FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2018

San Diego Habitat for Humanity
Ellen Immergut | Director of Communications
619-283-4663 x125
ellen.immergut@sandiegohabitat.org

MEDIA RELEASE

San Diego Habitat for Humanity Receives $205,000 Grant Award
from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
Funding will be used to help build homes in Logan Heights

SAN DIEGO, CA – San Diego Habitat for Humanity and its partner, Pacific Mercantile Bank, announced today that the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco has awarded Habitat $205,000 from its 2018 Affordable Housing Program (AHP).  This grant will be used to fund the construction of nine of the 11 homes at Habitat’s Comm22 affordable housing community in the southeast San Diego neighborhood of Logan Heights.

In the 2018 funding competition, the Bank awarded $65.9 million in AHP grants through 23 bank members. The funds will support 70 projects that will create more than 6,000 units of affordable housing in seven states. Most are affordable rental communities – only San Diego Habitat’s project and another from a Northern California Habitat for Humanity affiliate are offered as for-sale homes.

“Homeownership creates stability and is a critical wealth-building tool for low-income families,” said Marietta Núñez, Vice President and Community Investment Officer at FHLBank San Francisco. “We are pleased that AHP funding delivered through our member Pacific Mercantile Bank will help make these San Diego townhomes affordable for the families who will build them in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.”

The need for this project is apparent when reviewing San Diego’s homeownership rates, cost of living, and overall market affordability. The median income for a family of four in San Diego County is $79,300. Utilizing the definition outlined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), affordable housing for a low-income household of four would be an apartment renting for $1,600 per month, or a home priced under $275,000. Unfortunately, the average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in San Diego is $1,770 per month, while a two bedroom, nearly a necessity for a family of four, averages nearly $2,000 per month. In addition, the average cost of a home in San Diego County is $507,000, roughly two-and-a-half times higher than the national average, and nearly double what a low-income family can afford. On average, low-income households spend up to 67% of their income on housing costs in San Diego – 11% more than low-income households elsewhere.

“Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs safe, healthy, affordable homes for families throughout San Diego County earning less than 80 percent of the Area Media Income and who are in need of improved housing”, said Lori Holt Pfeiler, President/CEO of San Diego Habitat for Humanity. “Our Comm22 community will meet the immediate affordable housing needs of San Diego by providing affordable homeownership opportunities for low-income families in an area with an extremely high cost of living, and where the homeownership rate is only 20%. The funding awarded by FHLBank San Francisco will ensure that homeowners pay no more than 30% of their income toward housing costs. This will enable them to focus on their personal health, education, and well-being.”

About San Diego Habitat for Humanity

People in our community partner with San Diego Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners build their homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.  With our help, Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability, and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Habitat for Humanity exists through volunteer labor and contributions of money, land and materials, including purchases and donations to the ReStore, Habitat’s discount home improvement retail center. For more information, visit www.sandiegohabitat.org or call 619-283-HOME (4663).

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco) delivers low-cost funding and other services that help member financial institutions make home mortgages to people of all income levels and provide credit that supports neighborhoods and communities. The Bank also funds community programs that help members create affordable housing and promote community economic development. The Affordable Housing Program (AHP) provides funds to assist in the purchase, construction, or rehabilitation of housing for low-income and moderate-income households. AHP grants are awarded through a competitive application process. FHLBank San Francisco’s member financial institutions, working in partnership with community-based housing sponsors or developers, submit applications for specific projects and programs once a year.

About Pacific Mercantile Bank

Pacific Mercantile Bancorp (NASDAQ: PMBC) is the parent holding company of Pacific Mercantile Bank, which opened for business March 1, 1999. The Bank, which is an FDIC insured, California state-chartered bank and a member of the Federal Reserve System, provides a wide range of commercial banking services to businesses, business professionals and individual clients. The Bank is headquartered in Orange County and has seven locations in Southern California, located in Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties. The Bank offers tailored flexible solutions for its clients including an array of loan and deposit products, sophisticated cash management services, and comprehensive online banking services accessible at www.pmbank.com.

Forward-Looking Information – This news release contains statements regarding our expectations, beliefs and views about the Pacific Mercantile Bank’s plans to continue to build our loan portfolio and supporting systems and processes.  These statements, which constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Often, they include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.” These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements because such statements are inherently subject to significant assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of interest rates and other external economic factors and competition among financial services providers. We undertake no obligation (and expressly disclaim any such obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For additional information concerning factors that could cause actual conditions, events or results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the factors set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” in our most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q reports and to our most recent Form 8-K reports, which are available online at www.sec.gov. No assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition.

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