Commerce Capital Markets Is New Jersey's Number One Municipal Underwriter.

CHERRY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 1999--Commerce Capital Markets, a wholly owned subsidiary of Commerce Bancorp (NYSE Symbol: CBH) was New Jersey's most active underwriter of municipal bonds and notes in 1998 according to statistics compiled by the Securities Data Company of Newark, New Jersey.

Commerce Capital was also the nation's second most active underwriter of short-term municipal bonds.

Commerce Capital's total of 207 municipal issues in 1998 out-paced competing firms by a wide margin. New Jersey's second most active public finance company completed 101 issues. Commerce Capital is the largest regional distributor of municipal bonds and notes with trading and sales in excess of $14 billion in 1998.

New Headquarters Accommodates Capital Markets Expansion

While the public finance departments of some banks in the region are in a state of flux or are being relocated to other areas of the country, Commerce Capital Markets is expanding its Philadelphia based operations.

The new Commerce Capital regional headquarters, located in the recently opened Pennsylvania headquarters of Commerce Bank at 20th and Market Streets in Philadelphia includes the most technically advanced fixed income bond trading floor in the region with 60 state-of-the-art trading desks.

Over the past several months, Commerce Capital has doubled the size of its municipal bond trading staff, going from 25 traders to over 50 in the new Philadelphia location.

"We are growing rapidly by focusing on the needs of local school districts, health care institutions and municipalities that are being overlooked as a result of disruptive changes impacting the public finance field," noted Commerce Capital Markets Chief Executive Officer Vincent J. Stafford.

"As part of the Commerce organization, we share the bank's commitment to providing results-oriented financing solutions developed by locally-based experts who have the authority to make quick, effective decisions," Stafford added.

Commerce Capital Markets has grown steadily in recent years to become the region's largest public finance firm specializing in meeting the needs of higher education, health care, and state and municipal clients including Drexel University, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Jefferson Health System.

Commerce Broadens Scope Of Investment Services

Along with expanding its public finance operation, Commerce is increasing the scope of its other investment services. In conjunction with the move into the new Philadelphia location, Commerce has launched a taxable securities trading desk, making it one of the few banks in the area that has the capability to trade U.S. government backed securities.

Commerce is also in the process of nearly doubling the size of its Personal Investment Group staff, and in April it will be the region's first bank to unveil its own personal computer based E-trading service.

Commerce Bancorp, the region's fastest growing independent financial services company, is headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Commerce has a network of 100 branches serving eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and assets of $5.5 billion.