LANSING, Mich. and PHOENIX, Aug. 8 /EMWNews/ -- The Board

of Directors of Capitol Bancorp Limited (NYSE: CBC) today announced the

Corporation's 64th consecutive quarterly cash dividend. The dividend

declared today of $0.05 per common share is payable September 1, 2008, to

shareholders of record as of August 15, 2008. The most recent dividend paid

June 2, 2008 was $0.15 per common share.



    Capitol's Chairman and CEO Joseph D. Reid stated, "While we continue to

face a challenging economic environment in the financial sector, Capitol

has maintained solid capital support levels, as demonstrated by our June

30, 2008 ratios for core leverage, tier 1 and total risk-based capital of

12.4%, 13.4% and 14.6%, respectively. Although many would view these

capital ratios as industry leading, particularly in these volatile and

uncertain economic times, we continue to focus on efforts to fortify our

operational and balance sheet strength. The dividend reductions we have

implemented in the past two quarters, while emotionally difficult for an

organization that boasts strong community support along its 17-state

footprint coupled with continued solid insider ownership levels, will

conserve nearly $14 million annually for our Corporation. In tandem with

our recent successfully completed $38 million public offering of trust

preferred securities, this dividend initiative is another pragmatic move

that will further augment our already strong capital resources. In the

process, we believe Capitol will continue to be well-positioned to

opportunistically capitalize on sound business developments while

reinforcing our cautious approach to the unknowns existent in today's

market. We recognize the importance of providing a competitive return to

our shareholders, and have prudently balanced that with the desire to

preserve capital during these uncertain times."

    About Capitol Bancorp Limited



    Capitol Bancorp Limited (NYSE: CBC) is a $5.3 billion national

community bank development company, with a network of 64 separately

chartered banks and bank operations in 17 states. It has the distinction of

having the most individual bank charters in the country. Capitol Bancorp

Limited identifies opportunities for the development of new community

banks, raises capital for and mentors new community banks through their

formative stages and provides efficient services to its growing network of

community banks. Each community bank has full local decision-making

authority and is managed by an on-site president under the direction of a

local board of directors, composed of business leaders from the bank's

community. 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.