Pacific Mercantile Bank Provides $1.5 Million in Financing to Linksoul

COSTA MESA, Calif., Dec. 20, 2016 -- Pacific Mercantile Bank (“the Bank”), the wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (NASDAQ:PMBC), today announced that it has extended a $1.5 million commercial line of credit to Linksoul to finance the company’s continued growth.  In addition to the line of credit, Linksoul will utilize a full suite of Pacific Mercantile Bank’s cash management services.

Linksoul is an apparel brand, rooted in golf and extended to a wide range of everyday activities to create a unique line of men’s and women’s lifestyle clothing.  Founded by John Ashworth, Linksoul is more of a philosophy than a brand.  It is the collective life’s work of a group of people that care about each other and enjoy collaborating.  The word “linksoul” comes simply from the term “links soul,” which is an expression of the combination of virtues the founders discovered through playing golf, and now seek in whatever they do.  Linksoul’s mission is to reconnect people to the soul of the game, which is no longer just about golf; it's about everything. (But golf is still mandatory on Fridays.)

“I’m grateful for the support that Pacific Mercantile Bank has provided to help us grow the Linksoul brand,” said John Ashworth, President of Linksoul.  “Linksoul is the product of 30 years of experience in the clothing trade that includes conceptualizing, collecting, developing and designing. Much of that experience was gained while I built Ashworth, Inc.  We believe in making things with our hands, with the people we love, for the good of our families and our community, and giving golfers a choice they haven’t had before.  We appreciate the time that Pacific Mercantile Bank has taken to understand our vision and business model, and structure a credit facility that provides the flexibility we need to continue growing our brand.”

“Linksoul has struck a chord with golfers and is gaining popularity nationally and internationally,” said Tom Vertin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Mercantile Bank.  “We are very pleased to be working with this unique group of golfers, craftsmen and artists as they continue to build the Linksoul brand.”

About Pacific Mercantile Bank

Pacific Mercantile Bank opened for business March 1, 1999. The Bank, which is FDIC insured and a member of the Federal Reserve System, provides a wide range of commercial banking services to businesses, business owners and business professionals through its combination of traditional banking offices and comprehensive, sophisticated electronic banking services.

The Bank, headquartered in Orange County, operates a total of nine offices in Southern California, located in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties. In addition, the Bank offers comprehensive online banking services accessible at www.pmbank.com.  Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (NASDAQ:PMBC) is the parent holding company of Pacific Mercantile Bank.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains statements regarding our expectations, beliefs and views about our plans to continue to build our loan portfolio and supporting systems and processes.  These statements, which constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Often, they include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "project," or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," or "may." These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of interest rates and other external economic factors and competition among financial services providers. We undertake no obligation (and expressly disclaim any such obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For additional information concerning factors that could cause actual conditions, events or results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the factors set forth under the headings "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q reports and to our most recent Form 8-K reports, which are available online at www.sec.gov. No assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition.

Pacific Mercantile Bank Contact:
Kittridge Chamberlain
EVP & Chief Banking Officer
714-438-2500