Kurt Chambliss Joins Heritage Commerce Corp as Vice President, SBA

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 7, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heritage Commerce Corp (Nasdaq:HTBK), the parent company of Heritage Bank of Commerce, today announced that Kurt A. Chambliss has joined the bank's SBA division as Vice President and will be operating out of their Walnut Creek office.

"Kurt brings a high level of Small Business Administration (SBA) lending and banking knowledge to our team, and we are delighted to have him on board," said Roxann M. Burns, Senior Vice President, SBA Department Manager. "We continue to reach out to the communities we serve, and Kurt will be playing a key role as we develop our East Bay markets and expand our SBA division."

The 2009 Recovery Act will have a significant impact on small businesses and is expanding funding for SBA loans. SBA is an important component in addressing the financing needs of business owners, providing specific tools to make it easier and less expensive for small businesses to get loans. As a Preferred SBA Lender, Heritage Bank of Commerce, is able to efficiently underwrite and approve SBA loans, and is actively working in the Bay area to provide credit to local businesses.

Formerly with First Republic Bank, Chambliss served as a Senior SBA Lender developing and expanding bank relationships using SBA financing as a lead product, specifically the SBA 7(a) and 504 loan program. Chambliss, a fifteen-year veteran of banking and SBA lending, was previously Vice President and Senior Business Development Officer at Greater Bay Bank, where he was responsible for managing the entire SBA sales process and was the number one producer of 7(a) and 504 loans, in dollars loaned, in 2004 and 2005.

Chambliss graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science. He also completed the commercial underwriting program with Wells Fargo Bank. Married, with two children, Chambliss lives in Danville, where he and his wife grew up.

Heritage Commerce Corp, a bank holding company established in February 1998, is the parent company of Heritage Bank of Commerce, established in 1994 and headquartered in San Jose with full-service branches in Los Gatos, Fremont, Danville, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Mountain View, and Los Altos. Heritage Bank of Commerce is an SBA Preferred Lender with Loan Production Offices in Sacramento, Oakland and Santa Rosa, California. For more information, please visit www.heritagecommercecorp.com.

Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer

Forward-looking statements are based on management's knowledge and belief as of today and include information concerning the Company's possible or assumed future financial condition, and its results of operations, business and earnings outlook. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors, some of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, could cause future results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include (1) difficult and adverse conditions in the global and domestic capital and credit markets, (2) continued volatility and further deterioration of the capital and credit markets, (3) significant changes in banking laws or regulations, including, without limitation, as a result of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and the creation of and possible amendments to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), including the Capital Purchase Program and related executive compensation requirements, (4) continued uncertainty about the impact of TARP and other recent federal programs on the financial markets including levels of volatility and credit availability, (5) a more adverse than expected decline or continued weakness in general business and economic conditions, either nationally, regionally or locally in areas where the Company conducts its business, which may affect, among other things, the level of nonperforming assets, charge-offs and provision expense, (6) changes in interest rates, reducing interest rate margins or increasing interest rate risks, (7) changes in market liquidity which may reduce interest margins and impact funding sources, (8) increased competition in the Company's markets, (9) changes in the financial performance and/or condition of the Company's borrowers, (10) current and further deterioration in the housing and commercial real estate markets particularly in California and (11) increases in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation premiums due to market developments and regulatory changes. For a discussion of factors which could cause results to differ, please see the Company's reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Company's press releases. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which reflect management's view only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

CONTACT: Heritage Bank of Commerce
         Diana Olveira, VP/ Marketing
         (408) 494-4538