received the funds has replaced the funds from any other source, and upon repayment of the assistance, Treasury will liquidate warrants issued by the institution at the current market price. Accordingly, the ARRA effectively permits us to currently cause the redemption of the Series A Preferred Stock, without regard to whether we have raised additional capital in a Qualified Equity Offering or otherwise, subject to Treasury's consultation with the Federal Reserve.

The securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury provides that so long as Treasury continues to own any shares of Series A Preferred Stock, we may not repurchase any shares of Series A Preferred Stock from any other holder of such shares unless we offer to repurchase a ratable portion of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock then held by the Treasury on the same terms and conditions.

Shares of Series A Preferred Stock that we redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire will revert to authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock, which may then be reissued by us as any series of preferred stock other than the Series A Preferred Stock.

No Conversion Rights

Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have no right to exchange or convert their shares into common stock or any other securities.

Voting Rights

The holders of the Series A Preferred Stock do not have voting rights other than those described below, except to the extent specifically required by Washington law.

Whenever dividends have not been paid on the Series A Preferred Stock for six or more quarterly dividend periods, whether or not consecutive, the authorized number of directors of Banner Corporation will automatically increase by two and the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will have the right, with the holders of shares of any other classes or series of Voting Parity Stock outstanding at the time, voting together as a class, to elect two directors (the “Preferred Directors”) to fill such newly created directorships at our next annual meeting of shareholders (or at a special meeting called for that purpose prior to the next annual meeting) and at each subsequent annual meeting of

shareholders until all accrued and unpaid dividends for all past dividend periods on all outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock have been paid in full at which time this right will terminate with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock, subject to revesting in the event of each and every subsequent default by us in the payment of dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

No person may be elected as a Preferred Director who would cause us to violate any corporate governance requirements of any securities exchange or other trading facility on which our securities may then be listed or traded that listed or traded companies must have a majority of independent directors. Upon any termination of the right of the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and Voting Parity Stock as a class to vote for directors as described above, the Preferred Directors will cease to be qualified as directors, the terms of office of all Preferred Directors then in office will terminate immediately and the authorized number of directors will be reduced by the number of Preferred Directors which had been elected by the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and the Voting Parity Stock. Any Preferred Director may be removed at any time, with or without cause, and any vacancy created by such a removal may be filled, only by the affirmative vote of the holders a majority of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock voting separately as a class together with the holders of shares of Voting Parity Stock, to the extent the voting rights of such holders described above are then exercisable. If the office of any Preferred Director becomes vacant for any reason other than removal from office, the remaining Preferred Director may choose a successor who will hold office for the unexpired term of the office in which the vacancy occurred.

The term “Voting Parity Stock” means with regard to any matter as to which the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to vote, any series of Parity Stock (as defined under “Dividends-Priority of Dividends”) upon which voting rights similar to those of the Series A Preferred Stock have been conferred and are exercisable with respect to such matter. We currently have no outstanding shares of Voting Parity Stock.

Under regulations adopted by the Federal Reserve, if the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock are or become entitled to vote for the election of directors, the Series A Preferred Stock may then be deemed a “class of voting securities” and a holder of 10% or more of the Series A Preferred Stock that is a company may then be subject to regulation as a bank holding company. In addition, at such time as the Series A Preferred Stock is deemed a class of voting securities, (a) any bank holding company that is a holder of more than 5% of the Series A Preferred Stock may be required to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve to acquire or retain more than 5% of the Series A Preferred Stock and (b) any person may be required to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve to acquire or retain 10% or more of the Series A Preferred Stock.

In addition to any other vote or consent required by Washington law or by our Articles of Incorporation, the vote or consent of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, voting as a separate class, is required in order to do the following:

amend our Articles of Incorporation or the articles of amendment for the Series A Preferred Stock to authorize or create or increase the authorized amount of, or any issuance of, any shares of, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of, any class or series of stock ranking senior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to the payment of dividends and/or the distribution of assets on any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Banner Corporation; or

·	amend our Articles of Incorporation or the articles of amendment for the Series A Preferred Stock in a way that materially and adversely affects the rights, preferences, privileges or voting powers of the Series A Preferred Stock; or

consummate a binding share exchange or reclassification involving the Series A Preferred Stock or a merger or consolidation of Banner Corporation with another entity, unless (i) the shares of Series A Preferred Stock remain outstanding or, in the case of a merger or consolidation in which Banner Corporation is not the surviving or resulting entity, are converted into or exchanged for preference securities of the surviving or resulting entity or its ultimate parent, and (ii) the shares of Series A Preferred Stock remaining outstanding or such preference securities, have such rights,

preferences, privileges, voting powers, limitations and restrictions, taken as a whole, as are not materially less favorable than the rights, preferences, privileges, voting powers, limitations and restrictions of the Series A Preferred Stock prior to consummation of the transaction, taken as a whole;

provided, however, that (1) any increase in the amount of our authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock, and (2) the creation and issuance, or an increase in the authorized or issued amount, of any other series of preferred stock, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any other series of preferred stock, ranking equally with and/or junior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to the payment of dividends whether such dividends are cumulative or non-cumulative, and the distribution of assets upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, will not be deemed to materially and adversely affect the rights, preferences, privileges or voting powers of the Series A Preferred Stock and will not require the vote or consent of the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock.

To the extent holders of the Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to vote, holders of shares of the Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to one for each share then held.

The voting provisions described above will not apply if, at or prior to the time when the vote or consent of the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock would otherwise be required, all outstanding shares of the Series A Preferred Stock have been redeemed by us or called for redemption upon proper notice and sufficient funds have been set aside by us for the benefit of the holders of Series A Preferred Stock to effect the redemption.

DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES

Pursuant to the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury, we have agreed, if requested by Treasury, to enter into a depositary arrangement pursuant to which the shares of Series A Preferred Stock may be deposited and depositary shares, each representing a fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock as specified by Treasury, may be issued. The Shares of Series A Preferred Stock would be held by a depositary (expected to be a bank or trust company) reasonably acceptable to Treasury. If we enter into such a depositary arrangement, the selling securityholders would be offering depositary shares, each representing a fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, instead of actual whole shares of Series A Preferred Stock. The actual terms of any such depositary arrangement would be set forth in a deposit agreement to which we would be a party, which would be attached as an exhibit to a filing by us that would be incorporated by reference into this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANT

This section summarizes specific terms and provisions of the warrant we issued to Treasury on November 21, 2008 concurrent with our sale to Treasury of 124,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock pursuant to the TARP Capital Purchase Program. The description of the warrant contained in this section is qualified in its entirety by the actual terms of the warrant, a copy of which is included as Exhibit 4.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and is incorporated by reference into this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information.”

General

The warrant gives the holder the right to initially purchase up to 1,707,989 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.89 per share. Subject to the limitations on exercise to which Treasury is subject described under “Transferability,” the warrant is immediately exercisable and expires on November 21, 2018. The exercise price may be paid (i) by having us withhold from the shares of common stock that would otherwise be issued to the warrant holder upon exercise, a number of shares of common stock having a market value equal to the aggregate exercise price or (ii) if both we and the warrant holder consent, in cash.

Possible Reduction in Number of Shares

If we (or any successor to us by a business combination) complete one or more Qualified Equity Offerings (as defined under “Description of Series A Preferred Stock-Redemption and Repurchases”) prior to December 31, 2009 resulting in aggregate gross proceeds of at least $124.0 million (plus the aggregate liquidation preference amount of any preferred stock issued to Treasury by a successor to us), the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrant then held by Treasury will be reduced by 50%. The number of shares subject to the warrant are subject to further adjustment as described below under “Other Adjustments.”

Transferability

The warrant is not subject to any restrictions on transfer; however, Treasury may only transfer or exercise the warrant with respect to one-half of the shares underlying the warrant prior to the earlier of (i) the date on which we (or any successor to us by a business combination) have received aggregate gross proceeds of at least $124.0 million (plus the aggregate liquidation preference amount of any preferred stock issued to Treasury by a successor to us) from one or more Qualified Equity Offerings (including those by any successor to us by a business combination) and (ii) December 31, 2009.

Voting of Warrant Shares

Treasury has agreed that it will not vote any of the shares of common stock that it acquires upon exercise of the warrant. This does not apply to any other person who acquires any portion of the warrant, or the shares of common stock underlying the warrant, from Treasury. Our Articles of Incorporation provide, however, that if any person or group acting in concert acquires the beneficial ownership of more than 10% of any class of our equity security without the prior approval by a two-thirds vote of our “Continuing Directors,” (as defined therein) then, with respect to each vote in excess of 10% of the voting power of our outstanding shares of voting stock which such person would otherwise have been entitled to cast, such person shall be entitled to cast only one-hundredth of one vote per share. See “Description of Capital Stock—Anti-takeover Effects-Restrictions on Voting Rights.”

Other Adjustments

The exercise price of the warrant and the number of shares underlying the warrant automatically adjust to upon the following events:

·	any stock split, stock dividend, subdivision, reclassification or combination of our common stock;

until the earlier of (i) the date on which Treasury no longer holds any portion of the warrant and (ii) November 21, 2011, issuance of our common stock (or securities convertible into our common stock) for consideration (or having a conversion price per share) less than 90% of then current market value, except for issuances in connection with benefit plans, business acquisitions and public or other broadly marketed offerings;

·	a pro rata repurchase by us of our common stock; or

·	a determination by our Board of Directors to make an adjustment to the anti-dilution provisions as are reasonably necessary, in the good faith opinion of the Board, to protect the purchase rights of the warrant holders.

In addition, if we declare any dividends or distributions on our common stock other than our historical, ordinary cash dividends, dividends paid in our common stock and other dividends or distributions covered by the first bullet point above, the exercise price of the warrant will be adjusted to reflect such distribution.

In the event of any merger, consolidation, or other business combination to which we are a party, the warrantholder’s right to receive shares of our common stock upon exercise of the warrant will be converted into the right to exercise the warrant to acquire the number of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) which the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrant immediately prior to such business combination would have been entitled to receive upon consummation of the business combination. For purposes of the provision described in the preceding sentence, if the holders of our common stock have the right to elect the amount or type of consideration to be received by them in the business combination, then the consideration that the warrantholder will

be entitled to receive upon exercise will be the amount and type of consideration received by a majority of the holders of the common stock who affirmatively make an election.

No Rights as Stockholders

The warrant does not entitle its holder to any of the rights of a shareholder of Banner Corporation prior to exercise.

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized capital stock consists of:

·	25,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.01 per share; and

·	500,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.01 per share.

As of June 30, 2009, there were 18,426,458 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding and 124,000 shares of our preferred stock issued and outstanding, all of which consisted of our Series A Preferred Stock.

We have called a special meeting of our shareholders for August 26, 2009 for the purpose of approving the amendment of our Articles of Incorporation to (1) increase the authorized number of shares of common stock from 25,000,000 to 75,000,000 shares, and to (2) increase the authorized number of shares of preferred stock from 500,000 to 10,000,000 shares. We proposed the amendments to our Articles of Incorporation for the purpose of increasing the authorized shares of common and preferred stock in order to meet possible future business and financing needs. The availability of these additional shares will provide us with the capability and flexibility to issue common stock and/or preferred stock for a variety of purposes that the Board of Directors may deem advisable in the future. These purposes could include, among other things, raising additional capital; increasing the capital position of our subsidiary banks; issuing stock for possible acquisition transactions; repaying Treasury for the funds we received through TARP should we elect to do so in the future; or for other corporate and business purposes.

In this section we describe certain features and rights of our capital stock. The summary does not purport to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and to applicable Washington law.

Common Stock

General. Except as described below under “Anti-takeover Effects – Restrictions on Voting Rights,” each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters to be voted upon by the common shareholders. There are no cumulative voting rights. Subject to preferences to which holders of any shares of preferred stock may be entitled, holders of common stock will be entitled to receive ratably any dividends that may be declared from time to time by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of common stock will be entitled to share in our assets remaining after the payment or provision for payment of our debts and other liabilities, distributions or provisions for distributions in settlement of the liquidation account established in connection with the conversion of Banner Bank from the mutual to the stock form of ownership, and the satisfaction of the liquidation preferences of the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock and any other series of our preferred stock then outstanding. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions that apply to the common stock. All shares of common stock currently outstanding are fully paid and nonassessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate in the future.

Restrictions on Dividends and Repurchases Under Agreement with Treasury. The securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury provides that prior to the earlier of (i) November 21, 2011 and (ii) the date on which all of the shares of the Series A Preferred Stock have been redeemed by us or transferred by Treasury to third

parties, we may not, without the consent of Treasury, (a) increase the cash dividend on our common stock or (b) subject to limited exceptions, redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire shares of our common stock or preferred stock other than the Series A Preferred Stock or trust preferred securities.

Preferred Stock

Our Articles of Incorporation permit our Board of Directors to authorize the issuance of up to 500,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01, in one or more series, without shareholder action. The Board of Directors can fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of each series. Therefore, without approval of the holders of our common stock or the Series A Preferred Stock (except as may be required under the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock (see “Description of Series A Preferred Stock—Voting Rights”) or by the rules of the NASDAQ Stock Market or any other exchange or market on which our securities may then be listed or quoted), our Board of Directors can authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting, dividend, liquidation and conversion and other rights that could dilute the voting power or other rights or adversely affect the market value of our common stock and the Series A Preferred Stock and may assist management in impeding any unfriendly takeover or attempted change in control. See “Anti-Takeover Effects – Authorized Shares.”

For a description of the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock, see “Description of Series A Preferred Stock.”

Anti-takeover Effects

The provisions of our Articles of Incorporation, our Bylaws, and Washington law summarized in the following paragraphs may have anti-takeover effects and could delay, defer, or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a shareholder might consider to be in such shareholder’s best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by shareholders, and may make removal of the incumbent management and directors more difficult.

Authorized Shares. Our Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of 25,000,000 shares of common stock and 500,000 shares of preferred stock. These shares of common stock and preferred stock provide our Board of Directors with as much flexibility as possible to effect, among other transactions, financings, acquisitions, stock dividends, stock splits and the exercise of employee stock options. However, these additional authorized shares may also be used by the Board of Directors consistent with its fiduciary duty to deter future attempts to gain control of us. The Board of Directors also has sole authority to determine the terms of any one or more series of preferred stock, including voting rights, conversion rates, and liquidation preferences. As a result of the ability to fix voting rights for a series of preferred stock, the Board has the power to the extent consistent with its fiduciary duty to issue a series of preferred stock to persons friendly to management in order to attempt to block a tender offer, merger or other transaction by which a third party seeks control of us, and thereby assist members of management to retain their positions.

Restrictions on Voting Rights. Our Articles of Incorporation provide for restrictions on voting rights of shares owned in excess of 10% of any class of our equity security. Specifically, our Articles of Incorporation provide that if any person or group acting in concert acquires the beneficial ownership of more than 10% of any class of our equity security without the prior approval by a two-thirds vote of our “Continuing Directors,” (as defined therein) then, with respect to each vote in excess of 10% of the voting power of our outstanding shares of voting stock which such person would otherwise have been entitled to cast, such person shall be entitled to cast only one-hundredth of one vote per share. Exceptions from this limitation are provided for, among other things, any proxy granted to one or more of our “Continuing Directors” and for our employee benefit plans. Under our Articles of Incorporation, the restriction on voting shares beneficially owned in violation of the foregoing limitations is imposed automatically, and the Articles of Incorporation provide that a majority of our Continuing Directors have the power to construe the forgoing restrictions and to make all determinations necessary or desirable to implement these restrictions. These restrictions would, among other things, restrict voting power of a beneficial owner of more than 10% of our outstanding shares of common stock in a proxy contest or on other matters on which such person is entitled to vote.

Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors is divided into three classes, each of which contains approximately one-third of the members of the Board. The members of each class are elected for a term of three years, with the terms of office of all members of one class expiring each year so that approximately one-third of the total number of directors is elected each year. The classification of directors, together with the provisions in our Articles of Incorporation described below that limit the ability of shareholders to remove directors and that permit only the remaining directors to fill any vacancies on the Board of Directors, have the effect of making it more difficult for shareholders to change the composition of the Board of Directors. As a result, at least two annual meetings of shareholders will be required for the shareholders to change a majority of the directors, whether or not a change in the Board of Directors would be beneficial and whether or not a majority of shareholders believe that such a change would be desirable.

Our Articles of Incorporation provide that the size of the Board shall be not less than five or more than 25 as set in accordance with the Bylaws. In accordance with the Bylaws, the number of directors is currently set at fifteen. The Articles of Incorporation provide that any vacancy occurring in the Board, including a vacancy created by an increase in the number of directors, shall be filled by a vote of two-thirds of the directors then in office and any director so chosen shall hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders at which the term of the class to which the director has been chosen expires. The classified Board is intended to provide for continuity of the Board of Directors and to make it more difficult and time consuming for a shareholder group to fully use its voting power to gain control of the Board of Directors without the consent of incumbent members of the Board. The Articles of Incorporation further provide that a director may be removed from the Board of Directors prior to the expiration of his term only for cause and only upon the vote of the holders of 80% of the total votes eligible to be cast thereon. In the absence of this provision, the vote of the holders of a majority of the shares could remove the entire Board, but only with cause, and replace it with persons of such holders' choice.

The foregoing description of our Board of Directors does not apply with respect to directors that may be elected by the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock in the event we do not pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock for six or more dividend periods. See “Description of Series A Preferred Stock—Voting Rights.”

Cumulative Voting, Special Meetings and Action by Written Consent. Our Articles of Incorporation do not provide for cumulative voting for any purpose. Moreover, the Articles of Incorporation provide that special meetings of shareholders may be called only by our Board of Directors or by the written request of not less than a majority of the shares entitled to vote at the meeting. In addition, our Bylaws require that any action taken by written consent must receive the consent of all of the outstanding voting stock entitled to vote on the action taken.

Shareholder Vote Required to Approve Business Combinations with Principal Shareholders. The Articles of Incorporation require the approval of the holders of at least 80% of each class of our outstanding shares of each class of voting stock to approve certain "Business Combinations" (as defined therein) involving a "Related Person" (as defined therein) except in cases where the proposed transaction has been approved in advance by two-thirds of those members of Banner Corporation’s Board of Directors who are unaffiliated with the Related Person and were directors prior to the time when the Related Person became a Related Person. The term "Related Person" is defined to include any individual, corporation, partnership or other entity (other than tax-qualified benefit plans of Banner Corporation) which owns beneficially or controls, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the outstanding shares of common stock of Banner Corporation or an affiliate of such person or entity. This provision of the Articles of Incorporation applies to any "Business Combination," which is defined to include: (i) any merger or consolidation of Banner Corporation with or into any Related Person; (ii) any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, transfer, or other disposition of 25% or more of the assets of Banner Corporation to a Related Person; (iii) any merger or consolidation of a Related Person with or into Banner Corporation or a subsidiary of Banner Corporation; (iv) any sale, lease, exchange, transfer, or other disposition of certain assets of a Related Person to Banner Corporation or a subsidiary of Banner Corporation; (v) the issuance of any securities of Banner Corporation or a subsidiary of Banner Corporation to a Related Person; (vi) the acquisition by Banner Corporation or a subsidiary of Banner Corporation of any securities of a Related Person; (vii) any reclassification of common stock of Banner Corporation or any recapitalization involving the common stock of Banner Corporation; or (viii) any agreement or other arrangement providing for any of the foregoing.

Washington law imposes restrictions on certain transactions between a corporation and certain significant shareholders. Chapter 23B.19 of the Washington Business Corporation Act prohibits a "target corporation," with

certain exceptions, from engaging in certain "significant business transactions" with an "Acquiring Person" who acquires 10% or more of the voting securities of a target corporation for a period of five years after such acquisition, unless the transaction or acquisition of shares is approved by a majority of the members of the target corporation's Board of Directors prior to the date of the acquisition or, at or subsequent to the date of the acquisition, the transaction is approved by a majority of the members of the target corporation’s Board of Directors and authorized at a shareholders’ meeting by the vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting shares of the target corporation, excluding shares owned or controlled by the Acquiring Person. The prohibited transactions include, among others, a merger or consolidation with, disposition of assets to, or issuance or redemption of stock to or from, the Acquiring Person, termination of 5% or more of the employees of the target corporation as a result of the Acquiring Person's acquisition of 10% or more of the shares, or allowing the Acquiring Person to receive any disproportionate benefit as a shareholder. After the five-year period during which significant business transactions are prohibited, certain significant business transactions may occur if certain "fair price" criteria or shareholder approval requirements are met. Target corporations include all publicly-traded corporations incorporated under Washington law, as well as publicly traded foreign corporations that meet certain requirements.

Amendment of Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. Amendments to our Articles of Incorporation must be approved by our Board of Directors by a majority vote of the Board and by our shareholders by a majority of the voting group comprising all the votes entitled to be cast on the proposed amendment, and a majority of each other voting group entitled to vote separately on the proposed amendment; provided, however, that the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 80% of votes entitled to be cast by each separate voting group entitled to vote thereon (after giving effect to the provision limiting voting rights, if applicable) is required to amend or repeal certain provisions of the Articles of Incorporation, including the provision limiting voting rights, the provisions relating to the removal of directors, shareholder nominations and proposals, the approval of certain business combinations, calling special meetings, director and officer indemnification by us and amendment of our Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation. Our Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of our Board of Directors, or by a vote of 80% of the total votes entitled to vote generally in the election of directors at a duly constituted meeting of shareholders.

Shareholder Nominations and Proposals. Our Articles of Incorporation generally require a shareholder who intends to nominate a candidate for election to the Board of Directors, or to raise new business at a shareholder meeting to give not less than 30 nor more than 60 days' advance notice to the Secretary of Banner Corporation. The notice provision requires a shareholder who desires to raise new business to provide certain information to us concerning the nature of the new business, the shareholder and the shareholder's interest in the business matter. Similarly, a shareholder wishing to nominate any person for election as a director must provide us with certain information concerning the nominee and the proposing shareholder.

The cumulative effect of the restrictions on a potential acquisition of us that are contained in our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and federal and Washington law, may be to discourage potential takeover attempts and perpetuate incumbent management, even though certain shareholders may deem a potential acquisition to be in their best interests, or deem existing management not to be acting in their best interests.

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare.

SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS

The selling securityholders may include (i) Treasury, which acquired all of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock and the warrant from us in a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, and (ii) any other person or persons holding shares of Series A Preferred Stock or depositary shares evidencing fractional interests in shares of Series A Preferred Stock, any portion of the warrant and any shares of our common stock issued upon exercise of the warrant, to whom Treasury has transferred its registration rights under the terms of the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury. Treasury is required to notify us in writing of any such transfer of its registration rights within ten days after the transfer, including the name and address of the transferee and the number and type of securities with respect to which the registration rights have been assigned. As of the date of this prospectus, Treasury has not notified us of any such transfer. Accordingly, we believe that Treasury currently holds record and beneficial ownership of 100% of the outstanding shares of the

Series A Preferred Stock and the entire amount of the warrant (none of which has been exercised) covered by this prospectus.

The securities to be offered under this prospectus for the account of the selling securityholders are:

124,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, representing 100% of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding on the date of this prospectus, or, in the event Treasury requests that we deposit the shares of Series A Preferred Stock with a depositary in accordance with the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury, depositary shares evidencing fractional share interests in such shares of Series A Preferred Stock;

·	a ten-year warrant to purchase 1,707,989 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $10.89 per share, subject to adjustment as described under “Description of Warrant”; and

the 1,707,989 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrant (subject to adjustment as described under “Description of Warrant”), which shares, if issued, would represent ownership of approximately 8.8% of the shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2009 (including the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrant in total shares outstanding).

For purposes of this prospectus, we have assumed that, after completion of the offering, none of the securities covered by this prospectus will be held by the selling securityholders.

We do not know when or in what amounts the selling securityholders may offer the securities for sale. The selling securityholders might not sell any or all of the securities offered by this prospectus. Because the selling securityholders may offer all or some of the securities pursuant to this offering, and because, to our knowledge, no sale of any of the securities is currently subject to any agreements, arrangements or understandings, we cannot estimate the number of the securities that will be held by the selling securityholders after completion of the offering.

The only potential selling securityholder whose identity we are currently aware of is Treasury. Other than with respect to Treasury’s acquisition of the Series A Preferred Stock and warrant from us, Treasury has not had a material relationship with us.

Information about the selling securityholders may change over time and changed information will be set forth in supplements to this prospectus if and when necessary.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The selling securityholders may sell all or a portion of the securities beneficially owned by them and offered by this prospectus from time to time directly or through one or more underwriters, broker-dealers or agents. If securities are sold through underwriters or broker-dealers, the selling securityholders will be responsible for underwriting discounts or commissions or agent’s commissions. The securities may be sold in one or more transactions at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected in transactions, which may involve crosses or block transactions. The selling securityholders may use any one or more of the following methods when selling shares:

·	on any national securities exchange or quotation service on which the securities may be listed or quoted at the time of sale;

·	in the over-the-counter market;

·	in transactions otherwise than on these exchanges or systems or in the over-the-counter market;

·	through the writing of options, whether such options are listed on an options exchange or otherwise;

·	ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers;

·	block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the shares as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;

·	purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account;

·	an exchange distribution in accordance with the rules of the applicable exchange;

·	privately negotiated transactions;

·	settlement of short sales entered into after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part;

·	broker-dealers may agree with the selling securityholders to sell a specified number of such shares at a stipulated price per share;

·	a combination of any such methods of sale; and

·	any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

The selling securityholders may also sell securities under Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, if available, rather than under this prospectus.

Broker-dealers engaged by the selling securityholders may arrange for other brokers-dealers to participate in sales. If the selling securityholders effect such transactions by selling securities to or through underwriters, broker-dealers or agents, such underwriters, broker-dealers or agents may receive commissions in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the selling securityholders or commissions from purchasers of the securities for whom they may act as agent or to whom they may sell as principal. These discounts, concessions or commissions as to any particular underwriter, broker-dealer or agent will be in amounts to be negotiated, which are not expected to be in excess of those customary in the types of transactions involved.

In connection with sales of securities, the selling securityholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, which may in turn engage in short sales of the securities in the course of hedging in positions they assume. The selling securityholders may also sell securities short and if such short sale shall take place after the date that the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part is declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the selling securityholders may deliver securities covered by this prospectus to close out short positions and to return borrowed shares in connection with such short sales. The selling securityholders may also loan or pledge securities to broker-dealers that in turn may sell such shares. The selling securityholders may also enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of shares offered by this prospectus, which shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell pursuant to this prospectus (as supplemented or amended to reflect such transaction).

The selling securityholders may pledge or grant a security interest in some or all of the securities owned by them and, if they default in the performance of their secured obligations, the pledgees or secured parties may offer and sell the securities from time to time pursuant to this prospectus or any amendment or supplement to this prospectus under Rule 424(b)(3) or other applicable provision of the Securities Act of 1933, amending, if necessary, the identification of selling securityholders to include the pledgee, transferee or other successors in interest as selling securityholders under this prospectus. The selling securityholders also may transfer and donate the securities in other circumstances in which case the transferees, donees, pledgees or other successors in interest will be the selling beneficial owners for purposes of this prospectus.

The selling securityholders and any broker-dealer participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, and any commission paid, or any

discounts or concessions allowed to, any such broker-dealer may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act of 1933. At the time a particular offering of securities is made, a prospectus supplement, if required, will be distributed which will set forth (i) the name of each such selling securityholder and of the participating broker-dealer(s), (ii) the number of securities involved, (iii) the price at which such securities were sold, (iv) the commissions paid or discounts or concessions allowed to such broker-dealer(s), where applicable, and (v) any other facts material to the transaction.

The aggregate proceeds to the selling securityholders from the sale of the securities will be the purchase price of the securities less discounts and commissions, if any.

Under the securities laws of some states, the securities covered by this prospectus may be sold in such states only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in some states the securities may not be sold unless such shares have been registered or qualified for sale in such state or an exemption from registration or qualification is available and is complied with.

There can be no assurance that any selling securityholder will sell any or all of the securities registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

If a selling securityholder uses this prospectus for any sale of securities, it will be subject to the prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. The selling securityholders and any other person participating in such distribution will be subject to applicable provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations thereunder, including, without limitation, Regulation M under the Exchange Act, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of the securities by the selling securityholders and any other participating person. Regulation M may also restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of securities to engage in market-making activities with respect to such securities. All of the foregoing may affect the marketability of the securities covered by this prospectus and the ability of any person or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to such securities.

Pursuant to the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury, we will pay substantially all expenses of the registration of the securities covered by this prospectus, including, without limitation, SEC filing fees and expenses of compliance with state securities or “blue sky” laws; provided, however, that a selling securityholder will pay all underwriting discounts and selling commissions, if any. We will indemnify the selling securityholders against liabilities, including some liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, in accordance with the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury, or the selling securityholders will be entitled to contribution. We have agreed under the securities purchase agreement between us and Treasury to cause such of our directors and senior executive officers to execute customary lock-up agreements in such form and for such time period up to 90 days as may be requested by a managing underwriter with respect to an underwritten offering of securities covered by this prospectus.

We do not intend to apply for listing of the Series A Preferred Stock on any securities exchange or for inclusion of the Series A Preferred Stock in any automated quotation system unless we are requested to do so by Treasury. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market, if any, for the Series A Preferred Stock.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered by this prospectus has been passed upon for us by Breyer & Associates PC, McLean, Virginia.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of Banner Corporation as of December 31, 2008 and 2007, and for each of the years in the three year period ended December 31, 2008, and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, have been incorporated by

reference herein in reliance upon the reports of Moss Adams, LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

124,000 Shares of Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

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Joint Book-Running Managers

BofA Merrill Lynch Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P.

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Co-Managers

Drexel Hamilton SL Hare Capital TBC Securities

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March , 2012