Plaza Bank Grows Small Business Lending Team With 8 New Hires

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 17, 2012) - One of America's banks most committed to small business lending has added to its small business lending staff in the second half of 2011. Plaza Bank (OTCBB: PLZB) has hired 19 employees since June 1, 2011 to support its growth in small business lending operations.

"It was necessary to expand our team to keep up with our continued increase in lending to small businesses particularly with SBA loans, owner-occupied real estate loans, asset based loans and business lines of credit," stated Gene Galloway, President and CEO of Plaza Bank.

New Hires
Of the 19 new employees hired since June 1, 2011, eight are lending officers located in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County and San Francisco County. New hires recently joining Plaza Bank include Business Development Officers Greg Dill, Steve Pollett, Chris Rabenold, and Ben Buskey. Additionally, Business Development Associates hired by the Bank are Richard Kovalcheck, Trevor Noel, and Margie Espeleta.

Lending in the Month of December
Plaza Bank funded over $20 million in new loans in the month of December 2011. "The momentum we are gaining in our business lending division shows how dedicated our team is to working closely with our borrowers to find solutions to their business needs," stated Erich Bollinger, Executive Vice President of Plaza Bank.

Nationally Recognized and Ranked #1 Locally
MultiFunding LLC recently ranked Plaza Bank in the top twenty nationally for 2010 and number one in Orange County during 2011 as being the most committed to small business lending. These rankings reflect the enormous effort made by the Bank to serve its clients with valuable lending options and a quick, efficient funding process.

About Plaza Bank

Plaza Bank is full service community bank serving the business and professional communities in Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bank is committed to meeting the financial needs of small to middle market businesses and professional firms with loans for working capital, equipment and owner-occupied commercial real estate financing and a full array of cash management services. Our bankers are experienced, professional and knowledgeable. For more information, visit www.plazabank.net or call Gene Galloway at (949) 502-4309.

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 can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." Forward-looking statements 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 not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management's views as of any subsequent date. Future events are difficult to predict, and the expectations described above are necessarily subject to risk and uncertainty that may cause actual results to differ materially and adversely.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from those presented, either expressed or implied, in this press release. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the Bank's ability to successfully execute its business plans and achieve its objectives; changes in general economic, real estate and financial market conditions, either nationally or locally in areas in which the Bank conducts its operations; changes in interest rates; new litigation or changes in existing litigation; future credit loss experience; increased competitive challenges and expanding product and pricing pressures among financial institutions; legislation or regulatory changes which adversely affect the Bank's operations or business; loss of key personnel; changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory agencies; and the ability to satisfy requirements related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulation on internal control.