TriCo Bancshares Announces the Appointment of Carol Ward, Named Executive Vice President-Chief Risk Officer Effective June 11, 2012

TriCo Bancshares (Nasdaq:TCBK) (the "Company"), parent company of Tri Counties Bank (the "Bank"), announced that effective Monday, June 11, 2012, Carol Ward will become the Company's Executive Vice President-Chief Risk Officer. Ward will be the newest addition to the executive management team of Tri Counties Bank. Ward comes to the position following 28 years of banking experience including over 10 years of senior risk management positions at several Southern California banks. Those banks include Countrywide Bank, Hawthorne Savings and Mercantile Bank. Ward also worked as an independent consultant to the banking industry. Most recently, Ward was the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management at Elevations Credit Union in Boulder, Colorado.

Carol Ward will be the newest addition to the executive management team of Tri Counties Bank serving as the Executive Vice President-Chief Risk Officer. Ward comes to the position following 28 years of banking experience. (Photo: Business Wire)

Richard P. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer for the Company and the Bank, said "Carol brings the leadership necessary to raise the performance of the bank through her strong knowledge and abilities as an enterprise risk manager. I believe Carol and her new position are very important as we continue to strengthen our risk management focus and elevate ourselves to the next level of our development.” Smith added, "We are delighted to find a risk professional with proven experience, combined with the passion and belief in the value of a strong risk management process.”

In her new role at the bank, Ward will be responsible for the development and review of the risk management processes within the organization. She will oversee the internal audit function, the compliance department, and coordinate with all other areas of the bank to ensure that risk management processes within the organization function effectively and meet the enterprise risk effectiveness for the bank. Included in her role are duties and risk assessments related to areas such as operational risk management, credit risk management, physical and information security, fraud detection/remediation, vendor management, business recovery, and regulatory compliance.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements about the Company, including management’s current expectations about and objectives for the Company’s future financial results, business prospects, business developments and operations and forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other measures of economic performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may include but are not necessarily limited to fluctuations in interest rates and monetary policy established by the Federal Reserve, inflation, government regulations, general economic conditions, competition within the business areas in which the Company is conducting its operations, including the real estate market in California, and other factors beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties could cause results for subsequent interim periods or for the entire year to differ materially from those indicated. For a discussion of factors that could cause results to differ, please see the Company's reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Company's press releases. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward- looking statements, which reflect management's view only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

About Tri Counties Bank

TriCo Bancshares and Tri Counties Bank are headquartered in Chico, California. Tri Counties Bank has a 36-year history in the banking industry. It operates 41 traditional branch locations and 27 in-store branch locations in 23 California counties. Tri Counties Bank offers financial services and provides a diversified line of products and services to consumers and businesses, which include demand, savings and time deposits, consumer finance, online banking, mortgage lending, and commercial banking throughout its market area. It operates a network of 76 ATMs and a 24-hour, seven days-a-week telephone customer service center. Brokerage services are provided by the Bank’s investment services through affiliation with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. For further information visit the Tri Counties Bank web site at http://www.tricountiesbank.com.

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