CVB Financial Corp. Announces Appointment of David A. Brager as new CEO

David A. Brager, Executive Vice President & Sales Division Manager, will succeed Christopher D. Myers

CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) and its principal subsidiary, Citizens Business Bank (together, “the Company”), announced that the Company’s Board of Directors has chosen David A. Brager to be the organization’s next Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Brager, who currently serves as Executive Vice President, Sales Division Manager, will assume the role on March 16, 2020 upon the scheduled retirement of the Company’s current President and CEO, Christopher D. Myers. Concurrently, Mr. Brager is being appointed to the respective Boards of Directors of CVBF and Citizens Business Bank.

CVBF’s Board of Directors led a thorough, nationwide search in partnership with Spencer Stuart, a leading executive search firm. The promotion of Mr. Brager affirms the quality of the Company’s senior management team and the Board’s confidence in the Company’s strategy and continued strong performance. In order to facilitate a smooth and orderly transition, Mr. Myers, who has served as the Company’s CEO since 2006, will remain available to the Company as a consultant through December 31, 2020.

“Our Board is very grateful for Chris Myers’ leadership the past 13 years and is truly delighted to have selected Dave Brager as CEO to lead our Company’s next chapter,” said Raymond V. O’Brien III, the Company’s Chairman of the Board. “Following Chris’ decision to retire, which was announced this past July, our Board engaged in a thoughtful evaluation process. While the Board was of course already impressed with Dave, it was important and helpful to have the opportunity to benchmark his candidacy against an extensive, nationwide field of contenders. We are quite pleased with the outcome.”

“I am truly honored that our Board has chosen me to lead this outstanding organization that has been named #1 on the Forbes’ America’s Best Banks list for two of the past four years — including 2020,” said David A. Brager, Executive Vice President, Sales Division Manager and the Board’s appointee to be the next CEO of the Company. “I see this as a terrific opportunity to leverage my deep understanding of our Bank’s growth strategies and local geographic markets to continue to deliver strong financial results. We have worked hard to build our industry-leading platform, and I am confident that our talented team will continue to expand and reach new heights for the sake of our customers, communities, shareholders and employees.”

Chris Myers, the Company’s retiring President and CEO, commented: “Dave and I have worked closely together for the past nine years. He has been deeply involved in executing our strategy, particularly on the sales side of the business. As such, he should be well prepared to continue ahead on our path of excellence. From a continuity standpoint, Dave is the right choice to lead this Company. He will be well supported by a seasoned and motivated senior leadership team. I wish Dave all the best in his new role and am confident that the incredible legacy of this Company is intact and ready to move forward.”

Mr. Brager has over 30 years of banking experience in a variety of senior leadership roles, including serving the past 17 years at Citizens Business Bank, where his present responsibilities encompass oversight of all the Bank’s business financial centers, customer lending and deposit relationships, marketing, treasury management, international services, government services and bankcard products. Dave joined CVBF in 2003 as a Vice President and was recruited to build and manage the Fresno Business Financial Center on a de novo basis. The office achieved early entrepreneurial success and, four years later, he was promoted to SVP and Regional Manager for the entire Central Valley area of California. Based on his continued strong record of achievement, at the beginning of 2011, Dave was promoted to EVP and Sales Division Manager, reporting directly to CEO Myers in Ontario, CA. Prior to his tenure with the Company, Mr. Brager worked for over seven years at Westamerica Bank. Mr. Brager received his B.S degree from California State University, Fresno. He is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School in partnership with the University of Washington’s Graduate School of Business.

Corporate Overview

CVB Financial Corp. (“CVBF”) is the holding company for Citizens Business Bank. CVBF is one of the 10 largest bank holding companies headquartered in California with over $11 billion in total assets. Citizens Business Bank is consistently recognized as one of the top performing banks in the nation and offers a wide array of banking, lending and investing services through 58 banking centers and 3 trust office locations serving the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and the Central Valley area of California. Shares of CVB Financial Corp. common stock are listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “CVBF”. For investor information on CVB Financial Corp., visit our Citizens Business Bank website at www.cbbank.com and click on the “Investors” tab.