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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank Pittsburgh: 412-288-2851, cell: 412-335-9488
Tom Arasz, senior vice president-community reinvestment, 856-532-2701

COMMERCE BANK WINS PILLARS AWARD FOR COMMUNITY-BUILDING: ANNUAL AWARD FROM FHLBANK PITTSBURGH HIGHLIGHTS HOMEBUYING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

PHILADELPHIA, PA, August 16, 2006 — Commerce Bank, a full-service bank with offices across the Delaware Valley, is the 2006 recipient of a Pillars of the Community Award for outstanding leadership in the area of community commitment. The award was presented at an affordable housing grants ceremony in Philadelphia.

"Each year, FHLBank Pittsburgh honors a select group of members that have applied a multitude of resources in the relentless pursuit of community-building," said John R. Price, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, a wholesale lender of low-cost financing to community banks across Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia. "These Pillars of the Community recipients exemplify outstanding leadership and a civic commitment that sets them apart. Homes become affordable, businesses create jobs, neighborhoods gain new vitality and families prosper, thanks to these very special banks."

FHLBank Pittsburgh selected Commerce Bank as its 2006 Pillars award-winner due to its exemplary work in supporting affordable housing. In 2005, Commerce Bank actively participated in the First Front Door (FFD) grants program that provides financial assistance for down payments and closing costs to lower-income first-time homebuyers. Last year, Commerce Bank homebuyers used more than $40,000 in FFD grants.

First Front Door is the second major initiative Commerce Bank has launched to support first-time homebuyers. Since 1994, the bank has provided more than $350 million in home purchase financing through its First Step Program. In addition, the bank has sponsored several housing projects using Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants from FHLBank. AHP has provided critical gap funding for worthwhile projects that otherwise might not have gotten off the ground in Commerce Bank's service area. At today's event, a $1.35 million AHP grant was presented to the Harvest Senior Housing project in Lindenwold, NJ, a grant that Commerce Bank was partially instrumental in securing for the project's sponsors.

Commerce Bank also provides community support on a variety of personal levels. In 2005, the bank made 6,000 contributions totaling more than $10 million for charitable organizations across its marketplace. In addition, matching its customers' contributions, the bank raised $700,000 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Indonesian tsunami.

Employees are involved in numerous volunteer organizations and activities, and the bank's award-winning WOWZone! initiative has provided financial education to more than 34,000 students at more than 1,400 schools.

In recognition of the bank's contributions to the community, FHLBank Pittsburgh is making a $1,000 donation to United Communities Southeast Philadelphia.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank Pittsburgh) is a wholesale bank that serves the housing finance and community and economic development needs of its owner-members. The Bank provides reliable access to low-cost funds, competitive pricing in the purchase of mortgage loans, correspondent banking, technical assistance, affordable housing grants and other programs so members can better serve their own communities. The Bank is privately capitalized and funded, does not use taxpayer dollars, and enjoys a triple-A rating. It currently has 334 members in its district of Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and approximately $74.7 billion in assets. FHLBank Pittsburgh is one of twelve Banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, established by Congress in 1932 to support the residential mortgage activities of local financial institutions.