Bridge Bank Provides $5 Million to Principal Solar Inc.


SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 1, 2013) - Bridge Capital Holdings (NASDAQ: BBNK), whose subsidiary is Bridge Bank, a full-service professional business bank headquartered in Silicon Valley and with offices located nationwide, announced today that it recently provided Principal Solar, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: PSI) (PINKSHEETS: PSWW) with a long term $5 million loan to assist in the purchase of assets.

"Since their start in 2010, Principal Solar has had an exciting growth story and Bridge Bank is thrilled to be partnering with them," said Scott Reising, senior vice president in Bridge Bank's Energy and Infrastructure Group. "We were able to provide appreciation of the long term value of the 3MW solar power plant asset in Tennessee by taking the time to develop a thorough understanding of their business model and growth strategy. Due to this understanding, we felt confident in providing a customized solution that allowed Principal Solar to immediately begin acquiring assets," he added.

"The 3MW Tennessee transaction is just the beginning of our unique roll-up strategy to create the world's first distributed solar utility, and exemplifies the PSI plan to acquire projects of significant size and scope," said Michael Gorton, president and chief executive officer of Principal Solar, Inc. "With the help of Bridge Bank's experienced project finance team, who worked quickly to understand the complexity of our model and the value of the asset in this transaction, we are well-positioned as we engage in ongoing discussions with large developers and investment partners that are expected to result in multiple acquisitions. There is significant market receptivity to our approach which leverages solar energy as a good investment opportunity," he added.

About Principal Solar

Principal Solar, Inc. is a publicly traded solar energy holding company executing a unique roll-up strategy to create the world's first distributed solar utility. PSI concentrates its resources on the acquisition, finance, development and management of solar power companies. The Principal Solar Institute, an educational organization created by Principal Solar, Inc., is dedicated to spreading solar knowledge to the critical stakeholders in the ongoing energy debate. Visit www.PrincipalSolar.com.

About Bridge Bank, National Association

Recognized by SNL Financial on their 2012's Top 100 Performing Banks with assets between $500 million and $5 billion, and designated "Superior" by BauerFinancial and IDC, Bridge Bank is a full-service professional business bank founded in the highly competitive climate of Silicon Valley in 2001. From the very beginning, our goal has been to offer small-market and middle-market businesses from across many industries a better way to bank. We provide a surprisingly broad range of financial solutions, enabling us to meet our clients' varied needs across all stages -- from inception to IPO and beyond. It's how we go about doing so that differentiates us from our competition. Bridge Bank's product offering includes growth capital, equipment and working capital credit facilities and treasury management solutions, along with a full line of international products and services and financing secured by domestic, government and foreign receivables. Bridge Bank's Energy and Infrastructure Group ("EIG") offers a full complement of debt financing, advisory, and banking services to developers of commercial and small-scale utility renewable energy generation facilities across the country. EIG assists clients in getting their projects 'off the drawing board' and on the path to installation and operations.

Learn more at the new www.bridgebank.com. Follow us @BridgeBank. 

About Bridge Capital Holdings

Bridge Capital Holdings is the holding company for Bridge Bank, National Association. Bridge Capital Holdings was formed on October 1, 2004 and holds a Global Select listing on the NASDAQ stock market under the trading symbol BBNK. Bridge Bank Holding Company was recently admitted to Sandler O'Neill's Class of 2012 "Sm-All Stars" -- a select group of 25 top-performing publicly traded banks and thrifts from throughout the U.S. with market capitalization of up to $2 billion. For additional information, visit the Bridge Capital Holdings website at www.bridgecapitalholdings.com.

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 describe future plans, strategies and expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information, expectations, assumptions, projections, and management's judgment about the Company, 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 Company'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 Company 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 Company'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.

The reader should refer to the more complete discussion of such risks in Bridge Capital Holdings' annual reports on Forms 10-K and quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.