FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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(Print or Type Responses)

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Rust Steven W 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 09/25/2007 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol BANNER CORP [BANR] (Last) (First) (Middle) 10 SOUTH 1ST AVENUE 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Executive Vice President 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) WALLA WALLA, WA 99362 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock, par value $.01 per share 125 (1) D Â

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Phantom Stock Units (2)	  (3)	  (3)	Common Stock	3,500	$ 38.54 (4)	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Rust Steven W 10 SOUTH 1ST AVENUE WALLA WALLA, WA 99362	Â	Â	  Executive Vice President	Â

Signatures

/s/Steven W. Rust		10/15/2007
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Includes direct ownership of 55 shares through Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
(2)	Award of Phantom Stock Units under the Banner Corporation Long-Term Incentive Plan.
(3)	Award vests on July 1, 2011. Each unit will be settled upon separation from service, at a specified time or upon 60 months of continuous service as determined by the participant.
(4)	Market price on July 1, 2006. Upon vesting, phantom stock units settle in cash at the value in excess of the value as of the grant date, plus dividends.

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