LANSING, Mich. and PHOENIX, May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Capitol Bancorp Limited (OTCQB: CBCR) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which all of the outstanding shares of Bank of the Northwest, which is majority owned by Capitol Bancorp and certain of its affiliates, will be acquired by way of an all-cash merger by an affiliate of AmericanWest Bank, led by Chairman & CEO Scott Kisting.

Capitol Bancorp’s Chairman and CEO Joseph D. Reid said, “We continue to focus on prudently reallocating the unencumbered equity capital arising from our divestiture efforts. This capital has provided essential support to our affiliates that continue to address the multiple challenges presented by the weakened economy in their local markets.”

The completion of this transaction will constitute Capitol’s exit from the Washington market with the divestiture of approximately $146 million of assets as of March 31, 2011 and Bank of the Northwest’s four banking offices in the Puget Sound region.

“We are pleased to have supported the Bank of the Northwest team, under the leadership of President and CEO Thomas Giovanelli. Together, they have established a strong community presence in the Puget Sound region and we wish them future success as they continue to develop their banking operation,” added Reid.

The transaction, which is subject to the receipt of requisite regulatory and shareholder approvals, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2011. Capitol Bancorp and certain of its affiliates have entered into voting agreements pursuant to which they have agreed to vote all of the shares of Bank of the Northwest owned by them in favor of the transaction.

About Capitol Bancorp Limited

Capitol Bancorp Limited (OTCQB: CBCR) is a national community banking company with a network of separately chartered banks in 14 states. Founded in 1988, Capitol Bancorp Limited has executive offices in Lansing, Michigan, and Phoenix, Arizona.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain statements in this announcement contain forward-looking statements that are based on management’s expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “believes,” “scheduled,” “estimates” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or any person acting on the Corporation’s behalf are qualified by the cautionary statements in this press release. The Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.

www.capitolbancorp.com

SOURCE Capitol Bancorp Limited