Let $b(k,θ)$ be the maximum order of a connected bipartite $k$-regular graph whose second largest eigenvalue is at most $θ$. In this paper, we obtain a general upper bound for $b(k,θ)$ for any $0\leq θ< 2\sqrt{k-1}$. Our bound gives the exact value of $b(k,θ)$ whenever there exists a bipartite distance-regular graph of degree $k$, second largest eigenvalue $θ$, diameter $d$ and girth $g$ such that $g\geq 2d-2$. For certain values of $d$, there are infinitely many such graphs of various valencies $k$. However, for $d=11$ or $d\geq 15$, we prove that there are no bipartite distance-regular graphs with $g\geq 2d-2$.