Columbia Commercial Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2009 Profit

HILLSBORO, OR, Apr 20 (MARKET WIRE) --
Columbia Commercial Bancorp (OTCBB: CLBC), a single bank holding company
for Columbia Community Bank, reports net income for first quarter 2009 of
$471,000, or $0.15 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $203,000
or ($0.06) per diluted share for fourth quarter 2008, and $900,000 or
$0.29 per diluted share for first quarter 2008. Total assets at March 31,
2009 of $398.9 million increased $15.1 million or 3.9% since March 31,
2008, while over the past quarter total assets decreased $3.6 million or
0.9% from the December 31, 2008 total assets of $402.5 million.
"Historically the Bank's focus was on asset growth, however over the past
quarter and throughout most of 2008, a significant amount of our
resources have been focused on working through the Bank's residential
construction and land development loan portfolio. Due to the continued
residential market slowdown, this process is certainly slower than we had
hoped; however, the Bank is making considerable progress," states the
Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Rick A. Roby. The Bank's
residential construction and land development loan portfolio at $99.9
million as of March 31, 2009 is down 23.7% when compared to the $130.9
million in outstandings at the end of March 31, 2008. Roby continues,
"With last year's loan loss provision expense of $4.2 million and another
$600,000 for this quarter, current net income levels are not consistent
with those of the past, however the Bank needed to bolster its allowance
for loan losses which is now at $5.8 million, relative to the $3.3
million at this time last year." The Bank's allowance for loan losses has
increased from 1.12% of total loans at March 31, 2008 to its current
level of 1.90% relative to total loans.

First Quarter 2009 Performance Measures:

-- Return on average equity of 8.11%
-- Return on average assets of 0.48%
-- Net interest margin of 2.63%
-- Efficiency ratio of 82.2%
-- Total risk based capital ratio of 10.76% (well-capitalized)

"The Bank continues to aggressively work through and properly account
for all the loans in its residential and land development portfolio. With
the real estate market in a deep slump and many builders and developers
running out of resources, the Bank has stopped accruing interest on
non-performing loans," states Fred Johnson, the Bank's Chief Credit
Officer. At March 31, 2009, the Bank had $31.2 million in non-performing
assets which consist solely of loans from the Bank's residential and land
development portfolio. Johnson continues, "While the repayment of
residential construction and land development loans is taking longer than
the original contractual terms, even with the downturn in real estate
values most of the loans in this portfolio remain well collateralized."
Net Loan charge-offs were $620,000 for the first quarter of 2009 and $1.5
million for all of 2008. All loan charge-offs relate to residential
construction and land development loans.

The Bank's non-performing assets, along with the Federal Reserve Bank's
actions throughout 2008 to substantially reduce interest rates, have
significantly impacted the Bank's net interest margin. Net interest margin
for the first quarter of 2009 was 2.63% compared to 3.02% for fourth
quarter 2008 and 3.75% for first quarter of 2008. The Company's Chief
Financial Officer, Bob Ekblad states, "In addition to the challenges with
net interest margin, earnings are under pressure from significant
increases in FDIC insurance premiums, costs related to foreclosing on loan
collateral, and costs associated with maintaining and liquidating real
estate properties acquired through foreclosure." As a result, the Bank's
efficiency ratio increased this quarter to 82.2% relative to 60.3% for the
prior quarter. Ekblad expands, "There have been no significant changes to
human resources or facilities, as the Bank has always leveraged and
continues to leverage these areas well. It will just take some time to
work through the other issues to return our performance ratios closer to
their historical levels which have traditionally been well above our peer
group."

Rick A. Roby concludes with, "The Bank turns ten years old this upcoming
quarter and I am very proud of our accomplishments. While slowing down and
shifting some of our momentum over this past year has been a difficult
thing, we knew it was what needed to be done. Our Board of Directors and
employees continue to be very focused on the task at hand. We are all
optimistic that with stabilization in the residential real estate market,
which we are beginning to observe, these challenges will get behind us and
our energies can be refocused to more forward moving activities."

About Columbia Commercial Bancorp:

Information about the Company's stock may be obtained through the Over the
Counter Bulletin Board at www.otcbb.com. Columbia Commercial Bancorp's
stock symbol is CLBC.

Columbia Commercial Bancorp was formed in 2002 as a holding company for
Columbia Community Bank, which was opened in 1999 by local business people
to provide business loans and deposit products for Oregon businesses.

With offices in Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Tanasbourne and Tigard/Durham,
Columbia Community Bank is dedicated to providing a superior and
personalized business banking experience for its clients in and around
Oregon. The Bank was named among the "100 Best Companies to Work for in
Oregon" by Oregon Business Magazine (2009 and 2007) and the Bank has also
been named by Portland Business Journal as one of the "100 Fastest-Growing
Private Companies in Oregon" consistently over the past several years. In
2008, US Banker magazine ranked Columbia Commercial Bancorp number 15
among 1,115 financial institutions in the nation with assets of $2
billion or less based upon a three-year average return on equity.

For more information about Columbia Commercial Bancorp, or its subsidiary,
Columbia Community Bank, call (503) 693-7500 or visit our website at
www.columbiacommunitybank.com. Information contained in or linked to our
website is not incorporated as a part of this release.

Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the definition of the "safe-harbor" provisions of
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These
forward-looking statements are subject to significant uncertainties, which
could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in
such statements. Forward-looking statements are those that incorporate
management's current expectations and plans based on information currently
know to them. These statements can sometimes be identified by words such
as "believe," "estimate," "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "will," "may,"
"should," or other similar phrases or words. Readers are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In particular, they
should not be construed as assurances of a given level of performance or
as promises of a given set of management's actions. Some of the factors
that could cause management to deviate from its current plans, or could
cause the Company's results to differ from current expectations, include
the effect of localized or regional economic shifts that may affect the
collectability of loans or the value of the collateral underlying those
loans; the effects of laws, regulations, policies and government actions
upon the Company's assets and operations; sensitivity to the Northwestern
Oregon geographic markets and events affecting those markets: and the
impacts of new government initiatives (such as climate change initiatives
and other programs) upon us and our borrowers. The Company does not intend
to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Consolidated Balance Sheet
Unaudited
(amounts in 000's, except per share data and ratios)

% Change December
March 31 2009 vs. 31, % Change
2009 2008 2008 2008 Quarter
--------- --------- -------- --------- --------

ASSETS
Cash & due from
banks $ 14,613 $ 6,055 141.3% $ 9,274 57.6%
Federal funds sold 23,405 10,590 121.0% 8,739 167.8%
Investments 39,975 60,793 -34.2% 57,463 -30.4%

Gross loans 306,854 297,034 3.3% 315,150 -2.6%
Allowance for loan
losses (5,819) (3,330) 74.7% (5,839) -0.3%
--------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Net loans 301,035 293,704 2.5% 309,311 -2.7%

Other real estate
owned 5,663 - n/a 3,454 64.0%
Other assets 14,184 12,643 12.2% 14,231 -0.3%
--------- --------- -------- --------- --------

Total Assets $ 398,875 $ 383,785 3.9% $ 402,472 -0.9%
========= ========= ======== ========= ========

LIABILITIES
Deposits $ 293,330 $ 271,207 8.2% $ 288,936 1.5%
Repurchase
agreements 12,340 17,685 -30.2% 15,810 -21.9%
Federal funds
purchased - - 0.0% - 0.0%
FHLB borrowings 56,635 57,000 -0.6% 59,135 -4.2%
Real estate
borrowings 1,797 1,881 -4.5% 1,819 -1.2%
Junior subordinated
debentures 8,248 8,248 0.0% 8,248 0.0%
Other liabilities 3,029 4,174 -27.4% 4,923 -38.5%
--------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Total
Liabilities 375,379 360,195 4.2% 378,871 -0.9%

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 23,496 23,590 -0.4% 23,601 -0.4%
--------- --------- -------- --------- --------
Total
liabilities and
stockholders'
equity $ 398,875 $ 383,785 3.9% $ 402,472 -0.9%
========= ========= ======== ========= ========

Shares outstanding at
end-of-period 3,142,581 3,038,636 3,126,081
Book value per share $ 7.48 $ 7.76 $ 7.55
Allowance for loan
losses to total loans 1.90% 1.12% 1.85%
Non-performing assets
(non-accrual loans &
OREO) $ 31,185 $ 4,074 $ 22,058

Consolidated Income Statement
Unaudited
(amounts in 000's, except per share data and ratios)

Three
Three Months Ending % Change Months
-------------------- 2009 vs. Ending % Change
3/31/2009 3/31/2008 2008 12/31/2008 Quarter
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------
INTEREST INCOME
Loans $ 4,647 $ 5,962 -22.1% $ 5,136 -9.5%
Investments 466 791 -41.1% 595 -21.7%
Federal funds sold
and other 40 21 90.5% 106 -62.3%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------
Total interest
income 5,153 6,774 -23.9% 5,837 -11.7%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------

INTEREST EXPENSE
Deposits 2,022 2,385 -15.2% 2,161 -6.4%
Repurchase
agreements and
federal funds
purchased 45 159 -71.7% 70 -35.7%
FHLB borrowings 581 635 -8.5% 602 -3.5%
Real estate
borrowings 33 35 -5.7% 34 -2.9%
Junior
subordinated
debentures 86 152 -43.4% 122 -29.5%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------
Total interest
expense 2,767 3,366 -17.8% 2,989 -7.4%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------

NET INTEREST INCOME
BEFORE PROVISION FOR
LOAN LOSSES 2,386 3,408 -30.0% 2,848 -16.2%

PROVISION FOR LOAN
LOSSES 600 380 57.9% 1,550 -61.3%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------

NET INTEREST INCOME
AFTER PROVISION FOR
LOAN LOSSES 1,786 3,028 -41.0% 1,298 37.6%

NON-INTEREST INCOME 116 129 -10.1% 115 0.9%

NON-INTEREST EXPENSE 2,055 1,770 16.1% 1,787 15.0%

SECURITY GAINS /
(LOSSES) 873 30 2810.0% 1 87200.0%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------

INCOME BEFORE
PROVISION FOR INCOME
TAXES 720 1,417 -49.2% (373) -293.0%

PROVISION / (BENEFIT)
FOR INCOME TAXES 249 517 -51.8% (170) -246.5%
--------- --------- -------- ---------- --------

NET INCOME $ 471 $ 900 -47.7% $ (203) -332.0%
========= ========= ======== ========== ========

Earnings per share -
Basic $ 0.15 $ 0.30 $ (0.07)

Earnings per share -
Diluted $ 0.15 $ 0.29 $ (0.06)

Return on average
equity 8.11% 15.95% -3.43%
Return on average
assets 0.48% 0.98% -0.21%
Net interest margin 2.63% 3.75% 3.02%
Efficiency ratio 82.2% 49.6% 60.3%

CONTACT:
Rick A. Roby
President & Chief Executive Officer
503-693-7500
rick@columbiacommunitybank.com

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