Presidio Bank Growing With TARP Money

SAN FRANCISCO-Locally based Presidio Bank will announce today the receipt of $10.8 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds that it plans to use to open a Palo Alto branch. A bank spokesperson confirmed the basic facts Monday but declined to comment further until after the company issues a press release sometime today.

Jim Woolwine, chairman of the $225-million bank told the San Francisco Business Times recently that its projections indicate the TARP money also will allow it to lend more than $100 million. Woolwine reportedly said the money will result in Presidio Bank having one of the highest capital ratios within its peer banking group.

The largest community bank in Palo Alto disappeared in 2007 when Wells Fargo acquired Mid-Peninsula Bank and its parent Greater Bay Bancorp. The founder of Greater Bay Bancorp, David Kalkbrenner, is chair of Presidio Bank’s advisory board, and Presidio has reportedly hired three former Mid-Peninsula Bank employees to work at the new Palo Alto branch.