Business Bank Corporation, Parent Company of Business Bank of Nevada, Announces Increase in 1st Quarter Earnings.

Business Editors

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2001

Business Bank Corp., the parent company of Business Bank of Nevada, today announced that its earnings for 1st Quarter 2001 were $108,709 compared to $85,050 as of March 31, 2000, which was a 28 percent increase year over year.

The Company's Book Value Per Share as of March 31, 2001 was $9.10, compared to $8.15 as of March 31, 2000. The Corporation's Return on Average Assets (ROA) for the quarter was 0.24 percent compared to 0.25 percent the previous year. The Return on Average Equity was 3.02 percent compared to 3.12 percent a year earlier. The Corporation's Earnings Per Share of Common Stock was $0.07 for 1st Quarter 2001, which resulted in no change in this category for 1st Quarter 2000.

The Corporation's total assets as of March 31, 2001 were $188.1 million, compared to $143.8 million on March 31, 2000. This represents more than a 30 percent increase in the Corporation's total assets year over year. Total loans for the holding company stood at $110.6 million as of March 31, 2001, compared to $95.4 million the previous year, which resulted in nearly a 16 percent increase in total loans from the previous year. Total deposits for the Corporation as of March 31, 2001, were $172.1 million, compared to $130.8 million a year earlier.

"We're starting to enjoy some sustained growth in our core business," said John Guedry, president and CEO of Business Bank of Nevada. "What's not growing as quickly is our overall earnings, along with our ROA and ROE. The past twelve months has been a period of transition and change for the company, and with most of these changes and non-recurring expenses hopefully behind us now, we fully expect to see the company's overall earnings rise and begin to run parallel with the growth in our core business."

Some of the non-recurring expenses the company incurred over the last 12 months include the closing of a private placement of 422,644 shares of stock. The issuance of this private placement, which closed on January 12, 2001, resulted in approximately $70,000 in non-recurring expenses for the Company. The ongoing change out and upgrading of the company's five-year-old computer equipment also continues to affect the Corporation's overall profitability.

"One of the other areas we're watching very closely now is the declining interest rate," Guedry said. "While this is good for borrowers, it's not something depositors get excited about. As interest rates go down, the spreads also shrink as do the yields, which begins to erode profit margins. Most banks anticipated a 50 to 75 basis point drop in interest rates this year, but thus far we've seen a 200 basis point drop, with another 25 to 50 basis point drop anticipated by the market over the next few months."

Guedry added that this continued drop in the interest rate would cause banks to have to look elsewhere for their income stream. "Growing our loan totals with quality loans is the one area that can have the greatest impact on our bottom line. That's why we launched a major lending campaign earlier this year that allows businesses to borrow money at or near the prime rate."

According to Guedry, the Bank expects to significantly increase its monthly bookings of new loan commitments as a result of its current advertising campaigns and the recent move to decentralize its loan officers by placing them in the branches where they are closer to the customer.

It has almost been a full year now since the Bank's new executive management team took over the reins of the Bank. Guedry joined the bank in February 2000, followed by Larry Charlton, executive vice president and chief financial/operations officer, who joined the bank in March 2000, followed by Mark Phillips, executive vice president and chief credit officer, who joined the bank in May of last year. The Bank's nine-member senior management team is also new to the bank within the last 8 to 10 months.

Business Bank of Nevada is in its sixth year of operation and is one of the fastest-growing independent banks in the state. The Bank has four branch offices in Nevada, with three in the Las Vegas area and one in Carson City. The Bank is looking to add an additional branch this year in the southeast part of the Las Vegas valley. Business Bank is FDIC Insured and is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Its stock is listed over the counter (OTC) at ticker symbol BBNV.

Editor's Note: Visit Business Bank's Web site at www.bbnv.com for more complete financial information on Business Bank Corporation. This information is located in the Inside Business Bank/Investor Relations section of the bank's Web site.