Capitol Bancorp Announces Filing for De Novo Community Bank in State o

LANSING, Mich. and PHOENIX, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Capitol Bancorp Limited has filed an application to organize a community bank in Bellevue, Washington. Bank of Bellevue (in organization) will be Capitol's first community bank in the Northwest region of the country. Capitol, a community bank development company, currently has 33 individually chartered community banks located coast to coast.

Longtime Puget Sound banker Andrew P. Barlass has been appointed president and CEO of the new bank. Pending all regulatory approvals, Bank of Bellevue (in organization) is scheduled to open mid-year and will specialize in providing relationship-based banking services to small and medium-sized business as well as to business owners, business professionals and the commercial real estate industry.

During the bank's organization, Barlass will work closely with Thomas S. Giovanelli, a veteran banker who joined Capitol Bancorp in August, 2004 as president of the Northwest region after more than 27 years in banking in the Puget Sound area. Giovanelli is responsible for developing banking opportunities for Capitol in the Northwest.

According to Joseph D. Reid, Capitol's chairman and CEO, the Puget Sound area offers an attractive business climate and has been identified as a market opportunity in the Corporation's long-term, strategic growth plan. "We have been interested in establishing a presence in the Northwest for some time and are confident that the combination of an experienced, local management team and a board of directors drawn from the local community position us well for a successful entry into Washington," said Reid.

Capitol opened its 33rd community bank, Bank of Michigan, in Farmington Hills, Michigan in January and filed an application at the end of 2004 to establish a community bank in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

About Capitol Bancorp Limited

Capitol Bancorp Limited is a $3.1 billion community bank development company, with 33 individual bank charters and operations in nine states. Capitol Bancorp Limited identifies opportunities for the development of new community banks, raises capital, mentors a community bank through its formative stages, and manages its investments in its community banks. Each community bank has full local decision-making authority and is managed by an on-site president under the direction of a local board of directors composed of business leaders from the bank's community. Capitol Bancorp Limited was founded in 1988 and has headquarters in Lansing, Mich. and Phoenix, Ariz.