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May 30, 2001 Headlines----
UAEL Membership Down 47% United Capital/Lehman Bros. Sterling Bank Leasing CSMI ( Credit OnLine ) Becomes Part of First American Corp. “Advanta Seeks Its Niche,” Philadelpha Business Journal Heller Financial Chooses PeopleSoft Hypercom /Golden Eagle Leasing Completes Leasing Loan Securitization GE Capital Loses $1.2 Billion on Derivatives Fitch Downrates Unicapital????? Charter One Registers !00,000 Customer on Line PBDS Announces Partnership with MicroBilt Plastic Leasing Card Marketers Beware!!! New Federal GLB Privacy Law July 1 United Association of Equipment Leasing ( UAEL ) Membership Down 47% “ Right now it stands at 310,” UAEL Membership Director Bill Grohe said.” This includes 44 new members. As we enter our Membership contest, we hope to add another 100, perhaps 150 new members.” The membership count at year-end was 589.* He stated UAEL has completed its membership renewals. He said there were no statistics available to see what the past fall off of non-renewals have been. According to past issues of UAEL Newsline, the non-renewal has ranged from 18% to 20% in previous years. “ This is normal, I think in this economy, “ he said. “ There are many companies not around any more, and others who are cutting back. “ A flyer called “ UAEL Grapevine—May 2001” from the desk of Joanie Dalton, Managing Director, has gone out by mail and e-mail to all members. It states, “ The Member-Get-A-Member Contest was kicked-off at the Spring Education Conference and our Membership Chair, Ginny Young of Brava Capital has put out a challenge to anyone who can beat past contest winners Bob Baker, CLP, and Jim Lahti, CLP that she will throw in a case of ‘fine California Wine’.” You may contact Joanie Dalton or Bill Grohe at 510-444-9235 or via their web site: www.uael.org or: joanie@uael.org.....bill@uael.org * http://www.leasingnews.org/links_section.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United Capital/Lehman Bros. --Redux It's been awhile since I've read any new information on United Capital. I am an ex-employee of theirs and recently ran into a few people I used to work with at United and they filled me in on quite a few new rumors that I had previously heard nothing about. Apparently Lehman Brothers has auctioned off United Capital's portfolio and no one I've spoken with seems to know who bought it or how much they paid for it. I was also told that at first Lehmen tried to sneak the sale through without United's knowledge and their 1st attempt to sell it was stopped by a court order. Although I believe the employees I was talking to were telling me the truth I find it kind of difficult to imagine a secured lender of Lehman's standing having to sneak around like a repo-man in the middle of the night. In an attempt to verify some of these rumors myself I contacted a friend of mine who still has some ties with United and although he was unable to provide any additional information on the above topic he did mention to me United Capital has retained a large national law firm and has been gathering as much information as it can in preparation for a lender liability suit against Lehman and it's officers. I was with United in November and December when the crap really hit the fan and I was actually in the room to hear the answer to United Capital's request for money or the release of imperfected collateral in an effort to clean up all partially funded transactions, Lehman's representative simply stated "why should Lehman care, the lessee's won't be suing us!", needless to say I won't be shedding any tears if Lehman loses this one. Have you heard any additional information that might confirm or refute these rumors? Sincerely, Anonymous Ex-United Capital Employee = = = = Many companies looked at buying the United Capital portfolio. None found it suitable, poor quality (superbrokers paper) and no remaining reps and warrants since United was dead. Then Lehman looked for a servicer again obtaining several bids. The portfolio is currently being serviced under private label lock box by Information Leasing Corp, a sub of Provident Bank. As far as the Lessees know United Capital is still alive. I also understand ILC is servicing at least a portion of the Finova portfolio in the same manner. ILC is gearing up in the small ticket market place which makes sense because Provident is the largest credit card issuer. Highly Reliable Source Name Withheld -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sterling Bank Leasing Gerald Ennella has resigned as Manager of Sterling Bank Leasing. Robert Krause has resumed his duties as the head of this division of Sterling National Bank, on an interim basis. ### #### ### ###################### ################## Hypercom Corp. Completes Securitization of Golden Eagle Leasing Loan Portfolio
PHOENIX----Hypercom Corp. (NYSE: HYC) Wednesday announced that it has completed the securitization of substantially all the lease receivables in the portfolio of Golden Eagle Leasing Inc., its micro-ticket leasing subsidiary. The securitization included $45.6 million in principal balances of leases, with bonds issued to investors backed by these leases having a total principal amount of $31.9 million. The bonds bear interest at 8.58 percent per annum and have an expected term of about 66 months. A reserve amount of $1.8 million was established at closing. Hypercom used the funds generated by the securitization to pay off conduit facilities relating to Golden Eagle Leasing totaling $23.4 million. It also used $4 million to pay down Hypercom's revolving line of credit, which stood at $32.1 million after the pay down. The securitization will be accounted for as a financing. The company also disclosed that, although the latest amendment to its forbearance agreement with its principal bank lending group had expired on May 15, 2001, the banks have taken no adverse action and negotiations concerning the terms of a new forbearance agreement continue. Jonathon Killmer, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Hypercom, commented, "We are continuing to pursue replacing our current senior credit facility with another senior credit facility, as well as various other forms of financing transactions." Christopher S. Alexander, president and chief executive officer, Hypercom Corp. added, "In addition to the announcement of the securitization, we also want to make it very clear that the business turnaround plan we set in motion a few months ago is working well. "Customers continue to embrace the concept of the ePic (ePOS-infocommerce) technology with its value-added applications, such as electronic receipt capture, ICEPAC(TM) (static advertising and coupons) and electronic statements, and the ePic ICE(TM) (Interactive Consumer Environment) family of Internet-enabled terminals." About Hypercom Corp. Hypercom Corp. is a leading global provider of electronic payment solutions that add value at the point-of-sale for consumers, merchants, and acquirers. Hypercom's products include secure card payment terminals and web appliances, networking equipment, and software applications for e-commerce, m-commerce, smart cards, and traditional payment applications. Headquartered in Phoenix, Hypercom maintains an installed base of more than 4 million card payment terminals, which operate seamlessly with the products of its Network Systems Division. These solutions are installed in over 100 countries and conduct more than 2.85 billion transactions annually. Hypercom's Internet address is www.hypercom.com. Hypercom is a registered trademark of Hypercom Corp. ePOS-infocommerce and ICE are trademarks of Hypercom Corp. All other products or services mentioned in this document are trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks or registered service marks of their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). Hypercom Corp. claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the terms "may," "believes," "projects," "expects," or "anticipates," and do not reflect historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Hypercom to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect Hypercom's results and cause them to materially differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include uncertainties relating to: -- The company's need to maintain forbearance from its existing lenders, which is currently on day-to-day status, and to complete new financing transactions; its ability to continue to obtain raw materials and other inventory from its vendors; its ability to improve product quality, security and reliability, and manufacturing processes, especially for new products and product extensions; market acceptance of products and services; its ability to increase gross margins and reduce expenses; increasing competition especially relative to market size and growth rates; economic conditions; industry and technological changes; the composition, timing and size of orders from major customers; inventory obsolescence; cannibalization of legacy products by new products; the possibility of asset write downs or increases in reserves; and risks associated with international operations, including currency fluctuations; -- Risk factors and cautionary statements made in Hypercom's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended Dec. 31, 2000 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2001. -- Other factors that Hypercom is currently unable to identify or quantify, but may arise or become known in the future. In addition, the foregoing factors may affect generally Hypercom's business, results of operations and financial position. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. Hypercom does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. CONTACT: Hypercom Corp., Phoenix Jonathon E. Killmer, 602/504-5000 Email: jkillmer@hypercom.com Maureen McGarrigle, 602/504-4802 Email: mmcgarrigle@hypercom.com ## # # # # # # # # # ## # # ## # ## ############# #### #################### #### Alliance Bancorp Announces Stockholder Approval of Merger Agreement With Charter One Financial
HINSDALE, Ill.----Alliance Bancorp (Nasdaq: ABCL) today announced that stockholders have approved the Agreement and Plan of Merger with Charter One Financial, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio. Under the merger agreement, each share of Alliance Bancorp common stock is to be converted into the right to receive $5.25 in cash and 0.72 shares of Charter One Financial common stock. In addition to today's shareholder approval, the merger requires various regulatory approvals. The Federal Reserve Board has approved the merger, the Office of Thrift Supervision has deemed the merger application complete, and all other regulatory steps have been accomplished. As a consequence, the merger is on track to be completed in early July. Alliance Bancorp is the holding company for Liberty Federal Bank, which will be merged into Charter One Bank, F.S.B. Charter One currently has 423 branch locations (436 after the net additions from Alliance) in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Their diverse products include: consumer banking, indirect auto finance, commercial leasing, business lending, commercial real estate lending, mortgage banking, and retail investment products. For additional information about Charter One, including press releases and investor presentations, investors are directed to their website: www.charterone.com. Alliance Bancorp's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market tier of the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: ABCL. The common stock of Charter One Financial Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: CF. Charter One has approximately $34 billion in total assets ($36 billion after the merger with Alliance), making it one of the 30 largest bank holding companies in the country # # ############## ### ### ##### ######################## ####### Credit Management Solutions, Inc. Stockholders Approve Merger
ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, Md., -- Credit Management Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMSS) announced today that its stockholders have approved the merger of CMSI with a subsidiary of The First American Corporation. Under the terms of the transaction, upon the closing CMSI stockholders will receive 0.2841 of a share of First American common stock for each outstanding share of CMSI stock held by them. Approximately 2,273,000 shares of First American common stock will be exchanged for all outstanding shares of CMSI. First American will also assume all outstanding options to purchase shares of CMSI common stock. About CMSI Since it was founded in 1987, CMSI has been a premier provider of credit automation software and services, including Internet-based online lending and leasing technology. Corporate clients include leading organizations in the banking, finance, automotive, student lending, and telecommunications industries. The Company's e-commerce subsidiary, Credit Online, Inc., credit- enables business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions through its Internet gateway and funding exchange network. Its patented CreditOnline(TM) and CreditConnection(R) technology links credit originators (such as automobile dealers) and borrowers with an extensive network of leading prime and non-prime lenders. Through its CMSI Systems, Inc. subsidiary, CMSI licenses credit decisioning and other automation systems and services for consumer and business credit that have been the choice of some of the world's most demanding credit grantors. CreditConnection and CreditOnline are trademarks or registered trademarks of Credit Management Solutions, Inc. Press releases and other CMSI information can be found on our Web Site: http://www.cmsinc.com . This press release contains statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward looking" statements which are subject to the many risks and uncertainties that exist in CMSI's operations and business environment. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results and include, but are not limited to, the risk that CMSI's anticipated merger with The First American Corporation may not be completed and the risks detailed in CMSI's reports and other documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SOURCE Credit Management Solutions, Inc. CO: Credit Management Solutions, Inc.; The First American Corporation # # # ########### #### #################### ##################### # # # # It has been a while since you and I last spoke and I want to add my compliments to the many you have already received about Leasing News. You are really providing a timely and much needed service to the industry. My question to you is how do you find time to work in a little leasing yourself? Keep up the good work! Ted Parker cclcjp@ix.netcom.com Ted --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once an industry darling, Advanta seeks its niche (Philadelphia Business Journal) By Andy Gotlieb Started in 1951 with just $30, Advanta Corp. by the mid-1990s had become a financial services powerhouse, known for its consumer and business credit cards, mortgages, equipment leasing and auto insurance. Annual revenue topped $1.2 billion, the company ranked as the nation's eight-largest credit-card company and the stock price climbed above $60 per share. Today, much of that is gone -- and that's OK with Chairman and CEO Dennis Alter and William A. Rosoff, the company's vice chairman and president. Having jettisoned everything except for its business credit cards, Advanta's looking to become a niche player in a single field. "We found the business card ... was not only growing very nicely, but was also delivering the best returns on any business we were in," said Alter, whose father Jack founded what was then called Teachers Service Organization as a credit union for educators. Alter said a 2 percent return on assets was possible for the newly constituted Advanta, with 1.7 percent to 1.8 percent likely in 2001. Banks generally shoot for a 1.5 percent return on assets. And Rosoff predicted 30 percent to 50 percent growth both this year and next. The revamping marks a sea change for Advanta. After going public in 1985, the company thrived through the mid-1990s, showing net revenues of $851 million in 1996, a 38 percent increase from the previous year. Credit cards accounted for a bulk of the business. But Advanta announced a $20 million loss in the first quarter of 1997, thanks to worse-than-expected credit-card delinquencies and a failure to keep new customers. At the time, the company considered a sale and hired a merger and acquisition outfit to review its business strategy. Radical surgery ensued to staunch the red ink. By October 1997, Advanta had sold its consumer-credit operation to what was then Fleet Financial for about $1.3 billion, a $500 million after-tax gain. Alter noted that Advanta got into the credit-card business in 1982 by buying a bank in Delaware for $2.1 million. Selling the credit-card operation for more than $1 billion, while retaining the bank, meant a healthy return. In October, Advanta announced it would sell its mortgage operations, acquired in the mid-1980s, to Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp. for more than $1 billion, creating a $60 million after-tax gain. That deal closed in the first quarter of this year. "It's a grind-it-out business," Rosoff said of mortgages, estimating it would have taken at least three more years to produce a good return. Advanta once held $10 billion in assets through its mortgage business, Alter said. That's all gone now. Also in the first quarter, Advanta announced it would discontinue its equipment-leasing business and negotiated an early termination of its alliance with Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. to directly sell automobile insurance. That leaves business credit cards as a main business line and annual revenues projected around $260 million. Whether Advanta's shares ever climb back to their historic highs is anyone's guess. The company's "A" shares of stock go for about $15, while "B" shares fetch about $13.50. "Our goal is not size," Rosoff said. "Our goal is to have a place to thrive." Business credit cards tend to be an afterthought for the larger card issuers, Alter said. While the 100 million credit-worthy consumers in the United States already hold 500 million bank credit cards, just one in four of the 40 million small businesses -- defined as those with less than $10 million in sales and under 100 employees -- has a card. "It is not saturated. It is not oversold," Alter said, adding that Advanta has nearly 1 million business-card customers. "Price competition has not reached it the same way it has the consumer side." "Mastercard tells us we're the second or third largest issuers of Mastercards in the country to small businesses," he continued. Analyst Todd Pitsinger of Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. in Arlington, Va., approves of Advanta's strategy. He rates the company a "buy." But Pitsinger did say the single-minded strategy could have pitfalls, even if few competitors are currently pursuing the same strategy. "There can be periods of time when the competition can act irrationally, minimizing your returns," he said. Rosoff discounted that, saying there was room for competitors in the business credit-card arena. "It's not that for them to get a dollar, we have to give up a dollar," he said. The struggling economy may, at least temporarily, play into Advanta's hands. According to the latest Phoenix Management Services of Chadds Ford quarterly lending survey, two-thirds of lenders said the slowdown would reduce the availability of loans to small- and middle-market companies. While Alter and Rosoff are confident about Advanta's new future, the company's still experiencing financial struggles as it reorients itself. Last year, Advanta reported a net loss of $156.7 million on revenues of $292.2 million. In the first quarter of 2001, the company touted that its business cards segment of $1.78 billion in managed receivables posted net income of $8.27 million. But the company as a whole lost $29.43 million on gross revenues of $64 million. Discontinued operations accounted for $8.4 million pre-tax of that loss. Another $4.1 million went for severance and outplacement costs for 69 employees terminated because of the restructuring. Through that reorganization, the company did retain Advanta Partners, its venture capital affiliate. Advanta Partners lost $7.82 million during the quarter. "The investments have synergy with what we're doing," said Rosoff, noting that the companies Advanta Partners helps bankroll include businesses such as a collection agency. Despite the poor first quarter, the venture capital affiliate has returned more than 30 percent compounded annually over the past six or seven years, Alter said. Alter looks forward to reviewing the second-quarter financials. The quarter will mark the company's first as primarily a business credit-card provider. # # ## ## ################################## #### ########### Charter One Registers its 100,000th Online Customer
Five-Month-Old Site Has Generated 600 Customers a Day and National Accolade CLEVELAND, -- Five months after its launch, www.charterone.com , the online banking and bill payment site for Charter One Financial, Inc. (NYSE: CF), has registered 100,000 enrolled users. Since its December introduction, the site has been well received by both new and existing customers and has been named one of the top ten online banking sites by Gomez Inc. Charterone.com offers a wide variety of services including totally free bill payment, electronic bill presentment and free wireless access. "We took the time to develop a sound strategy that would enable us to offer financial products and services that our customers want now and in the future," said Michael Dobbins, senior vice president, Charter One. "Thanks to this strategy, we have successfully met all of our launch target dates, far exceeded our enrollment and new product sales projections and have created a very user friendly site." Earlier this month Charter One began offering online small business services, including online and wireless access, totally free bill payment, the ability to check current lending rates and apply online for commercial mortgages, lines of credit and term loans. Charter One has also instituted several unique programs to help encourage enrollment and online usage. For example, through its One-Click Fund, Charter One sets aside money to fund computers for schools within their branch trade areas. To date, the fund already has more than $60,000 earmarked for new computers. In addition, Charter One has offered a limited-time promotion that allows customers enrolled in the Charter One MegaRewards debit card program to automatically earn one point for every dollar in Internet-based bill payments they make. "We are pleased that our Internet initiatives are doing so well," said Mark Grossi, executive vice president, Charter One. "Obviously, generating 100,000 users in just five months, given the size of our household base, is a very big deal. We think that the services we've added recently for small business customers will be just as successful." Grossi continued, "We now have almost 30,000 bill payment users who, after just five months, are already doing over $24 million in online payments. Not only is this an impressive number, but it is growing dramatically each month." Charterone.com ranked eighth overall on the Gomez Winter 2000 Internet Banks Scorecard(TM) rankings. In addition, charterone.com ranked third for the 'Internet Transactor' and 'Saver' customer profile categories. Gomez defines 'Internet Transactors' as customers who are interested in simplifying and automating as much of his or her transactional needs as possible, and 'Savers' as customers who seek high yields and expect low fees. Charter One has approximately $34 billion in total assets, making it one of the 30 largest bank holding companies in the country. The Bank has 423 branch locations in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Vermont. The branch locations operate under the Charter One name in all areas except in Michigan, where the Bank is known as First Federal of Michigan. The Company's diverse product set includes: consumer banking, indirect auto finance, commercial leasing, business lending, commercial real estate lending, mortgage banking, and retail investment products. For additional information, including press releases and investor presentations, investors are directed to Charter One's Web site: www.charterone.com . SOURCE Charter One Financial, Inc. # # ############### #### ########################### ######### GE Capital Loses $1.2 Billion on Derivatives (Bloomberg) By Tom Kohn General Electric's finance subsidiary lost $1.2 billion in the derivative markets in the first quarter, while Citigroup gained $992 million and International Business Machines earned $507 million. The world's three biggest companies disclosed the figures for the first time in Securities and Exchange Commission filings because of a new accounting rule. Regulators penned the rule, known as FAS-133, to boost disclosure in the $109 trillion derivatives market. "This change will be beneficial," said William Rubin, who helps oversee $250 million in stocks at Keefe Managers in New York. "Astute investors will determine who wins and who loses." The rule requires public U.S. companies to tell investors the market value of their derivatives in quarterly SEC filings, bringing more transparency to how companies use these financial contracts to hedge risks and take leveraged bets. It's a market where firms such as Long Term Capital Management made and lost billions of dollars, and wrong-way bets wrecked Barings Plc. The Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets U.S. bookkeeping regulations, decided companies should put derivatives on their balance sheets so shareholders can avoid being surprised by losses. Derivatives are securities whose value is based on the price of an underlying asset, such as a stock or bond. "It's a very significant amount of disclosure," said Kevin Wrenn, a risk strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in New York, who specializes in accounting treatment of derivatives. "It prevents the blow-ups you've heard about in the past. If there's anything inappropriate, it can't really build up. Everything's right there." Most companies use derivatives to shield themselves from potentially bigger losses from swings in currencies, commodities and interest rates. Companies treat them like insurance, paying a premium to stop unexpected market movements disrupting income. IBM, for example, operates in 40 currencies and reports earnings in dollars, so needs to hedge foreign exchange rate risk. IBM said it will set aside $421 million of its $507 million gain in the first quarter to include in its income over the next 12 months to offset possible losses. The company's net income rose 15 percent to $1.75 billion in the quarter, from a year earlier. IBM "does not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes," the company said in its SEC filing. While companies must state on their balance sheets the change in value of all derivatives, if they can prove the securities are hedges rather than speculation they don't have to count them in income statements until the underlying asset is counted. GE Capital said it expects its $1.2 billion loss will be offset mainly by changes in floating-rate interest expenses. About $352 million of that amount will be included in its income in the year ending March 31, 2002, the company said. Microsoft, the largest software maker, lost $90 million in the value of its derivatives in the first quarter, and lost $516 million on derivatives in the nine months ended March 31. Exxon Mobil said it didn't use derivatives, and lost $149 million in the first quarter from exchange rate movements. Securities firms, by contrast, typically use derivatives to make bets on the direction of price movements. At Citigroup, the largest financial services provider, the $992 million gain came from $248 million through hedging between January and March 2001, and $744 million from the value of its traded derivatives rising. American International Group, the second-largest financial services firm, made $861 million from trading derivatives in the quarter. "There will be greater income volatility," said Ira Kawaller, a derivatives and accounting consultant at Kawaller & Co. LLC in Brooklyn, NY. "The reality is that if you use derivatives, especially long dated, (FAS 133) could have a very profound effect." Derivatives traded outside exchanges had a face value of $95 trillion Dec. 31, 2000, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Exchange-traded derivatives' face value totaled $14.1 trillion at the end of 2000, BIS figures show. Historically the derivatives market let firms reap big rewards as it lets traders leverage their positions, or control a large amount of money with a smaller quantity of money to place bets on market movements. Because companies didn't have to report the value of derivatives, they could keep them off their balance sheets, allowing risks to build unnoticed. In the past "if your hedges started to make money the temptation to go on and do more of them was quite strong, because they were completely off balance-sheet," said Neil Taylor, director of client services at Principia Partners LLC in London, which makes software to help users comply with FAS-133. "What the rules do is force them to report those to the outside world." In 1993, Bankers Trust New York earned 31 percent of total profit, or $336 million, from derivatives. They accounted for 45 percent of the bank's profit in the first nine months of 1994. That reward doesn't come without risk. Procter & Gamble Co. lost $200 million on derivatives it bought from Bankers Trust in 1994, and sued the bank, later settling for $35 million. U.S. regulators investigated Bankers Trust for fraud after a string of other companies lost money on derivatives it sold them. Long Term Capital Management lost $4 billion in 1998, mainly from bets on differences between bond and futures prices, prompting the Federal Reserve to organize a bailout by banks. One of its losing trades was on Danish mortgage-backed bonds hedged with options on German interest-rate swaps. Barings, Britain's oldest merchant bank, folded in 1995 after Singapore-based trader Nick Leeson lost more than $1.4 billion on Japanese stock-index futures. Regulators are seeking to prevent similar events. FAS-133 is an effort by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to stop more risk building than a company can handle, and make companies more accountable. "FAS-133 is proving useful information not just for people outside of companies but also for people inside of companies," said Tim Lucas, FASB's director of research and technical activities in Norwalk, Connecticut. - Fitch Downgrades UniCapital Equipment Lease Securitizations The following classes of UniCapital Equipment Lease Securitizations are downgraded by Fitch. UCP 99-1 LLC I and UCP 99-1 LLC II, series 1999-1 -- The class B notes are downgraded to `CCC' from `BBB'; -- The class C notes are downgraded to `C' from `BB'; -- The class B and C notes are also placed on Rating Watch Negative. UniCapital 2000-1 LLC I & UniCapital 2000-1 LLC II, series 2000-1 -- The class B notes are downgraded to `CCC' from `BBB-`; -- The class C notes are downgraded to `D' from `BB'; -- The class B and C notes are also placed on Rating Watch Negative. These rating actions are the result of adverse collateral performance and deterioration of asset quality well outside of Fitch's original base case expectations. Losses from defaulted leases have significantly reduced the remaining credit enhancement available for each class of securities. Delinquencies have also been significantly higher than historical levels. The higher than expected defaults and delinquencies are attributable, in part, to the bankruptcy of Unicapital and the resulting transition of servicing to Portfolio Financial Servicing Company. UniCapital Operations Group, a subsidiary of UniCapital Corporation, was the original servicer of both transactions. UniCapital Corporation filed petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in December 2000. Portfolio Financial Servicing Company, which previously acquired substantially all of the assets of UniCapital Operations Group, is currently servicing both transactions. Fitch will continue to closely monitor these transactions and may take additional rating action in the event of further deterioration. # # # ################# ################ ################# ############# # Heller Financial Chooses PeopleSoft Accelerated Enterprise; Mid-Market Company Reduces Costs with Employee Self-Service
PLEASANTON, Calif.----PeopleSoft Inc. (Nasdaq:PSFT) today announced that Heller Financial Inc. has licensed PeopleSoft 8 pure internet Financials and Human Resources applications. These applications are part of the PeopleSoft Accelerated Enterprise complete solution of products and services designed for small- to medium-sized businesses. PeopleSoft Accelerated Enterprise is a pre-packaged, scalable applications suite that allows companies such as Heller Financial to significantly reduce operations costs. With a focus on time-to-value, implementations of PeopleSoft Accelerated Enterprise can be completed in less than 50 days. "PeopleSoft's web-based self-service applications allow us greater flexibility and room for growth," said Nina Eidell, chief human resources officer at Heller Financial. "The new applications simplify information management for our employees and provide critical functionality for greater business control." "Time-to-value for mid-market customers is essential," said Jeffrey Read, vice president and general manager for PeopleSoft Mid-Market Solutions. "Mid-market companies need quick, scalable and affordable eBusiness solutions. PeopleSoft has designed packaged solutions tailored specifically to meet the needs of companies like Heller Financial." Included in the fixed-price for PeopleSoft Accelerated Enterprise are: PeopleSoft 8 Financials and Human Resources applications; implementation services provided by PeopleSoft Consulting or PeopleSoft Consulting Alliance Partners; and technical and end-user training provided by PeopleSoft University. About PeopleSoft PeopleSoft Inc. is a world leader in providing eBusiness applications that enable people - customers, suppliers, and employees - to power the internet. PeopleSoft's pure internet Customer Relationship Management, Supply Chain Management, and Enterprise management solutions provide the industry's most open and flexible e-commerce platform. PeopleSoft employs more than 8,000 people worldwide, including 2,400 eBusiness consultants. More than 4,700 organizations in 107 countries run on PeopleSoft eBusiness applications. For more information, visit us at www.peoplesoft.com. PeopleSoft and the PeopleSoft logo are registered trademarks. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright (c) 2001 PeopleSoft, Inc. All rights reserved. About Heller Financial Heller Financial, Inc., is a worldwide commercial finance company providing a broad range of sophisticated, collateralized financing solutions. With $20 billion in total assets, Heller offers equipment financing and leasing, sales finance programs, collateral- and cash flow-based financing, financing for healthcare companies and financing for commercial real estate. The Company also offers trade finance, factoring, asset-based lending, leasing and vendor finance products and programs to clients in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Heller's common stock is listed as "HF" on the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges. Heller can be found on the World Wide Web at www.hellerfinancial.com. CONTACT: PeopleSoft, Inc. Christine Cefalo, 925/694-4176 christine-cefalo@peoplesoft.com # ################# #################### ####################### #### Businesses Be Warned: New Federal GLB Privacy Law Will Snare Unwary; Many Businesses Not Prepared for July 1 Deadline; Preston Gates & Ellis Available for Comment
SEATTLE--- What: The Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act was finalized on May 24, 2000 and imposes new federal privacy obligations on companies conducting financial transactions with consumers, goes into effect July 1, 2001. The act, which applies to all "financial institutions," is often misinterpreted to mean banks only. In actuality, the scope of the act is such that any entity that offers consumers a financing program for purchases such as revolving credit must provide privacy disclosures on how that particular business deals with customers' private information. Unfortunately, many businesses do not realize that they are subject to these regulations. Businesses impacted by GLB are wide-reaching and include a variety of industries, including but not limited to: automobile dealerships that lease or sell vehicles on time, insurance agencies, tax advisors, real estate appraisers and brokers, retailers that issue credit cards, and software manufacturers that develop or sell financial planning or budgeting software. Who: William Resnik, a business attorney with Preston Gates & Ellis LLP in Seattle, is available to comment on the potential impact this new law will have on businesses. Resnik's practice focuses on banking issues, consumer credit, new bank products and delivery systems, bank regulatory matters, as well as indirect consumer lending and leasing, real estate financing for consumers, data privacy and e-commerce issues. Why: "While banks and other consumer lenders have been preparing for the July 1 deadline for more than a year," says Resnik, "hundreds of companies are unaware GLB affects them and may be caught napping. If your company offers consumers any kind of financing options, you may be liable under GLB. As companies have only four weeks left to distribute privacy disclosures to consumers, it is vital that you speak with an attorney or advisor to determine if GLB applies to you and talk about the best way to disseminate privacy disclosure information." When: All customer notifications must be made by July 1, 2001, and annually thereafter. Info: To schedule an interview with William Resnik or for more information about GLB, please contact Sandi Sonnenfeld at 206/270-4659 or you may contact Resnik directly at wresnik@prestongates.com. ############## ############################## ########################## PBDS Announces Partnership with MicroBilt Corporation Today PBDS, a leading statistical scoring solution provider, announced a partnership with MicroBilt, Kennesaw, Georgia, a premier developer of credit access software via the Internet. Through this partnership, which expands MicroBilt's decisioning technology, lessors are now able to score new accounts using industry specific LeaseScore application models while accessing credit bureau information. This advancement enables lessors to utilize more predictive tools to make knowledgeable underwriting decisions, in an instant. MicroBilt implemented through its Software Developers Kit (SDK) and Internet site (CreditCommander.com), PBDS's statistical-based LeaseScore application models that incorporate leasing data with commercial and consumer bureau data. The SDK is an Internet based automated credit report retrieval and decisioning tool that provides instantaneous response times and a cost-effective process for companies to integrate data from the three major consumer bureaus and two commercial bureaus right into their applications or web site, increasing productivity throughout the entire credit department. The tool is easy to implement, customers can be up and running in days. Utilizing LeaseScore, MicroBilt will now offer leasing companies the ability to interface credit bureau reporting as well as historical, statistical leasing data directly into their systems for accurate, automated credit decisions. LeaseScore will also be available through CreditCommander.com, the industry's leading site for accessing credit bureaus through one destination. PBDS has expertise in providing knowledge-based commercial credit, collection and marketing statistical decision tools for various sized companies in many industries, with concentration in the areas of financial services, credit cards, and leasing. All models, including LeaseScore, developed by PBDS are continuously validated through the "real world" applications of the Fortune 500 companies, including several top leasing organizations that make up PBDS's client base. LeaseScoreä application models were developed on leasing transactions up to $100,000, using actual leasing experiences from several small-ticket leasing portfolios. "Our strategic relationship with MicroBilt enables leasing companies to easily obtain scores using bureau information to make accurate credit decisions - instantaneously," said Vernon Gerety, senior vice president of PBDS. "Lessors can now confidently predict lessee risk looking ahead 24 months, consistent with the typical long term leasing relationship." Added, Mike Garretson, vice president and general manager of MicroBilt, "MicroBilt and PBDS are offering lessors the ability to leverage information, technology and statistics to effectively make real-time on-line credit decisions. Incorporating LeaseScore into our SDK and CreditCommander.com provides lessors the ability to supplement the scores with their own credit policy rules, generating a superior credit rating system. The MicroBilt and PBDS partnership offers instant access and instant decisioning." ################################################################
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