as a USC alum, don't you mean EAST of Las Vegas

Sales: National: 7 offices Medical & IT/ plus. Seeking professionals w/solid book of business & high ethics. Exceptional support & commissions. Expenses paid. 616-459-6800 Email: gsaulter@chaseindustries.com "UAEL"

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Bankers Leasing, Illinois—250 employees let go.

Bankers Direct Leasing in California, also closed.

We reported several e-mails last week, but have confirmed CitiCapital was unable to find a buyer, so closed them down.

Here is an e-mail from a reader:

Regarding Bankers Leasing and having worked there for almost a year, upper management ran the office like a frat house. I can tell you from first hand experience the problem with their expense reports is probably due to an annual trip the entire office takes to visit the Chicago office.

I felt like the odd man out, as I actually brought work with me that I could review and strategize with our 'finance and credit dept'. The trip involved golf, drinking, dinners, drinking, strip bars, drinking, Cubs games, and more drinking. This annual 'convention' was nothing more than an opportunity for the VP of the Orange County office to get away from the house for a few days and be continuously drunk.

Their business model was to be another 'Amplicon-type' co, with goofy language and every hook and gotcha applied to the max.

For the most part, the office is made up of brown-noser's sucking up to the VP, who requires kick-backs on the 'house' deals he assigns to them.

I personally think Citi shut them down because they couldn't sell them to anyone in good conscience. It would be like selling a house and not disclosing it is built on a toxic waste site.

( Name With Held )

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Tuesday—Odds and Ends

We are trying to find information about the president of Bank of America Leasing, as several readers have told us of changes, one being the president has left. None of these companies want to talk to Leasing News. I think it is because we are too small, and not the Wall Street Journal or New York Times.

-----

And yes, readers, we have more than a half dozen reports that Sean Wheeler is back in the equipment leasing business, soliciting broker business, and sorry we can’t print your comments, nor postings on the National Association of Equipment Leasing listserve bulletin board-----however, here is the last news that we did publish:

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/SeanWheeler_stories.htm

-----

Report on Equipment Leasing Associates Dues Increase/Waiting for information

from ELA.

The List to be up-dated this week.

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BSB Leasing New Venture

Orion First Financial, LLC and Procure Financial Services, Inc. Announce a New Joint Venture to Fund Leases

Gig Harbor, WA -- Orion First Financial, LLC and Procure Financial Services, Inc. dba BSB Leasing have formed a new joint venture, Procure Financial Funding, LLC (PFF). PFF has established a $500,000 revolving line of credit with Kitsap Bank (Port Orchard, Washington) to warehouse leases originated by BSB Leasing. The new venture bundles the warehoused leases into portfolios and the lease receivables are sold to Union Safe Deposit Bank (Stockton, California) under an $8,000,000 commitment. Orion First Financial, LLC will provide lease servicing and administrative services to PFF and Union Safe Deposit Bank.

"We're pleased with the partnership with Orion First Financial." stated Don Myerson of BSB Leasing "With the experience Orion First Financial provides in lease administration and BSB's originations ability we now have the control and flexibility necessary to increase our business originations and build a quality portfolio of business."

According to David T. Schaefer of Orion First Financial, "The Orion First program brings together the three required disciplines of a lessor: originations, funding and servicing. This arrangement allows BSB the flexibility of being a lessor yet minimizes the risks associated with owning its own portfolio. With PFF we established the short-term lines of credit, permanent funding and the required lease servicing and administration to insure long-term profitability. We are pleased to be associated with a quality company like BSB Leasing."

The Orion First program is unique in that it provides a level of control and flexibility needed in today's leasing marketplace. As funders have made dramatic changes in underwriting standards, or exited the market altogether, originators are looking for funding alternatives that are more predictable and stable. The Orion First program allows participants to expand funding resources and build lasting value.

Orion First Financial, LLC located in Gig Harbor WA, provides primary and back up lease servicing, complete portfolio management, and advisory/consultative services to the commercial equipment leasing industry. Orion has differentiated itself from other lease servicing companies by not only offering the standard billing, accounting and tracking services, but by providing complete portfolio performance management.

Procure Financial Services, Inc dba BSB Leasing located in Denver, CO originates small ticket commercial equipment leases throughout the Unites States through a network of independent lease brokers and direct sales representatives. Over the past 20 years BSB leasing has proven to be an efficient and reliable resource for independent leasing companies nationwide.

CONTACT:

David T. Schaefer, CLP

Orion First Financial, LLC

PO Box 2149

Gig Harbor, WA 98335-4149

Phone: 888.705.8778 ext. 210

http://www.orionfirst.com

dtschaefer@orionfirst.com

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Interchange Financial Services and Bridge View Bancorp Announce Plans to Merge

"Interchange Capital Company, L.L.C., we are able to extend cost-effective equipment leasing solutions for a variety of expansion and upgrading projects."

SADDLE BROOK, N.J.----Interchange Financial Services Corporation (NASDAQ:IFCJ) and Bridge View Bancorp (AMEX:BVB) jointly announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Interchange Financial Services Corporation ("Interchange") will acquire Bridge View Bancorp ("Bridge View") in a transaction valued at $87.3 million based on Interchange's closing stock price as of November 15, 2002.

Bridge View is a bank holding company with $272 million in assets as of September 30, 2002 and is headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Its principal subsidiary, Bridge View Bank, operates 11 offices in Bergen County, New Jersey. Interchange expects that the transaction will expand and strengthen Interchange's market share within northern New Jersey, principally in Bergen County.

Interchange is a $921 million asset bank holding company for Interchange Bank which operates 18 offices throughout Bergen County, New Jersey. Upon the completion of the Bridge View acquisition, Interchange expects to have $1.3 billion in assets and 29 offices in Bergen County.

"The acquisition of Bridge View will significantly strengthen our market share in the affluent Bergen County marketplace and northern New Jersey. When completed, the acquisition will greatly enhance our deposit market share position within Bergen County from 12th to 6th position," stated Anthony S. Abbate, President and Chief Executive Officer of Interchange. "This acquisition brings together two high performing banks whose success has been closely linked to the strength and vitality of the communities they serve. Together, we believe that we can build even stronger community partnerships that make our communities better places to live and work."

"We are pleased and excited to be joining Interchange," said Albert F. Buzzetti, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bridge View Bancorp. "Interchange's commitment to offering a wide variety of outstanding community-based branch banking services will enable us to expand the scope of services we are able to provide individuals and businesses. We have long believed that community banking is all about making banking decisions locally. Interchange shares that philosophy and delivers the same warm brand of personalized service that only a community bank can provide today."

It is anticipated that Mr. Buzzetti will become an executive officer upon completion of the transaction. "We look forward to welcoming Al and benefiting from the community commitment which he will bring to our organization," said Mr. Abbate.

Under the terms of the agreement, the total consideration to be received by Bridge View shareholders is fixed at $33,528,472 million in cash and 2,949,719 Interchange shares. Based on the price of $18.24 for Interchange common stock prior to today's announcement, the transaction represents total consideration of approximately $87.3 million. The total value at closing may rise or fall based on the average per share price of Interchange stock for a twenty-day period prior to closing. Each shareholder may choose cash, stock or a combination of cash and stock subject to proration if either cash or stock is oversubscribed.

Interchange expects to realize cost savings of approximately $1.8 million, or 20% of Bridge View's non-interest expenses, with 60% of that realized in 2003 and all of the savings realized in 2004. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Interchange's earnings. The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2003. The transaction is conditioned upon receiving necessary bank regulatory approvals, the approval of shareholders from both companies and other customary conditions.

Interchange will hold a conference call (800-915-4836) and web-cast on Tuesday, November 19, 2002, at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss the transaction. This web-cast can be accessed through the Bank's website, www.interchangebank.com on the investor relations page, as well as the web address www.companyboardroom.com. The web-cast replay and tape play back (800-428-6051 PIN Code: 269236) will begin shortly after the completion of the live call and will be available for approximately two weeks.

Interchange is a bank holding company and its banking subsidiary is a financial intermediary that, along with traditional banking, offers a broad range of services including 24-hour, 7-day-a-week online banking and bill paying services through InterBank. Customers can also do their stock trading, obtain insurance services and apply for a loan through Interchange Bank's web site. Mutual Funds and Annuities are offered through Interchange's Investment Services Program. The Interchange Bank-Line Call Center enables customers to open new accounts over the telephone, and customers can do basic banking transactions over the telephone with Interchange Bank-Line. The Business Class Banking Account offers checking with a variety of extra services including Interbanking - a proprietary product, which allows the business customer to do routine business banking right from their office PC. And through our subsidiary, Interchange Capital Company, L.L.C., we are able to extend cost-effective equipment leasing solutions for a variety of expansion and upgrading projects.

Interchange is headquartered in Saddle Brook, New Jersey and has 18 branch offices located in Elmwood Park, Franklin Lakes, Garfield, Hillsdale, Hackensack, Little Ferry, Lodi, Montvale, Oakland, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, River Edge, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook (2), Waldwick and Washington Township.

Further information about Interchange Bank, its core purpose and values, and its products and services can be found on our web site at www.interchangebank.com. Our web site also has a direct link to the NASDAQ Stock Market that enables you to keep informed of the daily quotes and market activity for Interchange's stock.

Bridge View is a commercial bank and through its subsidiary bank, conducts traditional commercial banking business, accepting deposits from the general public, including individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and governmental units. Bridge View originates commercial loans, consumer loans and both residential and commercial real estate loans. Bridge View is headquartered in Englewood Cliffs and has eleven branch offices: Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee (2), Edgewater, Hackensack, Tenafly, Harrington Park, and four new branches that were opened in 2002; Teaneck, Westwood, Bergenfield, and Ridgefield Park.

CONTACT:

Interchange Financial Services Corporation

Anthony Labozzetta, 201/703-2265

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National Penn Leasing Enters Arena

BOYERTOWN, Pa. -- National Penn Bank today announced the formal opening of National Penn Leasing Company.The new subsidiary, licensed to do business in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, will provide customers with a full range of commercial equipment leasing services throughout the Bank's existing footprint.

According to Glenn E. Moyer, president of National Penn Bank, the formation of National Penn Leasing Company is another way to add value for our commercial customers. "We continually look at ways to meet our business customers' needs. Over 80% of businesses lease equipment of some kind. By offering this service for our customers, we are better able to respond to their needs quickly and effectively."

Roger J. Bennett, president of National Penn Leasing Company, brings over 25 years of experience in commercial banking and leasing. His staff is comprised of seasoned professionals. "We feel we can provide a much needed service to our customers in a timely manner because of our experienced staff and the backing of a strong financial institution. We combine practical industry expertise with cutting-edge leasing products and solutions."

According to Bennett, "The benefits of leasing are tremendous for the customer. Our strategic objective is to provide exceptional customer service along with highly competitive leasing solutions."

National Penn Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: NPBC) is a $2.9 billion financial services company headquartered in Boyertown, PA. NPBC currently operates 58 community offices in southeastern Pennsylvania through National Penn Bank and two community offices in southeastern Pennsylvania through Panasia Bank N.A. Panasia Bank N.A. also operates four community offices in the northern New Jersey marketplace and one office in Annandale, Virginia. Trust and investment management services are provided through Investors Trust Company; brokerage services are provided through Penn Securities, Inc.; mortgage banking activities are provided through Penn 1st Financial Services, Inc.; and leasing products are offered through National Penn Leasing Company. National Penn Bancshares, Inc. common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "NPBC." Additional information about the National Penn family is available on National Penn's Web site at www.natpennbank.com.

Contact Roger Bennett at 610-369-6672 or at rjbennett@natpennbank.com

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Thalman Financial/Xantrex Launches Customer Financing Program

BURNABY, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Xantrex Technology Inc. announced the launch of a new financing program for customers purchasing Xantrex renewable energy systems through the company's Certified Dealer Program. Xantrex is partnering with Thalman Financial Services to provide the service - Xantrex and Thalman representatives will be at UPEx in Austin, Texas, November 13th and 14th for the official launch of the program.

This initiative is part of Xantrex' ongoing strategy to provide customers with the best resources to purchase with confidence through a Certified Dealer. The program offers flexible payment terms of up to five years for renewable energy systems incorporating Xantrex equipment, and eliminates the hassle associated with internal budget processes or educating conventional financial institutions when applying for a loan.

"Xantrex is the first in the renewable energy industry to introduce a financing program for consumer, municipal, and commercial customers," said Pagan Mackay, Manager, Dealer Relations. "It's a convenient financing solution to the high, up-front capital costs associated with the purchase of renewable energy systems." Mackay adds: "We believe that providing customers with another method of payment will encourage them to comfortably move forward with their purchase, while working within their budget restraints."

The application process is quick and simple. When a consumer, municipal, or commercial customer contracts a Certified Dealer for system design and installation, they may also apply for financing. The dealer will begin the application, and a Thalman consultant will follow-up with a suitable payment schedule within 48 hours. For more information on a Xantrex Certified Dealer in your area, visit www.xantrexREdealer.com.

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Letters to the Editor

as a USC alum, don't you mean EAST of Las Vegas.

( USC's Palmer has numbers and momentum,

but is anyone west of Vegas paying attention?)

Darren Gardner, CLP

Alliance Capital Corporation

"Specializing in Equipment Financing"

Charlotte * Los Angeles * New York * Phoenix

(480) 443-0002 ext. 211 * (480) 443-8826 Fax

www.ALLIANCECAP.com <http://www.alliancecap.com/>

(Yes...the headline and “lead-in” came from the Los Angeles Times.

I didn’t catch the error, nor did the “ headline proof reader” of the LA Times.)

Nice! And Kit, don't be afraid to show your USC - Cardinal & Gold - you

"Married" into the TROJAN Family...

If we had a kicker that could make an extra point, we would not have gone

into OT against WSU, and would be sitting atop the PAC-10. You may want to

see if your step-daughter can squeeze out one more year of schooling and

walk on for the kicker position next fall!

----------

Welcome back! I, for one, have missed you!

I take this opportunity to thank you for your newsletter.

Rosette-Andree Gindi

RGindi@CelticLeasing.com

Welcome back! I didn't realize how much news that I actually missed until

todays edition marking your return (And, I read most read most industry

and related news journals daily!) Keep up the good work and thanks for

sending consistent and informative leasing news!

Bob Hatfield

Global Market/Competitive Intelligence

IBM Global Financing

Ph: (847) 669- 8200 T/L 8/698-9622 Fax: (847) 669-6396

Notes ID: Robert A Hatfield/Armonk/IBM@IBMUS

Internet: hatfrob@us.ibm.com

---

Welcome Back Kit!

David

David G. Mayer

Patton Boggs LLP

2001 Ross Avenue

Suite 3000

Dallas, Texas 75201

Tel: (214) 758-1545

Fax: (214) 758-1550

Author of: Business Leasing For Dummies

Publisher of: Business Leasing News

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Correcting Typo’s in Statistics/Day in American History

It was Eisenhower, 36,938,285; Stevenson 27,312,217

. On Election Day, 1952, UNIVAC, the world's first commercially available electronic computer, predicted a landslide for Eisenhower in his presidential race against Adlai Stevenson. In a test televised by CBS, the computer used early returns from key states to predict the election, based on voting patterns from 1944 and 1948. However, the computer's predictions were radically different from polls taken by Gallup and Roper, which predicted a close race, and the computer's programmers made adjustments so that the computer's first broadcast prediction corresponded more closely to the polls. Only an hour after the polls had closed with less than ten percent of the votes had been counted , the CBS TV Network, which employed the computer, was able to predict Eisenhower’s landslide victory, trumping human experts who had predicted a close race. Ironically, the computer's original prediction of 438 electoral votes for Eisenhower and 93 for Stevenson was only off by four votes

Republican Ronald Reagan won the White House defeating President Jimmy Carter. Reagan was the 40th President of the U.S., carrying 44 states winning by a landslide (489 electoral votes to Carter’s 49). The popular vote was Reagan, 42,797,153; Carter 34, 424,100, John Anderson, independent candidate 5,533,927

Bank of America Cuts 1,132 IT jobs

Mark Calvey San Francisco Business Times

Bank of America is cutting a total of 232 jobs in Concord and San Francisco as it eliminates 900 jobs by year-end in its information technology operations.

More cuts are coming next year in the tech operations, but the bank declined to make job-loss projections.

The bank attributed the cutbacks to the weak economy, but employees were quick to cite BofA's decision to outsource tech work to India.

"Our sourcing strategy and these job cuts in response to economic conditions are completely separate," said BofA spokeswoman Juliet Don in San Francisco.

But some of those laid off have been told they must train their Indian counterparts to receive their severance. Dozens of Indians have recently arrived at BofA's tech centers on temporary work visas for BofA training, according to the Business Journal of Jacksonville, Fla.

Indians are also visiting BofA's huge Concord operations center for training as well, sources said.

BofA is offering laid-off employees its standard package of extended benefits, career counseling and possible employment in other areas of the company.

The bank, like many large U.S. companies, is moving technology jobs overseas where employees are paid much less than their U.S. counterparts.

Bank of America was discussing plans internally earlier this year to send up to 5 percent of its tech work overseas to places such as India and Eastern Europe, according to confidential documents distributed last February to BofA manager and obtained by the Charlotte Observer.

In India, a tech worker earns about half of their U.S. counterparts.

At the time, BofA said no final decisions had been made. But company managers were cautioned that some layoffs could occur from this latest initiative.

Number of Women Executives Increasing

By Rebecca Gomez

AP Business Writer

NEW YORK –– Despite all the recent shocks to corporate America and the faltering economy, women continued to make inroads – albeit incrementally – into the upper echelons of Fortune 500 companies, a survey being released Tuesday said.

The number of female corporate officers at Fortune 500 companies inched up 3.2 percentage points over the past two years, according the biannual survey by Catalyst, a New York-based women's advocacy group.

"Historically, in down economies, women tend to be hit very hard. We have data showing that this has not happened, which is a surprise for many," said Sheila Wellington, president of Catalyst. "When times are bad, to maintain a competitive position, you've got to keep top talent and there's a recognition that women are in that top talent pool."

Women now make up 15.7 percent of the top-ranking executives at America's largest companies – or 2,140 of the 13,673 total – compared with 12.5 percent in 2000 and 8.7 percent in 1995 when Catalyst began keeping track.

"While the pace of change is steady, it is also slow," Wellington said.

Women held 7.9 percent, or 191 of the 2,412 "corporate clout titles," which Catalyst defined as chief executive, chairman, vice chairman, president, chief operating officer, senior executive vice president and executive vice president. That's an increase of 1.7 percentage points from the 6.2 percent in 1997.

The number of female chief executives also increased, to six, comprising 1.2 percent of the Fortune 500 CEO population, an increase from just two women CEOs in 2000 and only one in 1995.

At 60 companies, women accounted for a quarter or more of the leadership ranks, compared with 50 companies with that percentage in 2000, according to the survey.

However, as of March 31 – the survey's cutoff date – 71 Fortune 500 companies had no women corporate officers. Women make up 46.6 percent of the U.S. labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"It's clearly not as fast as anyone might like to see, but it's certainly measured progress, which is positive and sustainable in the right direction," said Diana Ferguson, vice president and treasurer of Sara Lee Corp., where women made up 17.9 percent of senior officers.

"One of the things I've been pleased to see and could be helpful in (promoting more women) is companies being willing to put people in 'stretch' assignments, in assignments that might be slightly more challenging, or give high-potential individuals stretch assignments to allow them to grow into their roles and get into the officer ranks," said Ferguson, 39, who joined Sara Lee in 2001.

Fortune 500 companies, such as Sara Lee, are the largest employers in the United States, employing more than 23.9 million people, the survey noted.

Catalyst, which used company-provided data and regulatory filings for its census, said it began tracking the number of women corporate executives to apply the business principle of "what gets measured gets done" and generate attention to women's advancement.

"Each census serves as a marker of accomplishment for corporations and of work yet to be done," the group said.

Catalyst said "exclusion from informal networks" was the top reason cited by women for the lack of parity with men in corporate ranks.

"Women feel that they're excluded from the informal network, where deals are done, information is exchanged and people get clued in to what's really going on and what opportunities there are to be seized," the group's president said.

Catalyst also looked at salary differences at Fortune 500 companies. Only 5.2 percent of women fell into the category of "top-earning corporate officers," up from 4.1 percent in 2002 and 1.2 percent in 1995.

Industries with the lowest representation of female corporate officers included engineering, construction, automotive retailing and services, and mining, the census found. On the flip side, temporary help, insurance, tobacco, apparel and diversified financials were among the sectors with the highest percentage of top-ranking women executives.

–––

On the Net:

http://www.catalystwomen.org

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De Lage Landen Financial Services names Laura Blessing Director, Channel Sales for its Tech Finance SBU

De Lage Landen Financial Services, a leading international provider of high-quality asset-based financing products to manufacturers and distributors of capital goods, has named Laura Blessing as Director of Channel Sales for its Technology Finance Strategic Business Unit.

In this capacity, Blessing, of Haddonfield, NJ, will manage the inside sales and field sales teams for the business unit, which serves the VAR channel within the technology industry.

She will report directly to William Nasri, Vice President, Sales & New Business Development for the Technology Finance SBU.

Prior to joining De Lage Landen, Blessing served as Technology Market Director for CIT’s North American Office Technology Finance unit in Jacksonville, FL.

She has more than 17 years of leasing industry experience, including collections, credit, financial analysis, sales, sales support and marketing.

Blessing is a 1979 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

De Lage Landen Financial Services is part of De Lage Landen International B.V., an international provider of high-quality asset-based financing products. The company, headquartered in Eindhoven (The Netherlands), is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dutch Rabobank Group. Credit ratings of the major international ratings agencies show that Rabobank is the most creditworthy privately held bank in the world.

With offices and joint ventures in 20 countries throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, De Lage Landen specializes in asset financing and vendor finance programs internationally, with a focus on the following industries: Agriculture and Food, Healthcare, IT, Materials Handling and Construction, Office Equipment, Telecom, Transport and Bank Outsourcing. Domestically, the company concentrates on a broad range of leasing and trade finance products.

In 2001 De Lage Landen grew its net profit to € 92.2 million (US$ 82.4 million) and its balance sheet to € 10.6 billion (US$ 9.4 billion) in assets.

For more information, visit our website at www.delagelanden.com.

Sites of Reference:

http://www.delagelanden.com

CONTACT:

Marc Donahue

De Lage Landen Financial Services

Phone Number: 610 386 5030

Fax Number: 610 386 5038

E-mail: mdonahue@leasedirect.com

( courtesy ELAonline.com )

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