CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 30, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CommunityOne Bancorp (Nasdaq:COB), announced today that U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina had dismissed with prejudice the case against CommunityOne's bank subsidiary, CommunityOne Bank, N.A. that had been filed in 2011. The case related to a customer in a suspected Ponzi scheme that had been convicted of securities and wire fraud and money laundering. The dismissal was the result of a motion filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District under the terms of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Bank as part of its recapitalization in October 2011. With the dismissal of the complaint, the Deferred Prosecution Agreement is also now terminated. 

"We are very pleased that the case has been dismissed and the Deferred Prosecution Agreement terminated," said Brian Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of CommunityOne. "The U.S. Attorney's action was a recognition of our full compliance with the DPA and our efforts over the past two years to enhance our Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering programs. These efforts will continue as we also continue to serve our customers in our markets."

About CommunityOne Bancorp 

CommunityOne Bancorp is the North Carolina-based bank holding company for CommunityOne Bank, N.A. (community1.com), a $2 billion community bank, operating 53 branches in 42 communities throughout central, southern and western North Carolina, offering a wide variety of consumer, mortgage and commercial banking services to retail and business customers, including loans, deposits, cash management, wealth and online banking.

Caution About Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements made in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements are statements that include projections, predictions, expectations, or beliefs about events or results or otherwise are not statements of historical facts, such as statements about the Company's board or its structure. Although the Company believes that its expectations with respect to such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its existing knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results, performance or achievements of the Company will not differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors could cause actual events or results to differ significantly from those described in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to those described in the cautionary language included under the headings "Risk Factors" and in other sections of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings made with the SEC. 


CONTACT: For more information:
         Krisie Bassinger: 980.819.6268
         Pam Cranford: 336.626.8300
         investorrelations@community1.com
Source: CommunityOne Bancorp
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