ALHAMBRA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2006--InterBusiness Bank aka Tomatobank, Los Angeles' leading multi-ethnic small business bank, today announced that it has achieved a five-star Bankrate.com Star Rating and a "1" CAEL rating, both "Superior" and top ratings for banks and thrifts rated by Bankrate.com, the Web's leading aggregator of financial rate information.

The Safe & Sound Star Rating is Bankrate.com's proprietary, analytical product that assesses the financial condition of banks, thrifts and credit unions. Bankrate's Star Rating is an independent resource to assist consumers in making important financial decisions. Bankrate.com assigned Tomatobank the best possible rating - five stars, ranking Tomatobank as "Superior."

Bankrate.com also assigned Tomatobank a CAEL Rating of "1." The rating is based on tests of Tomatobank's capitalization, asset quality, earnings and liquidity ("CAEL"). Using publicly available, quarterly data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration, the CAEL Program assigns a value to each of the Safe & Sound CAEL categories and calculates a composite rating for each institution. Bankrate.com assigned Tomatobank the best possible rating, again ranking Tomatobank as "Superior."

"Our board and management team has laid out a strategy that we believe will continue to ensure Tomatobank's success - from both a financial and customer service perspective. Our strategy does not take third-party rating firms into consideration. However, it is very satisfying to me and the rest of the Tomatobank family when third parties confirm what we have known all along," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stephen Liu. "We are all very optimistic about our continued success and excited to see what 2006 will bring."

With total assets exceeding $300 million, Tomatobank's growth rate has consistently surpassed 35% per year and net income has increased more than 50% per year, including an 85% increase in 2005 over 2004 which resulted in a return on average assets of 1.75%. In the first quarter of 2006, Tomatobank has experienced growth of 20% and a 50% increase in earnings over first quarter 2005.

Tomatobank ( www.tomatobank.com ) is Los Angeles' dynamic, leading multi-ethnic bank.