Exhibit 99.1

For immediate release:

Bank of Commerce Holdings™ announces First Quarter 2012 Results

REDDING, California, April 27, 2012/ PR Newswire— Patrick J. Moty, President & CEO of Bank of Commerce Holdings (NASDAQ: BOCH), a $930.6 million bank holding company, and parent company of Redding Bank of Commerce™, Roseville Bank of Commerce™

(a division of Redding Bank of Commerce) (the “Bank”), and Bank of Commerce Mortgage™ today reported net income available to common shareholders of $1.9 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.11 for the first quarter 2012.

Financial Highlights

Patrick J. Moty, President and CEO commented: “We are pleased with our first quarter results and maintain a generally positive outlook despite tepid demand for credit in our markets. We will continue to focus our efforts on enhancing shareholder value through capital management opportunities such as the Share Repurchase program announced in the first quarter. In addition, as we celebrate our 30^th year anniversary, we remain fully committed to serving our local communities.”

This quarterly press release includes forward-looking information, which is subject to the “safe harbor” created by the Securities Act of 1933, and Securities Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements (which involve the Company’s plans, beliefs and goals, refer to estimates or use similar terms) involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following factors:

For additional information concerning risks and uncertainties related to the Company and its operations please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and under the heading: “Risk factors that may affect results” and subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Table 1 below shows summary financial information for the quarters ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, and December 31, 2011.

As indicated in Table 1 above, Bank of Commerce Holdings (the “Company”) remains well capitalized. At March 31, 2012, the Company’s Tier 1 and Total risk based capital ratios measured 14.15% and 15.41% respectively, while the leverage ratio was 13.36%.

Return on average assets (ROA) and return on average equity (ROE) for the three months ended March 31, 2012, was 0.89% and 7.41%, respectively compared with 0.72% and 6.35% for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The increase in ROA and ROE for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared with the same period a year ago, was primarily driven by reduced provision for loan and lease losses, increased mortgage banking revenue, and decreased basic and diluted weighted average shares. The increases in the aforementioned items were partially offset by decreased yields realized from the loan portfolio, and to a lesser extent, the available-for-sale securities portfolio. The Company continues to experience decreased yields in the loan portfolio due to the pay-off of higher yielding loans, downward rate adjustments of variable rate loans, and the transfer of existing loans to nonaccrual status.

Balance Sheet Overview

As of March 31, 2012, the Company had total consolidated assets of $930.6 million, total net portfolio loans of $579.4 million, allowance for loan and lease losses of $11.4 million, total deposits of $663.7 million, and stockholders’ equity of $113.6 million.

Overall, the net portfolio loan balance increased modestly during the first three months of 2012. The Company’s net loan portfolio was $579.4 million at March 31, 2012, compared with $574.1 million at December 31, 2011, an increase of $5.3 million, or 0.92%. The increase in net portfolio loans was primarily driven by net originations of commercial real estate loans, partially offset by increased allowance for loan and lease losses (ALLL).

The Company maintained a strong liquidity position during the reporting period. As of March 31, 2012, the Company maintained cash positions at the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) and correspondent banks in the amount of $40.6 million. The Company also held certificates of deposits with other financial institutions in the amount of $24.2 million, which the Company considers highly liquid.

The Company’s available-for-sale investment portfolio is primarily utilized as a source of liquidity to fund other higher yielding asset opportunities, such as commercial and mortgage loan originations when required. Investment securities totaled $192.9 million at March 31, 2012, compared with $203.5 million at December 31, 2011. The $10.6 million, or 5% decrease reflects net sales activity relating to the sale of municipal bonds and mortgage backed securities, partially offset by purchase activity of corporate securities and other asset backed securities. During the current period, the Company continued to reposition the portfolio with the objective of preserving the net interest margin while reducing overall portfolio duration. Accordingly, the Company recorded $645 thousand in realized gains on the sales of securities.

At March 31, 2012, the Company’s net unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities was $2.1 million, compared with $1.5 million net unrealized gains at December 31, 2011. The favorable change in net unrealized gains was primarily due to contraction in credit market spreads which increased the fair values of the Company’s corporate and municipal bond portfolios.

First quarter 2012 average total deposits of $662.1 million increased 3% or $18.6 million from the first quarter in 2011. Non maturing core deposits increased $34.1 million or 11% year over year.

Operating Results for the First Quarter 2012

Due to conservative underwriting, active servicing of problem credits, and the maintenance of a relatively solid net interest margin, the Company has remained profitable during the economic downturn. Accordingly, the Company continues to be well positioned to take advantage of strategic growth opportunities. Net income attributable to Bank of Commerce Holdings was $2.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared with $2.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2011, and $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Net income available to common stockholders was $1.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared with $1.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2011, and $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. During the first quarter of 2012, diluted earnings per share decreased $0.01 per share when compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, and increased $0.03 per share compared to the first quarter of 2011.

The Company continued to pay quarterly cash dividends of $0.03 per share during 2012, consistent with the quarterly dividends paid in 2011.

Net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $8.5 million, a decrease of $200 thousand or 2% compared to the same period in 2011, and an increase of $6 thousand compared with the three months ended December 31, 2011. The decrease in net interest income during the current period is attributable to decreased interest income realized from the loan portfolio and the available-for-sale securities portfolio, partially offset by declining costs associated with interest bearing deposits. The decrease in loan interest income was primarily driven by the downward re-pricing of the ITIN variable rate 1-4 family mortgage loans. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, the ITIN portfolio yielded 3.34% compared to a yield of 5.59% during the same period a year ago, while also incurring a $5.7 million decrease in average balances. During the current period, interest expense associated with savings deposits and certificate of deposits continued to decline, which partially mitigated the affects of declining interest income from the loan portfolio.

The net interest margin (net interest income as a percentage of average interest earning assets) on a fully tax-equivalent basis was 3.98% for the three months ended March 31, 2012, a decrease of 4 basis points as compared to the same period a year ago. The quarter-over-quarter modest decrease in net interest margin primarily resulted from decreased yields on the loan portfolio and the available-for-sale securities portfolio, partially offset by declining costs associated with interest bearing deposits. Loan yields continue to decline due to payoffs of higher yielding loans, downward rate adjustments on variable rate loans, and transfers to nonaccrual status. As a result, the tax equivalent yield on earning assets decreased from 5.03% for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to 4.94% or 9 basis points for three months ended March 31, 2012.

The decrease in yield on earning assets was substantially offset by a decrease in interest expense to average earning assets. Interest expense as a percent of average earning assets decreased from 1.01% to 0.96% or 5 basis points on a quarter-over-quarter basis. As a result, the Company was able to maintain a relatively consistent net interest margin during the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the same period a year ago.

Noninterest income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $6.1 million, an increase of $2.6 million or 75% when compared to the same period a year ago. The following table presents the key components of noninterest income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

Payroll and benefit processing fees increased by $27 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the same period a year ago. In September 2011, the Bank acquired eighty payroll processing customer relationships from a local payroll processing sole proprietorship. As a result of the transaction, the Company has recognized increased payroll and benefit processing fees during the current period.

Gains on the sale of investment securities increased $387 thousand to $645 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $258 thousand for the same period a year ago. Management continued to reposition the portfolio during the current period with the objective of shortening duration while reasonably maintaining the net interest margin. As such, the Company sold twenty-two securities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to the sale of sixteen securities during the same period a year ago. The security sales were centered in municipal bonds, corporate securities, and collateralized mortgage obligations.

The Company recorded merchant credit card service income of $35 thousand and $270 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. During the first quarter of 2011, approximately 50% of the merchant credit card portfolio was sold to an independent third party, resulting in additional revenues of $225 thousand. Accordingly, merchant credit card income decreased by 87% from the same period a year ago.

Mortgage banking revenue is primarily derived from net origination fees on residential mortgage loans and net revenue derived from the sale of mortgage loans to financial institutions. Mortgage banking revenue includes gain on sale of loans, net commissions paid to brokers, mortgage loan origination fees, and direct mortgage loan costs. Direct mortgage loan costs, loan origination fees and net commissions paid to brokers are recorded as income when the loans are sold. Mortgage banking revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2012 increased $2.4 million to $4.9 million, compared to $2.5 million during the same period a year ago. During the current period the Company benefited from increased originations and closed loan volume as a result of the historically low interest rate environment. Closed loan volume was $262.4 million and $153.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company recorded $7.6 million and $3.0 million in gains on sale of mortgage loans for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Gains on sale of mortgage loans are included under the caption mortgage banking revenue in the Consolidated Statement of Operations filed in our annual 10K and quarterly 10Q filings.

The major components of other income are fees earned on ATM, online banking services, wire transfers, and FHLB dividends. The increases in other income were primarily driven by changes of the various components, and are a result of normal operating activities.

Noninterest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2012 was $9.9 million, an increase of $2.2 million or 29% compared to the same period a year ago. The following table presents the key elements of noninterest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011: