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Bridge Bank Awarded Statewide SBA Preferred Lender Status
Santa Clara, California - September 23, 2004 - Bridge Bank, National Association (NASDAQ - BBNK), Santa Clara County's newest business bank, today announced that the Bank has achieved California Statewide Preferred Lender Participant (PLP) status with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Preferred Lender Status is the highest designation granted to a lender and allows Bridge Bank to approve loans on behalf of the SBA. This authority results in faster loan approval and speeds the process of getting funds into the hands of small businesses seeking growth capital.
"Receiving this designation for the entire state of California validates the commitment Bridge Bank has made to the business community and our SBA lending program, said Daniel P. Myers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Bank. "With our expansion into Southern California in late 2003 and the Central Valley earlier this year, achieving statewide PLP status will allow us to better serve our SBA clients' needs in all of our markets."
In November 2003, Bridge Bank opened an SBA Loan Production Office in San Diego that included marketing coverage of the Los Angeles SBA District. More recently, the bank's fourth SBA Loan Production Office was established in Fresno to serve the growing needs of the Central Valley.
"We are truly excited to receive this statewide designation, especially since it was achieved less than a year after expanding into the Southern and Central California SBA market areas," said Ralph Barnett, Executive Vice President and Manager of the SBA Lending Division. "This premier designation is a testimony to the strong SBA lending team we have at Bridge Bank."
"Bridge Bank has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the SBA program," said Mark Quinn, Director of the San Francisco SBA District Office. "Awarding them this status for the state was a logical step as the Agency continues to work towards reducing the paperwork and red tape and encouraging a closer relationship between borrower and lender."
Since establishing its SBA Lending Group in early 2002, Bridge Bank has consistently been ranked as one of the most active SBA lenders in the State and has been among the top ten percent of lenders in the SBA districts in which it has PLP status. In addition to being an active lender with the traditional SBA guaranty and 504 loan programs, the bank is also involved with the federal government's Business & Industry loan program, administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The B&I program allows Bridge Bank to provide guaranteed loans up to $10 million in rural areas. For 2003, Bridge Bank was the fourth most active B&I lender in the California.
Bridge Bank, founded in May 2001 with one of the largest initial public offerings of a California-based denovo bank, is a nationally chartered commercial bank. Bridge Bank specializes in providing superior service and customized banking solutions to small and middle-market businesses. The Bank's product offerings include 24/7 internet-based business cash management, on-line account statement and item imaging, commercial lines of credit, construction loans, and factoring and asset-based loans through its Bridge Capital Finance Group.
About Bridge Bank, N.A.
Bridge Bank is Santa Clara County's newest full-service business bank. The Bank is dedicated to meeting the financial needs of small and middle-market businesses in the Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, Sacramento, San Diego, and Fresno business communities. Bridge Bank provides clients with a comprehensive package of business banking solutions delivered through experienced and professional bankers. Visit Bridge Bank on the Web at www.bridgebank.com.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration, established in 1953, provides financial, technical, and management assistance to help Americans start, run, and grow their businesses. Nearly 20 million small businesses have received direct or indirect help from the SBA since 1953, as the agency has become the government's most cost-effective instrument for economic development. The SBA's current business loan portfolio of roughly 219,000 loans worth more than $45 billion makes it the largest single financial backer of U.S. businesses in the nation. Over the past 10 years, (FY 1991-2000), the SBA has helped almost 435,000 small businesses get more than $94.6 billion in loans, more than in the entire history of the agency before 1991. No other lender in this country - perhaps no other lender in the world - has been responsible for as much small business financing as the SBA has during that time. Last year, the SBA offered management and technical assistance to more than one million small business owners. The SBA also plays a major role in the government's disaster relief efforts by making low-interest recovery loans to both homeowners and businesses. Visit the SBA on the Web at http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov./
Forward Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release constitute forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to the safe harbors created by that Act. Forward-looking statements describe future plans, strategies, and expectations, and are based on currently available information, expectations, assumptions, projections, and management's judgment about the Bank, the banking industry and general economic conditions. These forward looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed, suggested or implied by the forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressures in the banking industry; (2) changes in interest rate environment; (3) general economic conditions, nationally, regionally, and in operating markets; (4) changes in the regulatory environment; (5) changes in business conditions and inflation; (6) changes in securities markets; and (7) future credit loss experience.
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