By Sharpening Focus, Vineyard Bears Fruit; Bank reformed in 2000, targeting product lines that were poised to rise.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(Q & A)

Byline: MARILYN MUCH

When Norman Morales took the helm of Vineyard National Bancorp in October 2000, the bank was barely eking out a profit.

Vineyard is a community bank operating in the so-called Inland Empire region of Southern California. After struggling with paltry profit in the mid- to late-1990s, Vineyard started to gain momentum in 2000. It's been flourishing ever since.

From 2000 to 2004, earnings per share have climbed at an average annual rate of 89%. Its assets surged to $1.2 billion in June from $100 million in 2000. And in the past year, its stock price has nearly doubled.

Vineyard has nine full-service banking centers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It also has two offices that make just Small Business Administration loans and one that does income production lending to commercial real estate and multifamily home builders.

Morales talked with IBD about Vineyard's business and his growth strategy.

IBD: What's been driving your growth?