Imperial Bank's imPower Banking Gives Businesses Greater Accessibility and Control of Financial Information.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2000

Imperial Bank, the principal subsidiary of Imperial Bancorp (NYSE:IMP), has successfully completed the first phase of development of imPower(TM) Banking, an Internet cash management service for mid-sized businesses, announced Richard Ercole, president of Imperial's Treasury Management Division.

"The rollout of the imPower(TM) Banking service follows months of planning and development by Imperial Bank to offer clients greater accessibility and control of their financial information with the ease and flexibility of a secure Internet gateway," said Ercole. "We are continuing to add enhancements over the next several months to further provide innovative online tools and services for our business banking customers."

With the completion of this initial phase, Imperial's online cash management services allow customers to access a streamlined menu of cash management tools to manage multiple accounts and services. Using a standard Web browser and Internet connection, customers can review account information and set up automated clearinghouse (ACH) payments to accomplish their daily financial needs.

Specifically, imPower(TM) Banking gives customers online access to summary reports for checking, savings, ZBA and controlled disbursement accounts, as well as transaction lists for all debits, credits, ACH and wire transfers. Customers can locate and sort transactions by date, category, amount or serial number. With ACH via the Web, customers can easily update information on repetitive payments, as well as import data from payroll and accounting packages to prepare transactions. Customers can also deposit payroll and reimburse expenses directly into employee accounts, pay vendors and use more than 65 preformatted screens to pay various state and federal taxes or make emergency one-time payments to remote employees. With enhanced security, imPower(TM) Banking gives access only to authorized users and allows definitions of levels of access according to the customer's workflow.

Imperial Bank customer, Fred Butterfield, CCM, treasury manager of Gemisys Financial Services (www.gemisys.com), commented on the benefits of imPower(TM) Banking to his company and his job performance: "In today's increasingly global business environment, many financial decisions are time sensitive or time critical. With imPower(TM) Banking, having anytime/anywhere access to financial information, and the means to implement decisions, gives the business professional a tremendously useful tool, along with a great deal of freedom. I can go wherever business needs may send me and still keep informed on, and able to execute, my primary functions. This adds excellent value to both myself and the company."

In subsequent phases, Imperial plans to introduce other online cash management services, such as wire transfer initiation and reporting, stop payment requests, positive pay initiation, check imaging and merchant statements. The development of Imperial's online cash management services was achieved through an alliance with Politzer & HANEY, a leading supplier of Web electronic banking and e-commerce products based in Newton, Mass.

With $7 billion in assets, Imperial Bank is one of the leading independent business banks headquartered in California and offers a wide range of financial services tailored to corporate customers, entrepreneurs and professionals. Serving mid-sized businesses, Imperial Bank's strategy focuses on delivering customized financial products and services to manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, service, import/export, apparel and textile businesses; in addition to some of the fastest growing industries such as emerging technology, entertainment, residential construction, and title and escrow. Founded in 1963 by California entrepreneurs, Imperial Bank is the principal subsidiary of Imperial Bancorp (NYSE:IMP), with 15 regional banking offices: 12 located throughout California; in Phoenix, Arizona; in Denver, Colorado; and in Kirkland, Washington. In addition, Imperial has emerging growth loan offices in Phoenix, Arizona; Irvine, Los Angeles, Palo Alto and San Diego, California; Denver, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Austin and Dallas, Texas; Reston, Virginia; and Kirkland, Washington. Imperial can be found on the Web at www.imperialbank.com.