Heartland Promotes Drew Townsend to Corporate Credit Position

Heartland Promotes Drew Townsend to Corporate Credit Position

DUBUQUE, Iowa & GALENA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Heartland Financial USA, Inc. announced today that Andrew E. Townsend, president of the company's Galena State Bank subsidiary has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President, Deputy Chief Credit Officer for Heartland and will be located at its downtown Dubuque headquarters.

In his new position, Townsend will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer, Kenneth J. Erickson, and will be primarily responsible for the oversight of Heartland's various credit underwriting processes. He will also assume the supervision of a team of senior credit officers. His official start date at Heartland will be set after a successor has been named, which is expected to be near yearend 2012.

Townsend said, "I truly appreciate this opportunity to advance within the Heartland organization. My time here in Galena has been a wonderful experience and has provided me with a challenging career and personal growth opportunities. I am looking forward to bringing my customer service experience from Galena to the Heartland Credit Department."

Lynn B. Fuller, chairman, president and chief executive officer said, "Drew will bring an exceptional awareness of customer relationships to his new position. He has been highly successful in his role as bank president in serving clients. I expect he will be equally effective in working with his new customers, the bankers who serve our clients at each of the Heartland subsidiary banks."

A native of Britt, Iowa, Townsend began his career in 1988 as a bank examiner for the Iowa Division of Banking. He joined Dubuque Bank and Trust in 1993 as a loan review officer. He was selected to join Galena State Bank as executive vice president in 1996 as understudy to President Jerry Murdock in anticipation of Murdock's retirement. In 2003, Townsend assumed the position of president and CEO of Galena State Bank and joined the bank's board of directors.

He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Iowa State University where he majored in Finance. He holds a certification in loan review from the Bank Administration Institute and is a member of the Risk Management Association.

In the community, Townsend serves as chairman of the VisitGalena tourism organization, Vice Chair of the Tri-County Economic Development Alliance, board member of the Community Development Fund of Galena, and board president of the Jo Daviess Community Development Corporation. Drew and his family belong to St. Michael's Catholic Church.

Townsend and his family intend to continue to reside in the Galena area and Drew plans to continue his community involvement as well as his membership on the Galena State Bank board of directors.

"I have very deep feelings for the bank, our employees, customers and the Galena community. This new challenge will give me an opportunity to expand my career, but I will certainly miss the customer contact and relationships that have been built over the years," added Townsend.

About Heartland Financial USA, Inc.

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is a $4.4 billion diversified financial services company providing commercial and retail banking, residential mortgage, wealth management, investment services, insurance and consumer finance services. Heartland currently has 65 banking locations in 42 communities in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Colorado and Minnesota as well as mortgage loan production offices in California, Nevada, Texas, Wyoming and Idaho. Additional information about Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is available at www.htlf.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release, and future oral and written statements of Heartland and its management, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Heartland's financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. Although these forward-looking statements are based upon the beliefs, expectations and assumptions of Heartland's management, there are a number of factors, many of which are beyond the ability of management to control or predict, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements. These factors, which are detailed in the risk factors included in Heartland's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, include, among others: (i) the strength of the local and national economy; (ii) the economic impact of past and any future terrorist threats and attacks and any acts of war, (iii) changes in state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning the Company's general business; (iv) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of the Company's assets; (v) increased competition in the financial services sector and the inability to attract new customers; (vi) changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; (vii) the loss of key executives or employees; (viii) changes in consumer spending; (ix) unexpected results of acquisitions; (x) unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving the Company; and (xi) changes in accounting policies and practices. All statements in this release, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and Heartland undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

Heartland Financial USA, Inc.
John J. Berg, 563-587-4043
EVP - Marketing and Sales
jberg@htlf.com

KEYWORDS: United States North America Illinois Iowa

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