2007-04-19 12:11:15 -

COSTA MESA, Calif., April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company"), the holding company of Pacific Premier Bank (the "Bank"), announced its unaudited results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. The Company recorded first quarter net income of $945,000, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.7 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2006. The results for first quarter of 2006 were positively impacted by a $500,000 reduction in its valuation allowance for

deferred tax assets. All diluted earnings per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect warrants, restricted stock and stock options outstanding.

Return on average assets ("ROAA") for the three months ended March 31, 2007 was 0.52%, compared to 1.02% for the same period in 2006. The Company's return on average equity ("ROAE") for the three months ended March 31, 2007 was 6.42% compared to 13.41% for the three months ended March 31, 2006. The Company's basic and diluted book value per share increased to $11.22 and $9.29, respectively, at March 31, 2007, reflecting an annualized increase of 6.89% and 5.68%, respectively, from December 31, 2006.

Given recent developments in the housing markets, the Company is providing the following information regarding the Bank's loan portfolio composition as of March 31, 2007 (dollars in thousands):

Loan Type Amount % of Total * Multi-family $334,735 56.4% * Commercial real estate - investor owned 161,770 27.3% * Commercial real estate - owner-occupied 47,294 8.0% * Commercial and industrial ("C&I") 26,169 4.4% * Small Business Administration ("SBA") 6,825 1.2% * One-to-four family 14,659 2.5% * Construction - multi-family 822 0.1% * Other 41 0.1% * Total $592,315 100.0%

The Bank does not engage in sub-prime lending or single-family residential construction loans.

Steven R. Gardner, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our first quarter results were positively impacted by the sale of $63.7 million of multi-family and commercial real estate loans which generated $1.0 million in gains on sale. Additionally, our net interest margin expanded by 10 basis points compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2006. Affecting our results were our investments in the expansion of our branch network, which resulted in higher expenses associated with the recruitment of commercial business bankers to staff our new depository branches."

Mr. Gardner further stated, "During the first quarter, we successfully completed the conversion of the Bank's charter from a federal savings bank to a California commercial bank. As part of the charter conversion, the warrant issued in January of 2002 to New Life Holdings, an entity controlled by Mr. Ezri Namvar, was sold to Security Pacific Bancorp. Mr. Namvar is a majority owner of Security Pacific Bancorp. Security Pacific Bancorp and Mr. Namvar have no current or anticipated business dealings with the Company or the Bank. No new warrants were issued as part of this event."

Mr. Gardner concluded by stating, "Our focus on growing core deposits resulted in relationship business banking deposits increasing 19%, and the number of business banking relationships increasing 8% during the first quarter of 2007. These new relationships are leading to a more diversified and higher yielding loan portfolio through increases in commercial real estate, business and Small Business Administration ('SBA') loans."

During the first quarter, the Board of Directors approved the repurchase of up to 600,000 shares of the Company's common stock. In March and April 2007, the Company repurchased a total of 100,000 shares of its outstanding common stock, which have been retired.

For the three months ended March 31, 2007, net interest income was $4.5 million compared to $4.6 million for the same period a year earlier. Our net interest margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 was 2.60% compared to 2.79% for the same period a year ago. The decrease in net interest income for the quarter is predominately attributable to a 32.8% increase in interest expense, from $5.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 to $7.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. The increase in interest expense was attributable to an increase in the average cost of deposits and borrowings of 80 and 106 basis points, respectively, over the prior year period. The increase in the cost of funds is due to the overall rising interest rate environment, which has lead to higher borrowing costs associated with the Bank's Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") advances. Additionally, strong competitor deposit pricing within the Bank's primary markets have impacted the cost of deposits. Partially offsetting the increase in interest expense was an increase in interest income for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 of 16.9%, or $1.8 million. The increase in interest income was attributable to a 13.8%, or 88 basis points, increase in the average loan yield to 7.28%, over the same period in the prior year. The increase in loan yield is, in part, a direct reflection of the Bank's focus on originating higher yielding loans to businesses within the Bank's market area.

Additionally, the increase in loan yield is attributable to the repricing of our predominately adjustable-rate loan portfolio together with the change in the loan portfolio mix to higher yielding commercial real estate and business loans. At March 31, 2007, the Bank's loan portfolio was comprised of $549.8 million of adjustable-rate loans, representing 92.8% of its total loan portfolio at such date. These loans, which include fixed-rate hybrid loans with initial fixed-rate terms of 3, 5, 7 and 10 years that become adjustable-rate loans after the initial fixed-rate period, have an overall average time to reprice of 23.7 months. The adjustable-rate loan portfolio contains $188.4 million of loans that are scheduled to reprice in April 2007, of which $89.3 million is indexed to the 12 Month Treasury Average rate, a lagging index, and $26.9 million that is indexed to the six-month LIBOR rate.

Our provision for loan losses was $299,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2007 compared to zero for the same period in 2006. The increase in the provision for the quarter is primarily due to the overall shift in our loan portfolio mix towards more commercial real estate, business and SBA loans. Net recoveries for the first quarter of 2007 were $21,000 compared to $33,000 for the same period in 2006.

Noninterest income was $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007 compared to $946,000 for the same period ended March 31, 2006. The increase in noninterest income for the three months ended March 31, 2007 is primarily due to an increase in net gain from loan sales of $648,000 compared to the same period in 2006.

Noninterest expenses were $4.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2007 compared to $3.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. The increase in noninterest expense for the three months was the result of increases in compensation and benefits, legal expense, and other expenses of $413,000, $216,000, and $100,000, respectively, partially offset by a decrease of $79,000 in loss on foreclosed real estate. These increases are reflective of the Bank's investments in its strategic expansion through de novo branching and the addition of experienced business bankers to staff its new locations. The number of employees at the Bank grew from 97 at March 31, 2006 to 116 at March 31, 2007.

The Company had an income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2007 of $546,000. For the same period a year earlier, the Company's tax provision was $151,000. The Company benefited from a reduction in its valuation allowance for deferred taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2006 of $500,000. The Company's valuation allowance for deferred taxes was zero at March 31, 2007.

Total assets of the Company were $732.0 million as of March 31, 2007, compared to $730.9 million as of December 31, 2006. The $1.1 million, or 0.2%, increase in total assets is primarily due to an increase in cash and cash equivalents of $16.8 million and the purchase of $1.6 million in Federal Reserve Bank stock as part of the charter conversion, which was partially offset by a decrease in net loans of $16.4 million.

Net loans decreased $15.9 million to $589.2 million as of March 31, 2007, compared to the prior year end. The decrease is primarily due to two loan sales totaling $57.8 million of multi-family loans and $5.9 million of commercial real estate loans, which generated net gains of $1.0 million, and the prepayment of loans totaling $42.4 million, which generated noninterest income of $223,000. Partially offsetting the loan sales and payoffs was the origination of $101.5 million of new loans, consisting of $68.8 million of multi-family, $10.1 million of commercial real estate and land, $17.0 million of business loans, consisting of $300,000 of commercial real estate owner-occupied loans, $10.7 million of commercial and industrial loans, and $6.0 million of SBA loans, and $5.6 million of other residential loans. Management continues to utilize loan sales to manage its liquidity, interest rate risk, loan to deposit ratio, diversification of its loan portfolio, and balance sheet growth, and expects to do so for the foreseeable future. The Bank's pipeline of new loans at March 31, 2007 was $100.7 million.

The allowance for loan losses increased $320,000 to $3.9 million or 0.65% of gross loan outstanding as of March 31, 2007, compared to December 31, 2006. The increase in the allowance for loan losses was primarily due to the transitioning of the Bank's loan portfolio to include more commercial real estate and business loans and less multi-family loans. Commercial real estate owner-occupied loans, commercial and industrial loans and SBA loans, increased during the quarter by $11.4 million, $3.4 million, and $1.5 million, respectively. Commercial real estate and land loans decreased by $11.7 million, while multi-family loans decreased by $22.5 million since December 31, 2006. The allowance for loan losses as a percent of non-accrual loans decreased to 478% as of March 31, 2007 from 559% at December 31, 2006. Net non-accrual loans and other real estate owned were $793,000 and $113,000, respectively, at March 31, 2007, compared to $574,000 and $138,000, respectively, as of December 31, 2006. The ratio of net nonperforming assets to total assets at March 31, 2007 was 0.12%. All nonperforming assets consist of loans originated in or before the year 2000.

Total deposits were $348.2 million as of March 31, 2007, compared to $339.4 million at December 31, 2006. The increase in deposits is comprised of increases in brokered and wholesale certificate of deposits totaling $2.4 million and retail certificates of deposits of $10.2 million, which were partially offset by a decrease in transaction accounts of $3.9 million. The cost of deposits as of March 31, 2007 was 4.16%, an increase of 11 basis points since December 31, 2006.

At March 31, 2007, total borrowings of the Company amounted to $318.4 million, a 2.6% decrease from December 31, 2006, and were comprised of the Bank's $235.0 million and $72.3 million of FHLB term borrowings and overnight advances, respectively, $500,000 of other borrowings and the Company's $10.3 million of subordinated debentures which were used to fund the issuance of trust preferred securities. The total cost of the Company's borrowings and deposits at March 31, 2007 was 4.68%, compared to 4.67% at December 31, 2006.

The Bank's tier 1 (core) capital and total risk-based capital ratios at March 31, 2007 were 8.57% and 12.09%, respectively. The minimum ratios for well-capitalized banks are 5.00% and 10.00% for tier 1 (core) capital and risk-based capital, respectively.

The Company owns all of the capital stock of the Bank. We currently provide business and consumer banking products to our customers through our six full-service depository branches and a loan production office in Southern California located in the cities of San Bernardino, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Costa Mesa and Pasadena. The Bank at March 31, 2007, had total assets of $727.1 million, net loans of $589.2 million, total deposits of $349.5 million, and total equity capital of $62.7 million.

FORWARD-LOOKING COMMENTS

The statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be the same as those anticipated by management. Actual results may differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, the following risks: (1) changes in the performance of the financial markets, (2) changes in the demand for and market acceptance of the Company's products and services, (3) changes in general economic conditions including interest rates, presence of competitors with greater financial resources, and the impact of competitive projects and pricing, (4) the effect of the Company's policies, (5) the continued availability of adequate funding sources, and (6) various legal, regulatory and litigation risks.

Contact: Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. Steven R. Gardner President/CEO 714.431.4000 John Shindler Executive Vice President/CFO 714.431.4000 PACIFIC PREMIER BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (In thousands) March 31, December 31, ASSETS 2007 2006 (Unaudited) (Audited) Cash and due from banks $10,402 $7,028 Federal funds sold 23,412 10,012 Cash and cash equivalents 33,814 17,040 Investment securities available for sale 60,194 61,816 Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost 17,152 15,328 Loans held for sale 1,103 795 Loans held for investment, net of allowance for loan losses of $3,863 in 2007 and $3,543 in 2006, respectively 588,088 604,304 Accrued interest receivable 3,907 3,764 Foreclosed real estate 113 138 Premises and equipment 9,361 8,622 Income taxes receivable 245 130 Deferred income taxes 6,527 6,992 Bank owned life insurance 10,476 10,344 Other assets 1,050 1,601 Total assets $732,030 $730,874 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY LIABILITIES: Deposit accounts Transaction accounts $92,880 $96,761 Retail certificates of deposit 221,903 211,714 Wholesale/brokered certificates of deposit 33,379 30,974 Total deposits 348,162 339,449 Other borrowings 308,069 316,491 Subordinated debentures 10,310 10,310 Accrued expenses and other liabilities 6,993 6,586 Total liabilities 673,534 672,836 STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: Common stock, $.01 par value 52 54 Additional paid-in capital 66,801 67,306 Accumulated deficit (7,686) (8,631) Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax (671) (691) Total stockholders' equity 58,496 58,038 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $732,030 $730,874 PACIFIC PREMIER BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT UNAUDITED (In thousands, except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, March 31, INTEREST INCOME: 2007 2006 Loans $11,079 $9,770 Other interest-earning assets 1,045 604 Total interest income 12,124 10,374 INTEREST EXPENSE: Interest on transaction accounts 426 346 Interest on retail certificates of deposit 2,762 1,838 Interest on wholesale/brokered certificates of deposit 283 526 Total deposit interest expense 3,471 2,710 Other borrowings 3,970 2,861 Subordinated debentures 203 184 Total interest expense 7,644 5,755 NET INTEREST INCOME 4,480 4,619 PROVISION FOR LOAN LOSSES 299 -- NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR LOAN LOSSES 4,181 4,619 NONINTEREST INCOME: Loan servicing fee income 350 338 Bank and other fee income 141 102 Net gain from loan sales 1,034 386 Other income 215 120 Total noninterest income 1,740 946 NONINTEREST EXPENSE: Compensation and benefits 2,643 2,230 Premises and occupancy 567 545 Data processing 115 95 Net loss on foreclosed real estate 2 81 Legal and audit expense 352 136 Marketing expense 194 133 Office and postage expense 94 91 Other expense 463 363 Total noninterest expense 4,430 3,674 NET INCOME BEFORE TAXES 1,491 1,891 PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES 546 151 NET INCOME $945 $1,740 Basic Average Shares Outstanding 5,252,932 5,254,160 Basic Earnings per Share $0.18 $0.33 Diluted Average Shares Outstanding 6,693,646 6,681,371 Diluted Earnings per Share $0.14 $0.26 PACIFIC PREMIER BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY Statistical Information UNAUDITED (In thousands) As of As of As of March 31, December 31, March 31, 2007 2006 2006 Asset Quality: Non-accrual loans, net of specific allowance $793 $574 $1,205 Other Real Estate Owned $113 $138 $158 Nonperforming assets, net of specific allowance $906 $712 $1,363 Net charge-offs (recoveries) for the quarter ended $(21) $(33) $58 Allowance for loan losses $3,863 $3,543 $2,992 Net charge-offs for quarter to average loans, annualized (0.01%) (0.02%) 0.04% Net non-accrual loans to total loans 0.13% 0.09% 0.20% Net non-accrual loans to total assets 0.11% 0.08% 0.18% Net non-performing assets to total assets 0.12% 0.10% 0.20% Allowance for loan losses to total loans 0.65% 0.58% 0.49% Allowance for loan losses to non-accrual loans 478.02% 558.83% 215.90% Average Balance Sheet: for the Quarter ended Total assets $727,402 $706,208 $683,151 Loans $608,469 $604,072 $610,581 Deposits $341,424 $327,535 $331,723 Borrowings $309,683 $301,406 $282,318 Subordinated debentures $10,310 $10,310 $10,310 Share Data: Basic book value $11.22 $11.03 $9.99 Diluted book value $9.29 $9.16 $8.35 Closing stock price $10.80 $12.18 $11.73 Pacific Premier Bank Capital: Tier 1 (core) capital $62,267 $60,747 $55,660 Tier 1 (core) capital ratio 8.57% 8.38% 8.18% Total risk-based capital ratio 12.09% 11.66% 12.09% Loan Portfolio Real estate loans: Multi-family $334,735 $357,275 $446,398 Commercial and land 161,770 173,452 120,140 Construction -- Multi-family 822 -- -- One-to-four family 14,659 12,825 15,429 Business loans: Commercial Owner Occupied 47,294 35,929 16,069 Commercial and Industrial 26,169 22,762 5,432 SBA loans 6,825 5,312 -- Other loans 41 63 27 Total gross loans $592,315 $607,618 $603,495 Three Months Three Months Three Months Ended Ended Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2007 2006 2006 Profitability and Productivity: Return on average assets 0.52% 0.72% 1.02% Return on average equity 6.42% 8.80% 13.41% Net interest margin 2.60% 2.50% 2.79% Non-interest expense to total assets 2.42% 1.60% 2.15% Efficiency ratio 71.19% 61.81% 64.56%

Source: Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc.