First Sound Bank announced that on December 23, 2008 it filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in King County Superior Court. Named as parties to the complaint were Larasco Inc. (the entity from which First Sound Bank purchased its Puget Sound Leasing business in March 2008) and 11 banks: Banner Bank, County Bank Corp., Cowlitz Bank, HSBC Bank, Plaza Bank, Regal Financial Bank, Sovereign Bank, Washington Federal Inc., Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Bank of the West and Westsound Bank. The case for declaratory judgment was filed in response to concerns expressed by some of the named banks regarding the parties' respective rights and obligations under agreements that the named banks and Larasco Inc. (then known as Puget Sound Leasing Co. Inc.) executed before Puget Sound Leasing Co. Inc./Larasco Inc. sold certain assets to First Sound Bank. First Sound Bank's purpose in filing the action is to establish a single forum in which the rights of the banks, Larasco Inc. and First Sound Bank can be efficiently addressed and resolved. First Sound Bank expects that this action will avoid the need for multiple proceedings and potentially conflicting outcomes and considers it to be the most constructive available means by which to resolve the parties' rights and obligations.

County Bank Corp. laid off about 20 employees. No specific job type or branch was targeted in the layoffs, which represent less than 5% of the bank's work force of 500. The eliminated jobs, some part-time, were in cities scattered across the state, including Merced.