20,000,000 Shares

Exhibit 1.1

20,000,000 Shares

United Western Bancorp, Inc.

Common Stock
par value $0.0001 per share

Underwriting Agreement

September 16, 2009

Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P.,
     as representative of the several Underwriters
          named in Schedule I hereto,
919 Third Avenue, 6^th Floor
New York, New York 10022

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     United Western Bancorp, Inc., a Colorado corporation (the “Company”), proposes, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein, to issue and sell to Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. and each of the other underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 11 hereof) for whom Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. is acting as representative (the “Representative”) an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of the common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Stock”), of the Company, and, at the election of the Underwriters, up to 3,000,000 additional shares of Stock. The aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of Stock to be sold by the Company is herein called the “Firm Shares,” and the aggregate of 3,000,000 additional shares to be sold by the Company is herein called the “Optional Shares.” The Firm Shares and the Optional Shares that the Underwriters elect to purchase pursuant to Section 2 hereof are herein collectively called the “Shares.”

     The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Shares as soon as the Underwriters deem advisable after this Agreement has been executed and delivered.

     The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-161189), including the related preliminary prospectus, which has become effective covering the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430A (“Rule 430A”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act and paragraph (b) of Rule 424 (“Rule 424(b)”) of such regulations. The information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 430A is referred to as “Rule 430A Information.” Each prospectus used before such registration statement became effective, and any prospectus that omitted, as applicable, the Rule 430A Information, that was used after such effectiveness and prior to the execution and delivery of this Agreement, is herein called a “preliminary prospectus.” Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits and any schedules thereto, if any, and the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-1 under the Act, at the time it became effective and including the Rule 430A Information, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act is herein referred to as the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” and after such filing the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The final prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference therein, in the form first furnished to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offering of the Shares is herein called the “Prospectus.” The term “Effective Date” shall mean each date that the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment or amendments thereto became or become effective.

     All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “contained,” “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus (or other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be. All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-1 under the Act, as of the Effective Date or the date of such preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be.

     1. (a) The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

               (i) (A) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendments thereto, (B) at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the Act) of the Shares, and (C) at the date hereof, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act (“Rule 405”). Each of the Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement has become effective under the Act and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment

thereto or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto under the Act has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are threatened by the Commission, and any request on the part of the Commission for additional information has been complied with;

               (ii) No order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each preliminary prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein;

               (iii) The Registration Statement conforms, and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder; on the Effective Date and at any Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof), the Registration Statement did not or will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and when filed and at any Time of Delivery, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representative expressly for use therein. Each preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus and each Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus when filed, if filed by electronic transmission pursuant to the Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (“EDGAR”), was identical (except as may be permitted by Regulation S-T under the Act) to the copy thereof delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares;

               (iv) Each Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not contain any untrue statement of material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading and, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including any document incorporated by reference therein and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that, in each case, has not been superseded or modified;

As used in this subsection and elsewhere in this Agreement:

“Applicable Time” means 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the date of this Agreement.

“General Disclosure Package” means (i) the Statutory Prospectus, (ii) the Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule II hereto and (iii) any other Free Writing Prospectus that the parties hereto shall expressly agree in writing to treat as part of the General Disclosure Package.

“Statutory Prospectus” as of any time means the most recent preliminary prospectus that is included in the Registration Statement immediately prior to the Applicable Time.

“Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus” means any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act, relating to the Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (ii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) because it contains a description of the Shares or of the offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Act.

               (v) The documents which are incorporated in the Registration Statement or any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus or from which information is so incorporated by reference (the “Exchange Acts Reports”), when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be (or, if an amendment with respect to any such documents was filed or became effective, when such amendment was filed or became effective), complied in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and, when read together with the other information in the Prospectus, at the time the Registration Statement became effective, at the Applicable Time and at any Time of Delivery (as defined below) did not and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make to the statements therein, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading;

               (vi) The financial statements, including the related schedules and notes, filed with the Commission and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus (the “Financial Statements”) fairly present in all material respects the consolidated financial position of the Company and its subsidiaries as of and at the dates indicated and the results of their operations and cash flows for the periods specified; such Financial Statements, unless otherwise noted therein, have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles as applied in the United States (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved; no other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus; the consolidated statement of income data, consolidated balance sheet data and income per share data for the five fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 as set forth in the Prospectus under the captions “Summary Selected Consolidated Financial Data” fairly present the information therein on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements contained in the Registration Statement, the preliminary

prospectus and the Prospectus; the consolidated statement of income data and income per share data for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2009 and consolidated balance sheet data as of June 30, 2009 as set forth in the Prospectus under the caption “Summary Selected Consolidated Financial Data” fairly present the information therein on a basis consistent with that of the unaudited financial statements contained in the Registration Statement; and, to the extent applicable, all disclosures contained in the Prospectus regarding “non-GAAP financial measures” as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of the Commission comply with Regulation G of the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder and Item 10 of Regulation S-K under the Act;

               (vii) Each of Crowe Horwath LLP and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firms that certified the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries that are included in or incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, is an independent registered public accounting firm as required by the Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and, to the knowledge of the Company, such accountants are not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and the related rules and regulations of the Commission;

               (viii) Since the date of the latest audited financial statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any material loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus; and, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except as set forth or contemplated in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (A) there has not been any change in the capital stock or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (B) there has not occurred any event that would have a material adverse effect on the business affairs, business prospects, financial condition, shareholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (C) to the knowledge of the Company, there has not been any development that would reasonably be expected to have a prospective Material Adverse Effect, (D) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, and (E) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock;

               (ix) The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all real property and good and marketable title to all personal property owned by them, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and defects except such as are described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or such as do not materially affect the value of such property and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries; and any real property and buildings held under lease by the Company and its subsidiaries are held by them under valid, subsisting and enforceable leases or subleases with such exceptions as are not material and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property and buildings by the

Company and its subsidiaries; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have any written, or to the knowledge of the Company, oral notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease;

               (x) The Company is a registered unitary savings and loan holding company under the Home Owners’ Loan Act, as amended (the “HOLA”), and has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Colorado, with the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;

               (xi) Each subsidiary of the Company is a corporation, limited liability company, business or statutory trust or a bank and is duly organized or incorporated, as the case may be, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the respective jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation. Each subsidiary has the corporate or requisite entity power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and conduct its business as described in and contemplated by each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and as currently being conducted, and has been duly qualified as a foreign organization or corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; the deposit accounts of United Western Bank, a federal savings bank (the “Bank”), are insured up to the applicable limits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) and no proceedings for the modification, termination or revocation of such insurance are pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened; the activities of the subsidiaries of the Company are permitted to subsidiaries of a savings and loan holding company; and the Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 21 to the Registration Statement;

               (xii) All of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Bank and the Company’s other subsidiaries, other than Matrix Bancorp Capital Trust II, Matrix Bancorp Capital Trust VI and Matrix Bancorp Capital Trust VIII (collectively, the “Trusts”), and all of the issued and outstanding common securities of each of the Trusts, have been duly authorized and are validly issued, are fully paid and nonassessable, and are wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, restriction upon voting or transfer, preemptive rights, claim, equity or other defect, other than the pledge of all outstanding stock of the Bank under the Company’s credit agreement with JP Morgan Chase. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock or other equity interest of any subsidiary was issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of

any security holder or equity holder of such subsidiary. There are no outstanding rights, warrants or options to acquire or instruments convertible into or exchangeable for any capital stock or equity securities of any of the Company’s subsidiaries;

               (xiii) The Company has an authorized capitalization as set forth in the Prospectus under the caption “Capitalization,” and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and nonassessable and have been issued in compliance with federal and state securities laws; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock were issued in violation of the preemptive or similar rights of any security holder of the Company; and no person has any preemptive or similar right to purchase any shares of capital stock or equity securities of the Company; the description of the Company’s stock option, stock bonus and other stock plans or arrangements and the options or other rights granted thereunder, set forth or incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, accurately and fairly presents, in all material respects, the information required to be shown with respect to such plans, arrangements, options and rights;

               (xiv) The unissued Shares to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly and validly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment therefor as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and fully paid and nonassessable, and will conform to the description of the Stock contained in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and the issuance of the Shares is not subject to the preemptive or similar rights of any security holder of the Company;

               (xv) Except as described in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (A) there are no outstanding rights (contractual or otherwise), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments convertible into or exchangeable for, or agreements or understandings with respect to the issuance or, to our knowledge, the sale of, any shares of capital stock of or other equity interest in the Company and (B) there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Act or otherwise register any securities of the Company owned or to be owned by such person;

               (xvi) The issue and sale of the Shares by the Company and the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (collectively, the “Agreements and Instruments”), nor will any such action (A) result in any violation of the provisions of the articles of incorporation or charter, as applicable, by-laws or other governing documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any law, statute or any order, rule or regulation of any federal, state, local or foreign court, arbitrator, regulatory authority or governmental agency or body (each, a “Governmental Entity”) having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties or (B) constitute a Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or other encumbrance upon any assets or

operations of the Company or any subsidiary pursuant to, any of the Agreements and Instruments; and no consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such Governmental Entity is required for the issue and sale of the Shares or the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except the registration under the Act and the Exchange Act, of the Shares and except as may be required under the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Global Market or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or Blue Sky laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Shares by the Underwriters. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries;

               (xvii) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (A) in violation of its articles of incorporation or charter, as applicable, by-laws or other governing documents or (B) in breach, violation or default (with or without notice or lapse of time or both) in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant, representation, warranty or condition contained in any of the Agreements and Instruments, except, with respect to clause (B), such breaches, violations or defaults that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect;

               (xviii) The statements set forth in the Prospectus under the caption “Description of Capital Stock,” insofar as they purport to constitute a summary of the terms of the capital stock of the Company, are accurate and complete;

               (xix) The Company is in compliance in all material respects with the applicable rules and regulations of the The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc.;

               (xx) There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications;

               (xxi) The statistical and market related data contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources which the Company believes are reliable and accurate;

               (xxii) The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (D) the recorded accounting for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company’s independent

registered public accounting firm and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors have been advised of: (P) any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information and (Q) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (X) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (Y) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting;

               (xxiii) The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), which (A) are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms and that material information relating to the Company and its subsidiaries is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer by others within the Company and its subsidiaries to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure and (B) are effective in all material respects to perform the functions for which they were established. Based on the evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures described above, the Company is not aware of (X) any significant deficiency in the design or operation of internal controls which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data or any material weaknesses in internal controls or (Y) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls. Since the most recent evaluation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures described above, there have been no significant changes in internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls;

               (xxiv) The Company and its subsidiaries have filed all necessary federal, state and foreign income and franchise tax returns or have properly requested extensions thereof, all such tax returns are true, complete and correct in all material respects and have paid all taxes required to be paid by any of them; the Company has made reasonable charges, accruals and reserves in the applicable financial statements referred to in Section 1(a)(vi) above in respect of all federal, state and foreign income and franchise taxes for all periods as to which the tax liability of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has not been finally determined;

               (xxv) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is subject or is party to, or has received any notice or advice that any of them may become subject or party to any investigation with respect to any corrective, suspension or cease-and-desist order, agreement, consent agreement, memorandum of understanding or other regulatory enforcement action, proceeding or order with or by, or is a party to any commitment letter or similar undertaking to, or is subject to any directive by, or has been a recipient of any supervisory letter from, or has adopted any board resolutions at the request of, any Regulatory Agency (as defined below) that currently relates to or restricts in any material respect the conduct of their

business or that in any manner relates to their capital adequacy, credit policies or management (each, a “Regulatory Agreement”), nor has the Company or any of its subsidiaries been advised by any Regulatory Agency that it is considering issuing or requesting any such Regulatory Agreement. There is no unresolved violation, criticism or exception by any Regulatory Agency with respect to any report or statement relating to any examinations of the Company or any of its subsidiaries which, in the reasonable judgment of the Company, currently results in or is expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, the term “Regulatory Agency” means any Governmental Entity having supervisory or regulatory authority with respect to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, including, but not limited to, any federal or state agency charged with the supervision or regulation of depositary institutions or holding companies of depositary institutions, or engaged in the insurance of depositary institution deposits;

               (xxvi) Except as disclosed in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries conduct their respective businesses in compliance in all material respects with all federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws, rules, regulations, judgments, decisions, directives, orders and decrees of any Governmental Entity (including, without limitation, all regulations and orders of, or agreements with, the Office of Thrift Supervision (“OTS”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the FDIC) applicable to them, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, all other applicable fair lending laws or other laws relating to discrimination and the Bank Secrecy Act and Title III of the USA Patriot Act, except that the Company and its subsidiaries conduct their respective businesses in compliance in all respects with all federal, state, local and foreign statutes, laws, rules, regulations, judgments, decisions, directives, orders and decrees of any Governmental Entity that relate to capital adequacy, credit policies or management. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any written, or to the Company’s knowledge, oral communication from any Governmental Entity asserting that the Company or any of its subsidiaries is not (A) in compliance with any statute, law, rule, regulation, decision, directive or order related to their capital adequacy, credit policies or management and (B) in material compliance with any other statute, law, rule, regulation, decision, directive or order;

               (xxvii) Except as set forth in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no legal or governmental actions, suits, investigations or proceedings before or by any Governmental Entity, now pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened or contemplated by Governmental Entities or threatened by others, to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any property or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is the subject (A) that are required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus by the Act or by the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and are not disclosed therein or (B) which, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; all pending legal proceedings not disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are not reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and there are no contracts or documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries that are required to be described in the Registration Statement or to be filed as exhibits thereto by the Act or by the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder which have not been so described and filed;

               (xxviii) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by the Company or its subsidiaries; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failures so to comply would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

               (xxix) Except (A) as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, or (B) as would not, singly or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (1) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is in violation in any material respect of any federal, state or local statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of chemicals, pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products, asbestos-containing materials or mold (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (2) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements; and (3) there are no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

               (xxx) The Company and each of its subsidiaries own or possess adequate rights to use or can acquire on reasonable terms ownership or rights to use all material patents, patent applications, patent rights, licenses, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatenable property or confidential information, systems or procedures and excluding generally commercially available “off the shelf” software programs licensed pursuant to shrink wrap or “click and accept” licenses) and licenses (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses, except where the failure to own or possess such rights would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, and have no reason to believe that the conduct of their respective businesses will conflict with, and have not received any notice of any claim of infringement or conflict with, any such rights of others or any facts

or circumstances that would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein, except where such infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

               (xxxi) This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, when duly executed by the Representative, will constitute the valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms;

               (xxxii) Neither the Company nor any affiliate of the Company nor any person acting on their behalf has taken, nor will the Company or any affiliate or any person acting on their behalf take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which could reasonably be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Shares;

               (xxxiii) No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders, customers or suppliers of the Company or any of its subsidiaries on the other hand, which is required to be described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus by the Act or by the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder which has not been so described;

               (xxxiv) The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Shares, and after receipt of payment for the Shares and the application of such proceeds as described in the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company”, as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);

               (xxxv) No labor problem or dispute involving the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the Company’s knowledge, is threatened or imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or its subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business;

               (xxxvi) The Company and each of its subsidiaries are insured by insurers of recognized financial responsibility against such losses and risks and in such amounts as are prudent and customary in the business in which they are engaged; all policies of insurance insuring the Company or any of its subsidiaries are in full force and effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms of such policies and instruments in all material respects; there are no claims by the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any such policy or instrument as to which any insurance company has denied, or has indicated that it will deny, liability, excluding any written communication from the insurer that contains a reservation of rights; neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has been refused any insurance coverage

sought or applied for; and neither the Company nor any such subsidiary has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business at additional cost that would not have a Material Adverse Effect;

               (xxxvii) No subsidiary of the Company is currently prohibited, directly or indirectly, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s capital stock, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s property or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company, except as set forth or contemplated in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus;

               (xxxviii) Any “employee benefit plan” (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (collectively, “ERISA”)) established or maintained by the Company, any of its subsidiaries or their “ERISA Affiliates” (as defined below) are in compliance in all material respects with ERISA; “ERISA Affiliate” means, with respect to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, any member of any group of organizations described in Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations and published interpretations thereunder (the “Code”) of which the Company or such subsidiary is a member; no “reportable event” (as defined under ERISA) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur with respect to any “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates; no “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates, if such “employee benefit plan” were terminated, would have any “amount of unfunded benefit liabilities” (as defined under ERISA); none of the Company, its subsidiaries nor any of their ERISA Affiliates has incurred or reasonably expects to incur any liability under (A) Title IV of ERISA with respect to termination of, or withdrawal from, any “employee benefit plan” or (B) Sections 412, 4971, 4975 or 4980B of the Code; each “employee benefit plan” established or maintained by the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of their ERISA Affiliates that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified and nothing has occurred, whether by action or failure to act, which could reasonably be expected to cause the loss of such qualification;

               (xxxix) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (A) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (B) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee; (C) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 in any material respect; (D) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment; or (E) made any payment of funds to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or received or retained funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation, which payment, receipt or retention of funds is of a character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, that is not described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as required;

               (xl) The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance in all material respects with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened;

               (xli) The Registration Statement is not the subject of a pending proceeding or examination under Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the Act, and the Company is not the subject of a pending proceeding under Section 8A of the Act in connection with the offering of the Shares;

               (xlii) The Company has not distributed and, prior to the later to occur of (i) the First Time of Delivery and (ii) completion of the distribution of the Shares, will not distribute any prospectus (as such term is defined in the Act and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder) in connection with the offering and sale of the Shares other than the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or other materials, if any, permitted by the Act or by the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission thereunder and approved by the Representative;

               (xliii) Each of the Company’s executive officers and directors and certain shareholders, in each case as listed on Schedule III hereto, has executed and delivered a lock-up agreement containing restrictions similar to those contained in Section 5(f) hereof;

               (xliv) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has participated in any reportable transaction, as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.6011-(4)(b)(1), except for the Company’s participation in the Colorado Conservation Easement Tax Credit Program, which is not material and not required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and the Bank’s sale of mortgage-backed securities with an unpaid principal balance of $47.3 million secured primarily by “option-adjustable-rate” mortgage loans to an unaffiliated third party on June 30, 2009, which has been disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus;

               (xlv) Each of the Company and its subsidiaries has good and marketable title to all securities held by it (except securities sold under repurchase agreements or held in any fiduciary or agency capacity) free and clear of any lien, claim, charge, option, encumbrance, mortgage, pledge or security interest or other restriction of any kind, except to the extent such securities are pledged in the ordinary course of business consistent with prudent business practices to secure obligations of the Company or any of its subsidiaries and except for such defects in title or liens, claims, charges, options, encumbrances, mortgages, pledges or security interests or other restrictions of any kind that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Such securities are valued on the books of the Company and its subsidiaries in accordance with GAAP;

               (xlvi) Any and all material swaps, caps, floors, futures, forward contracts, option agreements (other than director and employee stock options) and other derivative financial instruments, contracts or arrangements, whether entered into for the account of the Company or one of its subsidiaries or for the account of a customer of the Company or one of its subsidiaries, were entered into in the ordinary course of business and in accordance with prudent business practice and applicable laws, rules, regulations and policies of all applicable regulatory agencies and with counterparties believed to be financially responsible at the time. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have duly performed all of their obligations thereunder to the extent that such obligations to perform have accrued, and there are no breaches, violations or defaults or allegations or assertions of such by any party thereunder, except for such failure to perform or breaches, violations, defaults, allegations or assertions that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect;

               (xlvii) Other than as contemplated by this Agreement, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company or any of its subsidiaries and any person that would give rise to a valid claim against the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any Underwriter, for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or other like payment as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

               (xlviii) No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith;

               (xlix) The Company and its subsidiaries have properly administered all accounts for which the Company or any of its subsidiaries served as fiduciary, including, but not limited to, accounts for which it serves as a trustee, agent, custodian, personal agent, guardian, conservator or investment advisor (“Fiduciary Accounts”), in accordance in all material respects with the terms of the governing documents and any applicable law, including, without limitation, federal and state law and regulation and common law. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor any of the directors, officers or employees of it or any of them, has committed any material breach of trust with respect to any Fiduciary Account, and the accountings for each such Fiduciary Account are true and correct in all material respects and accurately reflect the assets of such Fiduciary Account in all material respects; and

               (l) Except as described in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no material off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations), or any other relationships with unconsolidated entities or other persons, that may have a material current or future effect on the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, capital resources or significant components of revenues or expenses.

          (b) The Bank represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

               (i) The Bank has been duly chartered and is validly existing as a federal savings bank in good standing under the laws of the United States of America, with the corporate power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in each of the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and has been duly qualified as a foreign corporation for the transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties or conducts any business so as to require such qualification, or is subject to no material liability or disability by reason of the failure to be so qualified in any such jurisdiction, except where the failure to so qualify or be in good standing does not have, or could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect;

               (ii) Neither the Bank nor any of its subsidiaries is (A) in violation of its articles of incorporation or charter, as applicable, bylaws or other governing documents or (B) in default in the performance or observance of any material obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Bank or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property of the Bank or any of its subsidiaries is subject except, with respect to clause (B), such defaults that would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect; and

               (iii) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by the Bank and the compliance by the Bank with all of the provisions of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions herein contemplated will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Bank or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Bank or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Bank or any of its subsidiaries is subject, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter of the Bank or any statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Bank or any of its subsidiaries or any of their properties, except to the extent that this Agreement is found by the OTS or the FDIC, or any successor thereto, to constitute a covered transaction under Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act.

          (c) Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company or the Bank and delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company or the Bank, as the case may be, to the Underwriters as to the matters set forth therein.

     2. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, (a) the Company agrees to sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at a purchase price per share of $3.76, the number of Firm Shares set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and (b) in the event and to the extent that the Underwriters shall exercise the election to purchase Optional Shares as provided below, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of this Section 2, that portion of the number of

Optional Shares as to which such election shall have been exercised (to be adjusted by the Representative so as to eliminate fractional shares) determined by multiplying such number of Optional Shares by a fraction, the numerator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares which such Underwriter is entitled to purchase as set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Schedule I hereto and the denominator of which is the maximum number of Optional Shares that all of the Underwriters are entitled to purchase hereunder.

     The Company hereby grants to the Underwriters the right to purchase at their election up to 3,000,000 Optional Shares, at the purchase price per share set forth in clause (a) of the paragraph above, for the sole purpose of covering over-allotments in the sale of the Firm Shares. Any such election to purchase Optional Shares may be exercised only by written notice from the Representative to the Company, given within a period of 30 calendar days after the date of this Agreement, setting forth the aggregate number of Optional Shares to be purchased and the date on which such Optional Shares are to be delivered, as determined by the Representative but in no event earlier than the First Time of Delivery (as defined in Section 4 hereof), or unless the Representative and the Company otherwise agree in writing, earlier than two or later than ten business days after the date of such notice.

     Each Underwriter has authorized Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., for such Underwriter’s account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Firm Shares and the Optional Shares, if any, which such Underwriter has agreed to purchase. Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., individually and not as representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Firm Shares or the Optional Shares, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. by the relevant Time of Delivery but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.

     3. Upon the authorization by the Representative of the release of the Firm Shares, the several Underwriters propose to offer the Firm Shares for sale upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Prospectus.

     4. (a) The Shares to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder, in definitive form, and in such authorized denominations and registered in such names as Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. may request upon at least 48 hours prior notice to the Company shall be delivered by or on behalf of the Company to Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P., through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”), for the account of such Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the purchase price therefor by wire transfer of Federal (same day) funds to the account specified by the Company, to Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. at least 48 hours in advance. The Company will cause the certificates representing the Shares to be made available for checking and packaging at least 24 hours prior to the Time of Delivery (as defined below) with respect thereto at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the “Designated Office”). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be, with respect to the Firm Shares, 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on September 22, 2009 or such other time and date as Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. and the Company may agree upon in writing, and, with respect to the Optional Shares, 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on the date specified by Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. in the written notice given by Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. of the Underwriters’ election to purchase such Optional Shares, or such other time and date as Sandler O’Neill &

Partners, L.P. and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date for delivery of the Firm Shares is herein called the “First Time of Delivery,” each time and date for delivery of the Optional Shares, if not the First Time of Delivery, is herein called the “Second Time of Delivery,” and each such time and date for delivery is herein called a “Time of Delivery.”

          (b) The documents to be delivered at each Time of Delivery by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 7 hereof, including the cross receipt for the Shares and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 7(l) hereof, will be delivered at the offices of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, 711 Louisiana, Suite 2300, Houston, Texas 77002 (the “Closing Location”), and the Shares will be delivered at the Designated Office, all at such Time of Delivery. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on the New York Business Day next preceding such Time of Delivery, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 4, “New York Business Day” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

     5. The Company covenants and agrees with each of the Underwriters:

          (a) The Company will prepare the Prospectus in a form approved by the Representative and to file such Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Act not later than the Commission’s close of business on the second business day following the execution and delivery of this Agreement, or, if applicable, such earlier time as may be required by Rule 430A(a)(3) under the Act; to make no further amendment or any supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus which shall be disapproved by the Representative promptly after reasonable notice thereof; to advise the Representative, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the time when any amendment to the Registration Statement has been filed or becomes effective or any supplement to the Prospectus or any amended Prospectus has been filed and to furnish the Representative with copies thereof; to advise the Representative, promptly after it receives notice thereof, of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus or Prospectus, of the suspension of the qualification of the Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose, or of any request by the Commission for the amending or supplementing of the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, any Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus or Prospectus or for additional information; and, in the event of the issuance of any stop order or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectus or Prospectus or suspending any such qualification, promptly to use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal of such order;

          (b) The Company represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter represents and agrees that, unless it obtains the prior written consent of each of the Company and the Representative, they have not made and will not make any offer relating to the Shares that would constitute an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Act, or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Act, required to be filed with the

Commission. Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Company and the Representative is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.” The Company represents that it has treated or agrees that it will treat each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433, and has complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including timely filing with the Commission where required, legending and record keeping. The Company represents that it has satisfied the conditions in Rule 433 to avoid a requirement to file with the Commission any electronic road show;

          (c) Promptly from time to time, the Company will take such action as the Representative may reasonably request to qualify the Shares for offering and sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may request and to comply with such laws so as to permit the continuance of sales and dealings therein in such jurisdictions for as long as may be necessary to complete the distribution of the Shares, provided that in connection therewith the Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction;

          (d) Prior to 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on the New York Business Day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and from time to time, the Company will furnish the Underwriters with electronic copies of the Prospectus and use its reasonable best efforts to furnish the Underwriters with written copies of the Prospectus in New York City by such date in such quantities as the Representative may from time to time reasonably request, and, if the delivery of a prospectus is required at any time prior to the expiration of nine months after the time of issue of the Prospectus in connection with the offering or sale of the Shares and if at such time any event shall have occurred as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made when such Prospectus is delivered, not misleading, or, if for any other reason it shall be necessary during such period to amend or supplement the Prospectus in order to comply with the Act, to notify the Representative and upon the Representative’s request to prepare and furnish without charge to each Underwriter and to any dealer in securities as many copies as it may from time to time reasonably request of an amended Prospectus or a supplement to the Prospectus which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance, and in case any Underwriter is required to deliver a prospectus in connection with sales of any of the Shares at any time nine months or more after the time of issue of the Prospectus, upon the Representative’s request but at the expense of such Underwriter, to prepare and deliver to such Underwriter as many copies as the Representative may request of an amended or supplemented Prospectus complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act;

          (e) The Company will make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable, an earnings statement of the Company and its subsidiaries (which need not be audited) complying with, and covering the period set forth in, Section 11(a) of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (including, at the option of the Company, Rule 158);

          (f) During the period beginning from the date hereof and continuing to and including the date 90 days after the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not to directly or indirectly, offer, sell, contract or grant any option to sell, pledge, transfer or establish an open

“put equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act, or otherwise dispose of or transfer, or announce the offering of, or file a registration statement under the Act in respect of, except as provided hereunder, any securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Shares, including but not limited to any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Stock or any such substantially similar securities, without the Representative’s prior written consent; provided, however, that if: (1) during the last 17 days of such 90-day period the Company issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (2) prior to the expiration of such 90-day period, the Company announces that it will release earnings results or becomes aware that material news or a material event relating to the Company will occur during the 16-day-period beginning on the last day of such 90-day period, the restrictions imposed by this Section 5(f) shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 17-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Shares to be sold hereunder; (B) any shares of Stock issued by the Company upon the exercise of an option or warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date hereof and referred to in the Prospectus; (C) any shares of Stock issued or options to purchase Stock granted pursuant to existing employee benefit plans of the Company or (D) any shares of Stock issued by the Company in connection with an acquisition by or merger of the Company;

          (g) The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement in the manner specified in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”;

          (h) If the Company elects to rely on Rule 462(b), the Company shall file a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement with the Commission in compliance with Rule 462(b) by 10:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the date of this Agreement, and the Company shall at the time of filing either pay to the Commission the filing fee for the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement or give irrevocable instructions for the payment of such fee pursuant to Rule 111(b) under the Act;

          (i) The Company will use its best efforts to include the Shares for quotation on the Nasdaq Global Market; and

          (j) Until completion of the distribution of the Shares, the Company will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the Exchange Act within the time periods required by the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

     6. The Company covenants and agrees with the Underwriters that the Company will pay or cause to be paid the following, whether or not the transactions contemplated herein are completed: (i) the reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Underwriters in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, disbursements, fees and expenses of Underwriters’ counsel, and marketing, syndication and travel expenses, up to $225,000 without the prior approval of the Company; (ii) the fees, disbursements and expenses of the Company’s counsel and accountants in connection with the registration of the Shares under the Act and all other expenses in connection with the preparation, printing and filing of amendments and supplements thereto and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the

Underwriters and dealers; (iii) the cost of printing or producing any agreement among Underwriters, this Agreement, any Blue Sky survey, closing documents (including any compilations thereof) and any other documents in connection with the offering, purchase, sale and delivery of the Shares; (iv) all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Shares for offering and sale under state securities laws as provided in Section 5(c) hereof, including the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky survey, if any (which fees of counsel in connection herewith are included in the maximum payment of the Underwriters’ expenses set forth in clause (i), above); (v) all fees and expenses in connection with listing the Shares on the Nasdaq Global Market; (vi) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with securing, any required review by the FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Shares (which fees of counsel in connection herewith are included in the payment of the Underwriters’ expenses set forth in clause (i) above); (vii) the cost of preparing stock certificates; (viii) the cost and charges of any transfer agent or registrar; (ix) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Shares, including without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show with the consent of the Company; and (x) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder which are not otherwise specifically provided for in this Section.

     7. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder, as to the Shares to be delivered at each Time of Delivery, shall be subject, in their discretion, to the condition that all representations and warranties and other statements of the Company and the Bank are, at and as of such Time of Delivery, true and correct, the condition that the Company shall have performed all of its obligations hereunder theretofore to be performed, and the following additional conditions:

          (a) The Prospectus shall have been filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by the rules and regulations under the Act and in accordance with Section 5(a) hereof; if the Company has elected to rely upon Rule 462(b), the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have become effective by 10:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the date of this Agreement; no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any part thereof shall have been issued and no proceeding for that purpose shall have been initiated or threatened by the Commission; all requests for additional information on the part of the Commission shall have been complied with to the Representative’s reasonable satisfaction; and the FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements;

          (b) At the Time of Delivery, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, shall have furnished to the Representative such written opinion or opinions, dated such Time of Delivery, with respect to such matters as the Representative may reasonably request, and such counsel shall have received such papers and information as they may reasonably request to enable them to pass upon such matters;

          (c) At the Time of Delivery, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, counsel for the Company, shall have furnished to the Representative their written opinion, dated such Time of Delivery, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably request;

          (d) On the date of the Prospectus at a time prior to the execution of this Agreement, on the effective date of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement and also at each Time of Delivery, each of Crowe Horwath LLP and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP shall have furnished to the Underwriters a letter or letters, dated the respective dates of delivery thereof, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountant’s “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements of the Company and certain financial information contained in the Prospectus;

          (e) At the Time of Delivery, each of Crowe Horwath LLP and McGladrey & Pullen, LLP shall have delivered a letter to the Underwriters, dated as of the Time of Delivery, to the effect that each reaffirms the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section 7, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Effective Date;

          (f) (i) Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries shall have sustained since the date of the latest audited financial statements incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, any loss or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus, and (ii) since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, there shall not have been any change in the capital stock or long term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the business affairs, financial condition, shareholders’ equity or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, otherwise than as set forth or contemplated in the Prospectus, the effect of which, in any such case described in clause (i) or (ii) above, is in the judgment of the Representative so material and adverse as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus;

          (g) On or after the date hereof, there shall not have occurred any of the events, circumstances or occurrences set forth in Section 10(a) hereof;

          (h) The Company’s common stock, including the Shares, shall be listed for quotation on the Nasdaq Global Market;

          (i) The Company has obtained and delivered to the Underwriters executed copies of an agreement from each executive officer and director and each shareholder of the Company listed on Schedule III hereto, substantially to the effect set forth in Section 5(f) hereof in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative and such agreements shall be in full force and effect;

          (j) The Company shall have complied with the provisions of Section 5(d) hereof with respect to the furnishing of prospectuses; and

          (k) The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Representative at such Time of Delivery certificates of officers of the Company and the Bank satisfactory to the Representative as to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Bank, as applicable, herein at and as of such Time of Delivery, as to the performance by the Company of all of its obligations hereunder to be performed at or prior to such Time of Delivery, as to the matters set forth in subsections (a) and (f) of this Section 7 and as to such other matters as the Representative may reasonably request.

     If any condition specified in this Section 7 shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement may be terminated by the Underwriters by notice to the Company at any time on or prior to the Time of Delivery. If the sale of the Shares provided for herein is not consummated because any condition set forth in this Section 7 is not satisfied, because of any termination pursuant to Section 10(a) hereof, or because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or comply with any provision hereof, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters upon demand for all documented out-of-pocket expenses as provided in Section 6 hereof, and Sections 1, 8 and 9 hereof shall survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.

     8. (a) The Company and the Bank, jointly and severally, shall indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and its respective partners, directors, officers, employees and affiliates, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which the Underwriter may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that neither the Company nor the Bank shall be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any such amendment or supplement thereto in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representative expressly for use therein (provided that the Company, the Bank and the Underwriters hereby acknowledge and agree that the only information that the Underwriters have furnished to the Company specifically for inclusion in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, are (i) the share allocation, concession and reallowance figures appearing in the section of the Prospectus entitled “Underwriting” and (ii) the subsection entitled “Stabilization” in the section of the Prospectus entitled “Underwriting,” other than the first three sentences of the last paragraph of such

subsection (collectively, the “Underwriters’ Information”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the indemnification provided for in this paragraph (a) shall not apply to the Bank to the extent that such indemnification by the Bank is found by the OTS or the FDIC, or any successor thereto, to constitute a covered transaction under Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act.

          (b) The Underwriters will indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its officers, directors and each person, if any, who controls the Company, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, and the Bank, its officers, directors and each person, if any, who controls the Bank, within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which the Company may become subject, under the Act or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement thereto, in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters through the Representative expressly for use therein (provided that the Company, the Bank and the Underwriters hereby acknowledge and agree that the only information that the Underwriters have furnished to the Company specifically for inclusion in any preliminary prospectus, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, is the Underwriters’ Information; and will reimburse each such indemnified party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim as such expenses are incurred.

          (c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under such subsection, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under such subsection. In case any such action shall be brought against any indemnified party and it shall notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such subsection for any legal expenses of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party, in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the written consent of the indemnified party, effect the settlement or compromise of, or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to, any pending or threatened action or claim in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be

sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified party is an actual or potential party to such action or claim) unless such settlement, compromise or judgment (i) includes an unconditional release of the indemnified party from all liability arising out of such action or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act, by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

          (d) If the indemnification provided for in this Section 8 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above in respect of any losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Bank on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Shares. If, however, the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is not permitted by applicable law or if the indemnified party failed to give the notice required under subsection (c) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company and the Bank on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof), as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company and the Bank on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth in the table on the cover page of the Prospectus. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company and the Bank on the one hand or the Underwriters on the other and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company, the Bank and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this subsection (d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this subsection (d). The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) referred to above in this subsection (d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Shares underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this Section 8, each officer and employee of any Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Underwriter, and each director of the Company or the

Bank, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Bank with the meaning of the Act and the Exchange Act, shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company and the Bank. The Underwriters’ obligations in this subsection (d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint.

          (e) The obligations of the Company and the Bank under this Section 8 shall be in addition to any liability which the Company and the Bank may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each person, if any, who controls (within the meaning of the Act) any Underwriter, or any of the respective partners, directors, officers and employees of any Underwriter or any such controlling person; and the obligations of the Underwriters under this Section 8 shall be in addition to any liability which the respective Underwriters may otherwise have and shall extend, upon the same terms and conditions, to each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signs the Registration Statement and to each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Bank, as the case may be, within the meaning of the Act or who is an affiliate of the Company.

     9. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, the Bank and the several Underwriters, as set forth in this Agreement or made by or on behalf of them, respectively, pursuant to this Agreement, shall remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation (or any statement as to the results thereof) made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, any partner, director, officer, employee or affiliate of any Underwriter, or any controlling person of any Underwriter, or the Company, the Bank, or any officer or director or controlling person of the Company and the Bank, and shall survive delivery of and payment for the Shares.

     10. (a) The Representative may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time on or prior to the Time of Delivery if, since the time of execution of this Agreement or, in the case of (i) below, since the date of the most recent balance sheets included in the financial statements, there has occurred, (i) any Material Adverse Effect; or (ii) a suspension or material limitation in trading in the Company’s securities on the Nasdaq Global Market; (iii) a general moratorium on commercial banking activities declared by Federal, New York or Colorado authorities or a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States; or (iv) the outbreak or escalation of hostilities involving the United States or the declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war; or (v) the occurrence of any other calamity or crisis or any change in financial, political or economic conditions in the United States or elsewhere, including without limitation, as a result of terrorist activities occurring after the date hereof, if the effect of any such event specified in clause (iv) or (v), in the judgment of the Underwriters makes it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the public offering or the delivery of the Shares being delivered at such Time of Delivery on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.

          (b) If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section 10, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 6 hereof and provided further that Sections 1, 8 and 9 hereof shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.

     11. If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at a Time of Delivery to purchase the Shares which it is obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representative shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non-defaulting Underwriters or one or more other underwriters to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representative shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24-hour period, then:

          (a) if the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of Shares to be purchased on such date, each of the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non-defaulting Underwriters, or

          (b) if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Shares to be purchased on such date, this Agreement or, with respect to any date which occurs after the First Time of Delivery, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and of the Company to sell the Shares to be purchased and sold at such Time of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter.

     No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.

     In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Time of Delivery which is after the First Time of Delivery, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriter to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Optional Shares, as the case may be, either (i) the Representative or (ii) the Company shall have the right to postpone the Time of Delivery for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement or Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 11.

     12. In all dealings hereunder, the Representative shall act on behalf of each of the Underwriters, and the parties hereto shall be entitled to act and rely upon any statement, request, notice or agreement on behalf of any Underwriter made or given by the Representative.

     13. All statements, requests, notices and agreements hereunder shall be in writing, and if to the Underwriters shall be delivered or sent by mail, overnight delivery or facsimile transmission to the Representative at 919 Third Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022, Attention: General Counsel, with a copy to Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, 711 Louisiana Street, Suite 2300, Houston, Texas 77002, Attention: William T. Luedke IV; and if to the Company shall be delivered or sent by mail to the Company at 700 17^th Street, Suite 2100, Denver, Colorado 80202, Attention: Michael J. McCloskey, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, with a copy to Greenberg Traurig, LLP, 1200 17^th Street, Suite 2400, Denver, Colorado 80202, Attention: Brian H. Blaney. Any such statements, requests, notices or agreements shall take effect upon receipt thereof.

     14. This Agreement shall be binding upon, and inure solely to the benefit of, the Underwriters, the Company, the Bank, and, to the extent provided in Sections 8 and 9 hereof, the officers and directors of the Company and of the Bank and each person who controls the Company, the Bank, or any Underwriter, and their respective heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and no other person shall acquire or have any right under or by virtue of this Agreement. No purchaser of any of the Shares from any Underwriter shall be deemed a successor or assign by reason merely of such purchase.

     15. Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. As used herein, the term “business day” shall mean any day when the Commission’s office in Washington, D.C. is open for business.

     16. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) the purchase and sale of the Shares pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Shares and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand; (ii) in connection therewith, each Underwriter is and has been acting as a principal and not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or its shareholders, creditors, employees or any other third party; (iii) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume any advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and no Underwriter has any other obligation to the Company except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby; (iv) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company; and (v) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.

     17. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WITHOUT REGARD TO CONFLICT OF LAWS PRINCIPLES OF SAID STATE OTHER THAN SECTION 5-1401 OF THE NEW YORK GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW.

     THE COMPANY, ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, HEREBY IRREVOCABLY SUBMITS TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL AND NEW YORK STATE COURTS LOCATED IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK IN CONNECTION WITH ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OF THE MATTERS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY, IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY DEFENSE OF LACK OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND IRREVOCABLY AGREES THAT ALL CLAIMS IN RESPECT OF ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING MAY BE HEARD AND DETERMINED IN ANY SUCH COURT. THE COMPANY, ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT IT MAY EFFECTIVELY DO SO UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, ANY OBJECTION WHICH IT MAY NOW OR HEREAFTER HAVE TO THE LAYING OF VENUE OF ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT IN ANY SUCH COURT AND ANY CLAIM THAT ANY SUCH SUIT, ACTION

OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT IN ANY SUCH COURT HAS BEEN BROUGHT IN AN INCONVENIENT FORUM.

     18. This Agreement may be executed by any one or more of the parties hereto in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same instrument.

     19. No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure therefrom, shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be in writing and signed by the parties hereto.

[Signature Page Follows]

     If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please sign and return to us four counterparts hereof, and upon the acceptance hereof by you, on behalf of each of the Underwriters, this letter and such acceptance hereof shall constitute a binding agreement between each of the Underwriters, the Company and the Bank.

		Very truly yours,
		UNITED WESTERN BANCORP, INC.
		By:		/s/ Scot T. Wetzel
		Name:		Scot T. Wetzel
		Title:		President and Chief Executive Officer
		UNITED WESTERN BANK
		By:		/s/ Scot T. Wetzel
		Name:		Scot T. Wetzel
		Title:		Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer

Accepted as of the date hereof:
Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. As representative of the several Underwriters
By:		Sandler O’Neill & Partners Corp. the sole general partner
By: Name: Title:		/s/ Robert A Kleinert   Robert A. Kleinert Vice President

Signature Page — Underwriting Agreement

SCHEDULE I

						Number of Optional
						Shares to be
		Total Number of				Purchased if
		Firm Shares				Maximum Option
Underwriter		to be Purchased				Exercised
Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P.			7,520,000				1,128,000
FBR Capital Markets & Co.			7,520,000				1,128,000
Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.			3,760,000				564,000
Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett, Inc.			600,000				90,000
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated			600,000				90,000
Total			20,000,000				3,000,000

 I-1

SCHEDULE II

Issuer-Represented Free Writing Prospectuses

Electronic road show of United Western Bancorp, Inc. displayed at http://www.snl.com/interactive/lookandfeel/107155/project_summit_IP_90809_final.pdf

 II-1

SCHEDULE III

Lock-Up Agreements

Guy A. Gibson
Scot T. Wetzel
William D. Snider
Michael J. McCloskey
Michael A. Stallings
Theodore J. Abariotes
Benjamin C. Hirsh
James H. Bullock
Bernard C. Darré
Jeffrey R. Leeds
Lester Ravitz
Robert T. Slezak
Kenneth Glascock
Marlene Gresh

 III-1