Pacific Mercantile Bank Provides $4 Million in Financing to Kart World Distribution

COSTA MESA, Calif., Feb. 28, 2017 -- Pacific Mercantile Bank (“the Bank”), the wholly owned subsidiary of Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (NASDAQ:PMBC), today announced that it has extended $4 million in financing to Kart World Distribution to support the firm’s global expansion.  In addition to the financing, Kart World utilizes a full suite of Pacific Mercantile Bank’s depository products and cash management services.  Pacific Mercantile Bank arranged the financing under the California Loan Guarantee Program, which supports small businesses that will contribute to job growth in the state of California.

Based in Carlsbad, Kart World Distribution is the sole distributor of OTL Italia high quality electric karts to indoor kart racing tracks around the world.  In addition to distributing OTL Italia karts and parts, Kart World Distribution also provides a broad array of services to indoor kart tracks ranging from track design to complete branding solutions including custom kart decals, track flags, awards and apparel. 

“We were referred to Pacific Mercantile Bank by a customer of ours who was very pleased with the support they received from the Bank in growing their business,” said Christophe Dufour, General Manager of Kart World Distribution.  “Pacific Mercantile Bank was already familiar with our industry and was able to quickly understand our business and customize a credit facility that meets our financing needs.  Indoor kart racing continues to grow in popularity and OTL Italia electric karts are gaining market share due to their combination of superior performance, lower operating costs and environmentally-friendly emission systems.  The new credit facility with Pacific Mercantile Bank will provide us with the financing we need to capitalize on the growth opportunities we are seeing in many countries around the world.”

“Kart World Distribution has established itself as the supplier of choice for electric karts and parts,” said Tom Vertin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Mercantile Bank.  “We are excited to be working with the company and look forward to supporting the growth of their business in the years ahead.”

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:
Robert Anderson
EVP & Chief Banking Officer
714-438-2500