CHERRY HILL, N.J., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the past decade, Commerce Bank CBH has been named one of the top Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders on the East Coast. For fiscal year ending 9/30/07, Commerce is ranked 13th in dollar volume for SBA loans in the nation out of 650 banks with production of $195 million. The ranking is based upon figures supplied by the SBA District Offices located throughout the county.

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Commerce Bank, the leader in New Jersey, produced 231 loans for a total of $90,128,400, while production in its two other primary markets -- New York and Pennsylvania -- achieved $29,248,500 and $19,355,300 respectively.

"Over the years, Commerce Bank has consistently been one of our top lending partners," said New Jersey SBA District Director James A. Kocsi. "They are a strong supporter of the small business community with innovative financial solutions and their $90 million in SBA New Jersey loan approvals represents 18 percent of our statewide total."

Commerce also ranked first in dollar volume of loans made in New Jersey to:

    -- Asian-owned businesses (20,229,700)
    -- Women-owned businesses (12,771,000)
    -- Hispanic owned businesses (7,310,000)
    -- African American-owned businesses (6,571,000)

"Along with being an SBA leader in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, Commerce has already become a significant producer of SBA loans in its Metro D.C. and Florida markets," said Commerce Bank Regional Banking President Fred Graziano. "Our SBA lending effort is another indicator of Commerce's commitment to the small business community."

According to Commerce Senior Vice President, Arnold Horvath, "the dollar volume of SBA loans generated by Commerce in the Mid-Atlantic Region continues to be among the highest of the banks based in the same footprint."

ABOUT THE SBA

The Small Business Administration provides financial, technical and management assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their businesses. SBA is the nation's largest single financial backer of small businesses. SBA loans, with their partial guarantees by the U.S. government, are essential to small business owners who often have less capital than they need to qualify for most loans.

ABOUT COMMERCE BANK

Commerce Bank, "America's Most Convenient Bank," is a leading retailer of financial services with 450+ convenient stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., Commerce Bancorp CBH had $50 billion in assets. For more information about Commerce, please visit the company's interactive financial resource center at commerceonline.com, or call 888-751-9000.

Source: Commerce Bank