PROMERICA BANK President Retiring

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 15, 2011) - PROMÉRICA BANK (OTCQB: PMRA) (PINKSHEETS: PMRA) today announced its President, CEO and Director John H. Quinn will retire from his positions in February next year. This assignment caps more than 38 years in Banking and Finance for Quinn, and his retirement will allow him to spend more time with his family. Quinn has been at the helm of the bank since early 2009, during which time the bank has accomplished strong growth in total assets, greatly improved quality in the credit portfolio and profitability for the last three quarters. "I came to PROMÉRICA with those objectives in mind and feel proud of the bank, its customers and our employees that all three of these goals have been accomplished in such a short time and under such challenging circumstances," Quinn said. He added, "With outstanding staff, strong internal systems and a winning style of responsiveness and service to our customers, we remain optimistic for the bank's future."

Describing why the bank has been so successful in spite of the overall struggles of banks in recent years, Quinn explained that, "Good people are at the foundation of our success, and PROMÉRICA'S leadership ranks are deep with quality people. In particular, Maria Contreras-Sweet, Frank Smith and Steve Rolfe, as Executive Chairwoman, CFO and CCO respectively, all continue to provide the quality leadership that leads to our success. The bank's large capital base and strong ties to the Latino community have helped it grow when many community banks have had to curtail or even shrink their lending portfolios. Finally, our attention to each of our customer's unique banking requirements builds a strong interdependency between the bank and our customers."

The bank's Founding Executive Chairwoman, Maria Contreras-Sweet, added, "We appreciate the effort that John has put into the bank during these fruitful years. We anticipate his continued focus and dedication through the end of his term, February 2012. We are confident in the bank's sound condition and growth potential."

PROMÉRICA BANK provides commercial banking services to small and medium size businesses in the greater Los Angeles area, including a high proportion of non-profit organizations and Latino- and women-owned businesses. State-of-the-art electronic banking permits full service availability wherever its customers are located, and customized, attentive service support produces a steady flow of compliments from satisfied customers.

PROMÉRICA BANK provides a full range of financial services, including credit and deposit products, cash management and internet banking for businesses and high net worth individuals from its headquarters office at 888 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Information on products and services may be obtained by calling (213) 613-5000 or visiting the Bank's website at www.PROMERICAbank.com.

NOTE:

This news release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about PROMÉRICA BANK'S business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and the following: PROMÉRICA BANK'S timely implementation of new products and services, technological changes, changes in consumer spending and savings habits and other risks discussed from time to time in PROMÉRICA BANK'S reports and filings with banking regulatory agencies. In addition, such statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic and international economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and PROMÉRICA BANK does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.