Newbridge Bancorp (NBBC) 8-K NewBridge Bancorp Reports 2008 Third Quarter Financial Results, Suspension of Dividend and Application for TARP Funds

Exhibit 99.1

Contact:
Michael W. Shelton, EVP and Chief Financial Officer
336-369-0900

NewBridge Bancorp Reports 2008 Third Quarter Financial Results, Suspension of
Dividend and Application for TARP Funds

GREENSBORO, N.C., October 31, 2008 – NewBridge Bancorp (NASDAQ: NBBC) (“NewBridge” or the “Company”), the parent company of NewBridge Bank (the “Bank”), today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008, as well as decisions to suspend its cash dividend and to apply for funding under the United States Department of the Treasury’s (“Treasury”) Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”) Capital Purchase Program.

The net loss in the third quarter of 2008 was $1.6 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.4 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2007. For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, net income was $1.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to net income of $4.9 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, for the first nine months of 2007.

NewBridge was formed through the merger (the “Merger”) of FNB Financial Services Corporation (“FNB”) into LSB Bancshares, Inc. (“LSB”), which became effective on July 31, 2007. NewBridge’s third quarter 2007 financial data includes three months of operating results for the former LSB, while the results of the former FNB are only included from the July 31, 2007 merger date. NewBridge’s financial data for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 includes nine months of operating results for the former LSB, but only two months of results for the former FNB.

For the third quarter of 2008, net interest income decreased to $15.6 million from $16.3 million in the year-ago period. The provision for credit losses was $4.7 million for 2008’s third quarter, versus $2.4 million for the third quarter of 2007. Noninterest income rose to $4.6 million, versus $4.2 million in 2007, while noninterest expense in 2008 increased to $17.8 million from $16.4 million in 2007.

Net interest income increased to $49.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 versus $36.8 million for the year-ago period. The provision for credit losses increased to $10.7 million for the first nine months of 2008, from $4.5 million for the same period in 2007. Noninterest income for the first nine months of 2008 was $16.0 million, compared to $11.0 million in 2007, while noninterest expense increased to $52.5 million from $36.4 million.

As of September 30, 2008, total assets were approximately $2.11 billion, an increase of 2.5% from $2.06 billion at December 31, 2007, and up 3.4% from $2.04 billion at the year-ago date. Loans were $1.63 billion at September 30, 2008, an increase of 9.2%, from $1.49 billion at December 31, 2007 and 13.1% from $1.44 billion at September 30, 2007. Deposits at the end of 2008’s third quarter were $1.63 billion, essentially unchanged from December 31, 2007, and an increase of 3.2% from $1.57 billion at September 30, 2007. Total borrowings at September 30, 2008 were $288.8 million, an increase of 32.8%, from $217.5 million at December 31, 2007 and an increase of 20.0% from $240.7 million at September 30, 2007.

Nonperforming assets, which includes nonaccrual loans, accruing loans more than 90 days past due, other real estate owned and renegotiated debt, totaled $42.1 million at September 30, 2008, versus $17.2 million at December 31, 2007 and $21.5 million at September 30, 2007. The increase from the 2007 year-end total was primarily driven by a $21.6 million increase in non-accrual loans, reflecting continued deterioration in credit quality due principally to the weak economic environment. The allowance for credit losses at the end of 2008’s third quarter was $31.0 million, or 1.90% of outstanding loans, compared to $30.4 million, or 2.04% of outstanding loans, at December 31, 2007.

Shareholders’ equity totaled $184.2 million at September 30, 2008, with 15.66 million shares of common stock outstanding at quarter end. No shares of common stock were repurchased under the Company’s stock repurchase program during the third quarter of 2008.

In accordance with purchase accounting rules, as of July 31, 2008 the Company evaluated the goodwill it recorded in connection with the Merger, and concluded there was no impairment in the value of the goodwill. The Company will continue to evaluate goodwill on an annual basis in future years. As of September 30, 2008, the Company had approximately $50.4 million in goodwill.

The Company also announced that based on the highly uncertain economic conditions and in the interest of preserving capital, it is suspending the payment of its cash dividend effective immediately. While no assurance can be given that the payment of cash dividends will be resumed, the Board will continue to monitor business conditions, the Company’s capitalization and profitability levels, asset quality and other factors in considering whether to resume cash dividend payments in the future. Participation in the TARP program will require regulatory approval of any resumption of dividend payments.

Additionally, the Company announced that it has applied for $52.0 million under the Treasury’s TARP Capital Purchase Program. Under this program, Treasury will purchase up to $250 billion of senior preferred shares on standardized terms from qualifying U.S. controlled banks and savings associations, and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies. The deadline for applying for funds is November 14, 2008, and Treasury will make determinations as to amounts, if any, to be invested in qualifying institutions after consultation with the appropriate regulatory authorities. Accordingly, there is no assurance as to the availability or amount of funding that will be received from the TARP Program. In the event that the Company’s application is approved and funded, Treasury’s consent shall be required for the resumption of, and any increase in, the payment of cash dividends. It is anticipated that any funding under TARP will be dispersed before December 31, 2008.

As of September 30, 2008, the Bank maintained “well capitalized” status, as capital levels met or exceeded established regulatory guidelines. The Bank maintained a leverage ratio of 7.63%, a Tier 1 risk-based ratio of 8.74%, and a total risk based ratio of 10.00%. As of the same date, the Bank had unused lines of credit exceeding $106 million from various financial institutions.

Pressley A. Ridgill, President and Chief Executive Officer of NewBridge, commented: “These are very challenging economic times. Just as our predecessor banking subsidiaries, FNB Southeast and LSB Bank, have successfully weathered economic slowdowns since 1910 and 1949, respectively, we are positioning NewBridge to successfully weather this downturn as well. One of the keys to accomplishing this initiative is to preserve our capital strength. Suspending the cash dividend and applying for the TARP Program funds are two elements of that overriding objective.

In the meantime, we will continue to work to contain costs, to increase fee income and to improve asset quality. We do expect some further erosion in our asset quality by the end of the year, but we are hopeful that the total level of delinquencies will begin to contract in the first half of 2009 as the economy stabilizes.”

About NewBridge Bancorp

NewBridge Bancorp is the parent company of NewBridge Bank, which is a full service state chartered community bank with headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. NewBridge Bank also offers financial planning and investment alternatives such as mutual funds and annuities through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., a registered broker dealer.

NewBridge Bank ranks among the 10 largest banks in North Carolina with assets of approximately $2 billion, and based on deposit market share is the largest community bank in the Piedmont Triad of North

Carolina.  The Bank has 37 banking offices in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, the Wilmington, NC area and the area surrounding Harrisonburg, VA. The stock of NewBridge Bancorp trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “NBBC.”

Disclosures About Forward Looking Statements  

The discussions included in this document and its exhibits may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. For the purposes of these discussions, any statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward looking statements. Such statements are often characterized by the use of qualifying words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “plans,” “projects,” or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of NewBridge and its management about future events. The accuracy of such forward looking statements could be affected by factors including, but not limited to, the financial success or changing conditions or strategies of NewBridge Bancorp’s customers or vendors, fluctuations in interest rates, actions of government regulators, the availability of capital and personnel or general economic conditions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by forward looking statements are discussed in NewBridge’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports of Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. NewBridge undertakes no obligation to revise or update these statements following the date of this press release.

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FINANCIAL SUMMARY

																Third
																Quarter			Nine Months Ended
	2008									2007						2008-2007			September 30
	Third			Second			First			Fourth			Third			Percent							Percent
	Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Variance			2008		2007		Variance
Average Balances
(Dollars in thousands)
Assets	$	2,054,795		$	2,106,342		$	2,073,844		$	2,025,247		$	1,664,466			23.5	%	$	2,078,261	$	1,231,853		68.7	%
Loans		1,601,183			1,566,968			1,512,683			1,452,641			1,222,625			31.0			1,560,476		927,597		68.2
Investment securities		257,871			343,404			356,244			381,291			293,451			(12.1	)		318,949		193,260		65.0
Earning assets		1,881,436			1,929,174			1,887,033			1,873,771			1,545,067			21.8			1,899,197		1,140,664		66.5
Noninterest-bearing deposits		161,367			168,535			169,208			177,525			150,100			7.5			166,940		101,632		64.3
Interest-bearing deposits		1,492,681			1,459,705			1,467,279			1,440,303			1,191,553			25.3			1,473,092		885,450		66.4
Interest-bearing liabilities		1,693,067			1,727,669			1,689,792			1,654,755			1,353,170			25.1			1,703,270		981,280		73.6
Shareholders’ equity		187,622			194,882			195,265			201,622			142,800			31.4			192,562		103,467		86.1
Period-End Balances
(Dollars in thousands) Assets	$	2,108,294		$	2,062,979		$	2,119,475		$	2,057,358		$	2,039,577			3.4	%
Loans		1,626,504			1,574,141			1,546,921			1,490,084			1,438,576			13.1
Investment securities		272,298			233,926			372,833			369,423			384,996			(29.3	)
Earning assets		1,917,535			1,822,541			1,925,102			1,866,358			1,837,713			4.3
Noninterest-bearing deposits		174,217			176,510			173,430			175,493			173,224			0.6
Interest-bearing deposits		1,451,075			1,501,325			1,465,197			1,452,227			1,401,708			3.5
Interest-bearing liabilities		1,739,899			1,681,203			1,731,908			1,669,751			1,642,408			5.9
Shareholders’ equity		184,151			187,733			193,997			193,153			205,487			(10.4	)
Asset Quality Data
(Dollars in thousands)
Nonperforming loans:
Past due 90 days or more and still accruing	$	413		$	1,053		$	1,675		$	72		$	899
Nonaccrual loans		33,865			24,381			16,438			12,236			9,773
Restructured loans		260			267			461			651			467
Total nonperforming loans		34,538			25,701			18,574			12,959			11,139
Other real estate		7,587			6,201			4,824			4,280			10,335
Total nonperforming assets	$	42,125		$	31,902		$	23,398		$	17,239		$	21,474
Net chargeoffs		4,952			4,596			519			4,302			2,536						10,067		4,154
Allowance for credit losses		30,984			31,281			30,310			30,370			20,261
Nonperforming loans to total loans		2.12	%		1.63	%		1.20	%		0.87	%		0.77	%
Nonperforming assets to total assets		2.00			1.55			1.10			0.84			1.05
Nonperforming loans to total assets		1.64			1.25			0.88			0.63			0.55
Allowance for credit losses to total loans		1.90			1.99			1.96			2.04			1.41
Net charge-off percentage (annualized)		1.22			1.17			0.13			1.15			0.71						0.86		0.60
Allowance for credit losses to nonperforming loans		0.90	X		1.22	X		1.63	X		2.34	X		1.82	X

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

																Third
																Quarter			Nine Months Ended
	2008									2007						2008-2007			September 30
	Third			Second			First			Fourth			Third			Percent									Percent
	Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Variance			2008			2007			Variance
Income Statement Data
(Dollars in thousands, except share data)
Interest income:
Loans	$	25,601		$	25,339		$	27,056		$	29,196		$	25,065			2.1	%	$	77,996		$	56,063			39.1	%
Other		2,867			4,617			5,054			4,951			3,898			(26.4	)		12,538			7,411			69.2
Total interest income		28,468			29,956			32,110			34,147			28,963			(1.7	)		90,534			63,474			42.6
Interest expense		12,913			13,280			14,645			15,678			12,676			1.9			40,838			26,690			53.0
Net interest income		15,555			16,676			17,465			18,469			16,287			(4.5	)		49,696			36,784			35.1
Provision for credit losses		4,656			5,567			459			14,411			2,393			94.6			10,682			4,541			135.2
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		10,899			11,109			17,006			4,058			13,894			(21.6	)		39,014			32,243			21.0
Noninterest income		4,626			6,781			4,549			3,984			4,206			10.0			15,956			11,014			44.9
Noninterest expense		17,840			17,495			17,180			25,918			16,407			8.7			52,515			36,438			44.1
Income (loss) before income tax expense		(2,315	)		395			4,375			(17,876	)		1,693			(236.7	)		2,455			6,819			(64.0	)
Income taxes		(726	)		135			1,365			(7,309	)		268			(370.9	)		774			1,915			(59.6	)
Net income (loss)	$	(1,589	)	$	260		$	3,010		$	(10,567	)	$	1,425			(211.5	)	$	1,681		$	4,904			(65.7	)
Net income (loss) per share:
Basic	$	(0.10	)	$	0.02		$	0.19		$	(0.67	)	$	0.11			(190.9)	%	$	0.11		$	0.50			(78.0	)%
Diluted	$	(0.10	)	$	0.02		$	0.19		$	(0.67	)	$	0.11			(190.9)	%	$	0.11		$	0.49			(77.6	)%
Cash dividends per share	$	0.05		$	0.17		$	0.17		$	0.17		$	0.17			(70.6)	%	$	0.51		$	0.39			30.8	%
Other Data
Return on average assets		(0.31	)%		0.05	%		0.58	%		(2.07	)%		0.34	%					0.11	%		0.53	%
Return on average equity		(3.37	)		0.54			6.20			(20.79	)		3.96						1.17			6.33
Net yield on earning assets		3.44			3.57			3.81			3.99			4.27						3.56			4.37
Efficiency		85.73			73.20			76.61			113.42			78.80						77.81			75.42
Average equity to assets		9.13			9.25			9.42			9.96			8.58						9.27			8.40
Average loans to assets		77.92			74.39			72.94			71.73			73.45						75.09			75.30
Average loans to deposits		96.80			96.24			92.43			89.79			91.13						95.15			93.97
Average noninterest — bearing deposits to total deposits		9.76			10.35			10.34			10.97			11.19						10.18			10.30

COMMON STOCK DATA

	2008						2007
	Third		Second		First		Fourth		Third
	Quarter		Quarter		Quarter		Quarter		Quarter
Market value:
End of period	$	4.51	$	6.90	$	8.75	$	10.79	$	12.70
High		9.11		9.60		10.99		12.95		14.25
Low		3.90		6.76		8.00		9.61		10.75
Book value		11.76		11.99		12.39		12.31		12.96
Tangible book value		8.15		8.39		8.78		8.69		9.15
Dividend		0.05		0.17		0.17		0.17		0.17
Shares outstanding at period-end		15,655,868		15,655,868		15,655,868		15,694,068		15,851,252
Average shares outstanding		15,655,868		15,655,868		15,687,444		15,754,310		13,373,814