Bridger Commercial Funding Raises New Capital

Business Wire, July 21, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bridger Commercial Funding, the leading secondary market services provider to the nation's banking industry for commercial real estate loans, announced today that it closed on a new round of growth capital financing from management and JMP Capital. The investment will enable Bridger to further expand its lending and loan sales activities, including its BankXchange([R]) loan sale advisory platform and STAR Loan([R]) products. JMP Capital, the merchant banking affiliate of JMP Group Inc. (NYSE:JMP), a full-service investment banking and alternative asset management firm headquartered in San Francisco, joins Banc of America Strategic Investments as Bridger's only outside investors, and Walter Keenan, president of JMP Capital, has joined Bridger's board of directors.

Bob Schonefeld, CEO of Bridger, stated, "We are extremely pleased that JMP shares our vision of the market potential for Bridger and its customer base of over 2,500 banks and financial institutions. With JMP's investment, our balance sheet is significantly strengthened, positioning Bridger to create new sources of liquidity for commercial real estate debt." According to Schonefeld, "JMP's expertise in real estate and financial services brings strong synergies to Bridger's nationwide commercial real estate lending business, and to our BankXchange([R]) platform. We look forward to working closely with JMP to further expand Bridger's reach in the specialty finance and commercial real estate sectors, especially during this period of intense market dislocation."

"We believe that commercial real estate loans are the cornerstone asset of the banking system, and that Bridger is extremely well positioned to expand its share of secondary market transactions," said Walter Keenan. "We are pleased to join Bob Schonefeld and the Bridger management team in providing the company with growth capital to take advantage of the compelling opportunities in the commercial real estate loan market that exist today."

About Bridger: Bridger Commercial Funding (www.bridgerfunding.com) is the U.S. banking industry's leading provider of commercial real estate (CRE) capital and secondary market services. Bridger provides banks with access to the public and private secondary mortgage markets through a suite of commercial real estate loans structured to fit borrowers' needs, and through its BankXchange([R]) loan sale advisory service. Bridger's loan programs help banks generate fee income while enhancing borrower relationships and optimizing CRE portfolio risk-return profiles.

Bridger's offerings include the STAR Loan([R]) family of commercial mortgages. Since inception in 1998, Bridger has closed $5 billion in CRE loans through its nationwide network of over 2,500 banks and 7,000 loan officers.