“SBA certifies Native American Bank for HUBZone status”
First bank ever to be approved for the program
August 7, 2006

(Browning, MT) The five year-old Native American Bank, NA (NAB) was recently notified by the SBA that it was awarded HUBZone designation. This is a historic certification as it marks the first time in the nearly 10-year-old program that a bank has received such approval. The SBA?s HUBZone program was created in 1997 to promote economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to increased federal contracting opportunities.

“We are very pleased to be the first bank to ever receive HUBZone certification,” stated JD Colbert, President and CEO of NAB. “This designation is a natural fit for NAB since we are the only bank focused primarily on serving historically underutilized business zones on Indian Reservations.”

The designation will allow NAB to be awarded contracts up to $3 million relating to financial services. The federal government has several contracting opportunities in the finance sector from providing pre-paid debit cards to federal employees to managing large financial programs and products.

One area the bank would like to focus on is with regards to government run financial programs aimed at Indian communities. “Given our successful track record of providing financial services to Indian Country, we believe our unique expertise can easily carry over to working with the federal government to make current government financial programs more efficient.”

Aside from providing improved services to Indian Country, the bank is also excited about bringing more jobs to Indian Country. “We pride ourselves on the fact that over 65% of our staff is from Indian Country. Now, with greater federal contracting opportunities, we look forward to hiring more staff members in the numerous Indian communities we serve.”

Native American Bank is a $74 million dollar bank with its corporate headquarters in Denver, CO, a retail branch in Browning, Montana and loan production offices in Rocky Boy, Montana and Anchorage, Alaska. The bank is owned by twenty-six federally recognized Indian Tribes, Alaska Native corporations and tribal organizations. For more information about Native American Bank, please visit the bank?s website at www.nabna.com.

Native American Bank's corporate offices are in Denver, Colorado, 999 18th Strees, Suite 2460, Denver, CO 80202; (303) 988-2727; fax: (303) 988-5533, and its principal banking office is located in Browning, Montana, 125 North Market Square, P.O. Box 730, Browning, MT 59417; (406) 338-7000; fax (406) 338-7008; toll free (800) 307-9199. A loan and deposit production office is located at Stone Child Community College on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana; phone (406) 395-4355.