Contacts
                                    --------

     Gary L. Nalbandian                                      Mark A. Zody
    Chairman and President                             Chief Financial Officer


                                 (717) 975-5630

                      Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp, Inc.
                      -----------------------------------

              Announces Filing for Public Offering of Common Stock
              ----------------------------------------------------

         August 17, 2004 -Camp Hill, PA - Pennsylvania  Commerce  Bancorp,  Inc.
(Nasdaq  Small  Cap:  COBH)  announced  today  that it has filed a  registration
statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed offering of
500,000 shares of its common stock, subject to market and other conditions.  All
of the shares will be offered by the Company.  The Company also expects to grant
the  underwriters  of the  proposed  offering a 30-day  option to purchase up to
75,000 shares to cover over-allotments, if any. Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP is
the sole  bookrunner  and lead manager for the  offering  and Janney  Montgomery
Scott LLC is the co-manager.

         The common stock  offering  may be made only by means of a  prospectus.
When available,  copies of the preliminary  prospectus  relating to the offering
may be obtained  from  Sandler  O'Neill & Partners  LLP, 919 Third  Avenue,  6th
Floor, New York, New York 10022.

         A registration  statement  relating to these  securities has been filed
with the  Securities and Exchange  Commission but has not yet become  effective.
These  securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the
time that the registration statement becomes effective.  This press release does
not  constitute  an  offer  to sell or a  solicitation  of an  offer  to buy the
securities  described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in
any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer,  solicitation or sale would be
unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any
such state or jurisdiction.





         Pennsylvania  Commerce  Bancorp,  Inc. is a $1.18  billion bank holding
company  headquartered  in Camp Hill,  Pennsylvania  with 23 full service stores
throughout the Pennsylvania counties of Berks, Cumberland,  Dauphin, Lebanon and
York which  encompass the  metropolitan  statistical  areas of  Harrisburg  (the
capital of Pennsylvania), Reading and York.

         Statements in this press release contain "forward-looking"  information
within the meaning of Section 27A of the  Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934.  These  statements  involve a number of
risks and  uncertainties,  including the trading  prices for the common stock of
the Company  during the  offering  period,  investor  response  to the  proposed
offering,  other  conditions  in the  financial  markets and  customary  closing
conditions.  Please see the Company's  filings with the  Securities and Exchange
Commission  for a discussion  of other  factors that may affect  forward-looking
information.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they
are made, and the Company  undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise
any forward-looking  statement,  whether as a result of new information,  future
developments or otherwise.