Professional Bancorp Inc. Appoints Dr. Robert Margolis as a Director

Business Wire, June 17, 1999

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 1999--

Professional Bancorp Inc. (AMEX:MDB) is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Margolis has recently been appointed to the board of directors of Professional Bancorp and its wholly owned subsidiary First Professional Bank, N.A.

Margolis replaces Dr. Ray Oyakawa, who resigned as a director of Professional Bancorp and First Professional Bank, N.A.

Margolis is the managing partner and chief executive officer of HealthCare Partners, a Los Angeles based Management Services Organization (MSO), a position he has held since 1992. HealthCare Partners includes HCP Ltd., a physician practice management organization; HealthCare Partners Medical Group; HealthCare Partners Institute, the company's not for profit research arm; and the Camden Group, a national consulting firm specializing in healthcare.

Margolis was a founding partner and the managing partner of HealthCare Partners' predecessor, California Primary Physicians Medical Group.

Under Margolis' direction, HealthCare Partners has achieved the reputation of being one of the most respected and innovative independent physician-owned and operated medical groups and MSOs in the United States. Through the company's 30 facilities, more than 300 salaried primary care physicians and specialists provide fee for service and managed care in all specialties of medicine, supported by an additional 1,000 providers through HealthCare Partners' independent provider networks.

Margolis also serves as chairman of the board of trustees of California Hospital Medical Center-Los Angeles and is a member of the Catholic HealthCare West, Southern California board of directors and its strategic planning committee. He is past chairman of the American Medical Group Association and a two-time past chairman of the board of the Unified Medical Group Association. Margolis is also a board member for many other organizations including the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the California Healthcare Association and the Healthcare Association of Southern California. He is a member of the Executive Management School Advisory Committee, School of Public Health, at UCLA.

Margolis is a board certified internist and oncologist and is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and Duke University Medical School and served a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.

"We are most excited to have Dr. Margolis join our board of directors. His extensive healthcare industry experience and leadership abilities complement our existing board of directors and will be very beneficial in evaluating corporate strategic issues and providing oversight to the dynamic healthcare industry we serve," stated Melinda McIntyre-Kolpin, president and chief executive officer of First Professional Bank.

Professional Bancorp Inc. is a Santa Monica-based bank holding company whose only subsidiary, First Professional Bank, N.A. is a commercial bank specializing in providing financial services, including lending, deposit, and cash management products to the healthcare industry. First Professional Bank, N.A.'s majority owned subsidiary Professional Bancorp Mortgage Inc. began operating during the fourth quarter of 1998, and provides retail and commercial mortgage brokerage products and services.

This news release contains information that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be affected by certain risks and uncertainties described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements.