Pacific Premier Bankcorp (PPBI)

[Enterprising Investor]

PPBI Named 2011 "Sm-All Star" by Sandler O'Neill (9/12/11)

COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPBI) ("Pacific Premier"), the holding company of Pacific Premier Bank (the "Bank"), is pleased to announce its inclusion in the annual Sandler O'Neill + Partners Sm-All Stars: Class of 2011. The class lists top performing publicly-traded small-cap banks and thrifts in the nation. Of the 486 banks and thrifts with a market cap of less than $2 billion, Pacific Premier was one of only 25 selected for the 2011 Sm-All Stars list.

According to Sandler O'Neill + Partners, an investment banking firm specializing in financial services companies, banks selected for the 2011 Sm-All Stars list have outstanding performance metrics in growth, profitability, credit quality and capital strength. The Sandler O'Neill 2011 Sm-All Stars publication states: "The objective of the Sm-All Stars remains unchanged: to identify the top performing small-cap banks and thrifts in the nation. By identifying this group, we hope to provide investors with a narrow list from which to uncover the next crop of leading mid-cap banks and thrifts and, most important, expose them before they are discovered by the rest of the world."

Steven R. Gardner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Premier, commented on this noteworthy recognition, "We are very pleased to be named to this exclusive list of high performing small-cap banks. We are honored that Pacific Premier is recognized for its success during a period when many financial institutions are experiencing subpar results. Pacific Premier's performance is a direct result of superior customer service, a conservative credit culture and a passion for excellence designed to deliver sustained performance and long-term value for our shareholders."

Pacific Premier owns all of the capital stock of the Bank. The Bank provides business and consumer banking products to its customers through nine full-service depository branches in Southern California located in the cities of Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, San Bernardino and Seal Beach.

Contact:

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc.
Steven R. Gardner
President/CEO
714.431.4000

Kent J. Smith
Executive Vice President/CFO
714.431.4000

SOURCE Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc.

http://www.ppbi.net