Leasing News

Title Clerk: exp. motor vehicle title clerk. Min. 3-years experience in titling, perfecting security interest commercial vehicles in various states. Comfortable work environment in fast growing company. Excel. salary & benefit package. Resumes: amandell@eqcorp.com

About the Company: A rapidly expanding Middle Market Leasing / Finance Company located in CT. Equilease Financial Services, Inc

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Headlines---

Classified Ads—Jobs Wanted

Cartoon—All Work, No Play

Equipment Leasing Organization of America? Huh?!

            Weekly Bulletin Board Complaint
            Engagement Letters/Forms
        Leasing Coalition to Push Alternative SILO Proposal

"Biz Loans: Demand Up, Standards Down"

Venture Capital Stays The Course W/ $4.6B Invested

NetBank Announces Expanded ATM Network

NetBank Reports Leasing Business (Republic ) Down 12%

Mona Janes-Capriglione, CLP Promoted to EVP at Wildwood

Wildwood Moves to a New, State-of-the-Art Digs St. Louis,Mo

Norvergence Names Ex-HP R.C. Arnold New CFO

ORIX Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2004

UnioBanCal Vice Chairman, Philip B. Flynn

MicroFinancial Continues Net Loss

Sterling Financial 15.2% Increase in First Quarter Earnings

OCÉ Selects Key Equipment Finance as Leasing Partner

News Briefs---

Sports Briefs---

“Gimme that Wine”

This Day in American History

Baseball Poem

######## surrounding the article denotes it is a “press release”

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http://two.leasingnews.org/SoundBits/Cartoons/YABBA.WAV

Menkin is back !!!!

http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/college/811/police/hawaii5o.mid

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Classified Ads—Jobs Wanted

Documentation Manager: New York, NY.

10+ years in equipment leasing/secured lending. Skilled in management & training, documentation, policy and procedure development & implementation, portfolio reporting. Strong work ethic. Email: dln1031@nyc.rr.com

Finance: Chicago, IL

Experienced in big ticket origination, syndication, valuation and workout. Twenty five years, MBA, CPA, JD, LLM (Tax), structuring specialist. Inbound and outbound transactions. Email:pal108381@comcast.net

Finance: Austin, TX.

20+ years all facets of lease/finance. Collection and credit management. Equipment & rolling stock structuring. $150k credit authority, $100 million portfolio management.

Email: texmartin@juno.com

Finance: Lyndhurst, NJ

CFO w/20+ years leasing/financing. Respected by lenders/rating agencies full & fair financial reporting. Outstanding record restructuring debt. Adept at investor relations and mentoring people. Email:joemcdev@aol.com

Legal: Chicago, IL.

Illinois Attorney, 18 years in IT equipment leasing, IT services contract assurance and contract litigation, seeks in-house position, metro Chicago or California (pay own relocation). Email: cadorff@sbcglobal.net

Legal: Los Angeles, CA

Experienced in-house corporate and financial services attorney seeks position as managing or transactional counsel. Willing to relocate. Email:sandidq@msn.com

Marketing: Orange County, CA. Seeking management opportunity to create/improve outbound call center new business marketing in leasing industry. Very experienced in all aspects of telemarketing, management, prospecting and closing. E-mail: princedm@pacbell.net

Operations: New York, NY.

Operations: Experienced Credit, Collections, lease and Finance operations. Manager w/ expertise in improving bottom line performance, excellent trainer, manager, motivator. Get result/keep the customer coming back. Email:rgmorrill@comcast.net

Operations: Wayne, NJ

20+ heavily experienced collection/recovery VP looking to improve someone's bottom line. Proven, verifiable track record. Knowledge of all types of portfolio. Will relocate Email:cmate@nac.net

102 Classified Help Wanted ads at: http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

We help people find work and up-grade their positions, free:

http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/PostingFormWanted.asp

[Headlines]

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Equipment Leasing Organization of America? Huh?!

“The Equipment Leasing Organization of America is surveying the equipment

leasing industry about its interest in a new product offering that will

deliver exclusive, application based sales leads to participating firms.

“Please complete the survey located at the ELOA website and you'll be

eligible for the Handspring Treo 600 Smart Phone giveaway.

“CLICK HERE: http://www.ELOAonline.com

“Thank you for your continued support of the ELOA.”

-Team ELOA

(This eMail is making the rounds of the leasing industry. Leasing News responded under three e-mail accounts, including one at Yahoo, but no response. It appears to be a “lead” generating advertisement.

(If any reader has received a response, and can tell us more, please send to:

kitmenkin@leasingnews.org)

[Headlines]

Syndicator: exp.credit packager/syndicator. min. 4-yrs evaluating, underwriting and /or syndicating transactions from 100K -$1.0MM. Outstanding opportunity, future growth, excellent benefits, base salary & bonus arrangement.
Resumes: amandell@eqcorp.com .

About the Company: A rapidly expanding Middle Market Leasing / Finance Company located in CT. Equilease Financial Services, Inc

Weekly Bulletin Board Complaint

In the previous report:

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/April%202004/4-13-04.htm#week

There was criticism that the #1 was not named, and because he was a “friend.”

As noted, this person was already posted on our Complaint Bulletin Board,

and we noted a member of the National Association of Equipment Leasing

Brokers. Our policy is if the “dispute” is settled, there is no complaint. The check was returned to the applicant, so the complaint will not be printed.

#3 ,The broker who could not get the lease approved, who also said he was

a long time member of the National Association of Leasing Brokers and wanted to keep the advance fee for his time ( and expenses ), changed their mind at the last minute, returning the full amount by Airborne.

Before going into current “complaints,” there is a Bulletin Board Complaint posted that wants it removed. He states his is also a member of the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers, confirmed, who has offered to return the advance rental he has kept if we remove the complaint from the Bulletin Board. He is very well liked and respected, we are told, and let’s leave it at that.

His motivation: He states when his company is searched with the browser Google, the Leasing News complaint about his company is brought up as Number One. He says this is true on other internet browsers. It has affected his business, he claims.

There is one precedent where we have removed complaints over the years

from companies no longer in business, but the party named has another company.

As part of the “resolution,” the old complaint was removed with the stipulation that the “advance rental” be returned, and if such a situation should occur again, the old complaint will be posted along with the one that was settled. This was to give both a benefit of doubt, a new chance, and to get the money back to the applicant.

The archives were not amended or changed; just the weekly bulletin board complaint.

In this new situation, we will not amend the archives, but are considering the “offer,” and would like feed back from readers.

Please go here:  

We are sorry. The survey is no longer available. The time has expired.

Currently in the works are:

#1 Broker Agreement

“You know (funder) extremely well and understand that we would never withhold a brokers fee. With our generosity and commitment to the ****** broker community and to UAEL you know that we would not try to “steal” $1000 from a broker. I would just like to give you our side of the story in advance.

“******** sent us a good deal with a company back east and we were able to put the deal together with a great team effort.

“During this process, on multiple occasions, we asked ******* to complete our application and Broker Agreement, which you yourself have completed and signed with no troubles whatsoever.

“After funding the deal ****** has crossed out essentially all of the reps & warrants in our agreement, I’d be happy to forward to you, and asked that we fund the rest of his fee. ****** has already received 80% of the fee in the form of a commitment fee he received from the lessee. We know that there is no way he will ever sign our agreement if we send him the remaining ****** prior to receiving the signed agreement.

“It is very troubling to us that he will not provide a copy of his credit bureau for the application, will not spend the time to thoughtfully consider our agreement especially after we funded the deal in good faith that he would sign and return our document.

“I’m sorry to bug you with this information however I would hate to have ******* attempt to leverage your newsletter against us as he’s threatened to do so below.”

(name with held)

Subject: RE: Unpaid portion of commission

“Gentlemen, the delays re: the payment of the outstanding portion of our commission have gone on long enough.

“I have been patient and reasonable and done everything you asked. I have signed the broker agreement, with a few minor changes, and faxed in a signed copy. I was not told that you needed an original until now and by now I should have the check. Guys I haven't invested this much time and energy in getting paid from a lender in years.

“Here is what I propose, you can FedEx my commission (please) and we can keep this on a friendly basis and hopefully do more business.

“If you chose not to pay me the money you owe me (please be aware that all the records show you funded the deal, your Tvalue and emails show my commission, the invoice and your emails show of the commission paid and some still due. However for some reason ******** is just stalling and not paying us the balance of the money owed) ... then I will have to ask Kit Menkin to publish this incident to warn other Brokers that ******* does not pay full Broker commissions, at least in this incident. I will also bad mouth you

in Las Vegas.

If your argument, in response to that article, once published would be that I did not sign a Broker agreement, that would be false. I did. Do you want to be in a position where you are explaining to the broker community at large why you were trying to cheat Integrity out of a grand, based on the premise that you needed me to leave in the clause in your Broker agreement that enables you to come into our office without notice and be entitled to go through our records, when I explained to you that even GE waived that clause when we asked.

Guys I just want to get paid and move on. Please do the right thing and pay what you owe while there is still a chance we can all walk away happy and do business again.

Thanks

(name with held )

(A flurry of e-mails of the next few days back and forth between many parties.

The error occurred when the funder paid the vendor without having the signed

broker agreement back. There are some very strong provisions, but not as strong

as in others such as buying back the lease if default in first six months, etc.; and on

the other hand, over 100 brokers have signed the agreement.

(One of the things that is not true is Leasing News just does not print a complaint. We look into it, and our first step of the ladder is to see if the complaint is justified. The

second, is to see if we can resolve the issue, which we thought we had, but instead other

issues in the agreement and attitudes changed.

(My advice: don't lose a good funding source such as *******.

(It is only one deal, sign it. And then renegotiate a new agreement.

(The California Department of Corporations Finance Lender’s Division can come into your office unannounced, look at all records, and you pay for their time and expenses for the investigation. If you have bank lines, the bank has the right to audit at any time. And if you haven’t been visited by the state for a sales tax audit or county for a personal property tax audit, you would welcome the funder much more, believe me.

(At last call, the broker was out $500 from the original “published rate,” and the funder

did not want to do business with him, despite the volume produced or years in business of the broker. Both were losers in this as the funding source would have been a valuable

asset to the broker, and the broker would have brought more business.

Getting back to the original place, an exception was made for the funding to the vendor and lessee, another reason why “policy” should be followed. Sometimes trying to be a nice guy, does not pay off. Both parties should have agreed to the terms and conditions before proceeding. Remember: the person with the gold makes the rules. Editor)

#3 Sale/Leaseback

A dentist in Southern California signed a $110,000 “sale/leaseback” January 14, 2004.

The contract appears to be a generic form with a venue in Oregon. The president of the

Dana Point, California has not returned six telephone calls over the last few weeks,

but an employee did, who knew of the transaction, and said the money was to be

refunded.

There is an e-mail from the president in March,2004, stating the same thing. The

dentist cannot get anyone to return his telephone calls, he says, and the direct number

to the “president” no longer works (although the 800 does.)

In a March 11 email, it states,

“I did get your file back, but unfortunately it was without what we are looking for. It’s time to make a decision as to how you want to proceed. It is ridiculous that funding has taken this long to wrap up your transaction. Our company recently took a seven figure hit on a sale-leaseback transaction due to fraud on behalf of the borrower. As a consequence every sale-leaseback is being checked and re-checked which is why this process has been so drawn out,

Regardless, this is not fair to you and I know it interferes with your business plans. But we have a few choices as follows:

“1.) You cancel the transaction and we will promptly refund your deposit.

“2.) Continue to wait out funding, as I know there is not any fraud involved in your

loan.

“3.) Secure another approval.

“The easiest choice is to refund your deposit, but after investing in so much time with each other I would prefer you not to exercise this option. What I would suggest is pursuing another approval, while waiting funding out. I will get your transaction funded, but your input is needed. I can only imagine how frustrating this is for you, as its

incredibly frustrating for me.

“I will be in a meeting for a few hours until lunch PST, but will call you as soon as l get out. Please let me know how you want to proceed.”

( name with held )

Deposit not returned to date.

---

#4 Complaint About an Advertiser

An applicant claims not to have received his commission from a funder (discounter/superbroker/lessor) who also advertises in Leasing News.

“I have a dispute with ********* . They are refusing to return my deposit of $5,000. I have an agreement with them to perform within 20 days to secure funding on a leasing sign. They did not. Please advise what shall I do.

My e-mail: *** Mr phone # ****

Your help will be greatly appreciate it.

( name with held )

We asked him to e-mail or fax all the signed documents, and we would obtain

the “other side to the story.” Whether they are an advertiser or not, friend of not,

we will be “independent, unbiased” to the best of our ability, and if the “dispute”

is not resolved, we will print the complaint. Editor

[Headlines]

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Engagement Letters/Forms

Commitment Letter

This form is one of the most widely used in the leasing industry and covers most of the bases. Note: Last sentences about the signatures makes this more a “proposal,” than commitment. If required, these sentences may be removed.

http://www.two.leasingnews.org/loose_files/Generic%20commit%20Letter.DOC

Master Lease Commitment Letter

This is for a “master lease,” when they will be other schedules, dates of delivery and acceptance, and interim rent is to be imposed on the “funded” portion(s.) Note: Last sentences about the signatures makes this more a “proposal,” than commitment. If required, these sentences may be removed.

http://www.two.leasingnews.org/loose_files/Master%20Lease%20Commit%20Letter.doc

Lease Application Fee Agreement

This is a form that you can make into a template. First use “find, replace” to

insert your name. It’s purpose is generic, aimed at earning money for

your time and expenses if a lease does not move forward.

http://www.two.leasingnews.org/loose_files/Lease_app_agreement.rtf

Authorization to Find a Lender

This form was designed for use in the State of California, where arranging for a loan

requires a license. Real Estate and mortgage brokers may not need a California Financial Lender’s License, as well financial institutions. Any third party “agent” does need

the license. This may also apply in other states.

You can make a template on this form very easily. It primarily purpose is for real estate secured loans , equipment finance agreements, and “sale/leaseback” type situations.

http://www.two.leasingnews.org/loose_files/Authorization_to_find_lender.rtf

The form to allow for specific expenses being developed by Ken Greene,Esq. is

in the process of being reviewed by the sponsors, and attorneys Leasing News

has contacted.

Here are a list of the sponsors of the Greene Engagement Letter:

schriest@sbcglobal.net

Steve Chriest

Diablo Capital

1710 Les Trampas Rd.
Alamo, California 94507

925-570-5459

bcarlile@********-partners.com

Ben Carlile
******** Partners Incorporate

999 Fifth Avenue, Suite 300

San Rafael, Ca 94901

(415)257-4200

pateb@balboacapital.com

Patrick Byrne

Balboa Capital

2010 Main Street 11th Floor

Irvine, Ca. 92614

949.756.0800

Whawkins@bancpartners.com

Warren Hawkins
Bank Partners

2496 Rocky Ridge Road

Box 43738

Alabama, Ca. 35243

800-456-6639

gsaulter@chaseindustries.com

Gary Saulter
Chase Industries 109 Ottawa Ave.
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
(616) 459-6800

gtrebels@ifccredit.com

Gary Trebels, CLP
8700 Waukegan Road
Suite 100
Morton Grove, IL 60053-2103
(847) 663-6700

tkabot@lease-it.com

Theresa Kabot
Kabot Commercial Leasing

7043 - 12th Ave., N.W.
Seattle, WA 98117

206) 301-9960

clester@lpifinancial.com

Charlie Lester
LPI Financial Services

3535 Roswell Road Suite 62

Marietta, GA 30062

800-573-7796

blarsen@leasingpartnerscapital.com

Bruce Larsen

Leasing Partners Capital

1211 Hamburg Turnpike

Wayne, New Jersey 07470

(973)709-01181 1

211 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, New Jersey 07470973)709-01

blarsen@leasingpartnerscapital.com

Bruce Larkins
Geneva Capital LLC

522 1/2 Broadway Street
Alexandria, MN 56308

800.408.9352

[Headlines]

Accounting: PricewaterhouseCoopers seeks executives with experience in equipment leasing to help clients improve their leasing businesses by assessing "as is" conditions and designing and implementing solutions to operational issues. PwC also seeks CPA's with a broad based knowledge of FAS13 and familiarity with accounting for leases with simple and complex transaction structures.
Email: anthony.g.anderson@us.pwc.com

About the Company: PricewaterhouseCoopers, New York, NY.

"Leasing Coalition to Push Alternative SILO Proposal"

ELT News (Equipment Leasing Association)

Lobbyist Kenneth Kies plans to send an alternative proposal to federal lawmakers later this week regarding restrictions on tax-advantaged sale-in, lease-out (SILO) deals on behalf of the Big-Ticket Leasing Coalition.

Proposals pending in the Senate and House would greatly limit the deals and the tax advantages associated with them, but the coalition's alternative proposal is designed to soften the blow of these pending curbs while still raising revenue for the federal government.

Instead of denying tax benefits for the leasing companies, the alternative proposal would increase the amount of risk associated with the deals, in response to criticism that the taxable entities involved shoulder no real capital or risk burdens.

Under the terms of SILO deals, a local government or other tax-exempt organization sells assets such as technology or equipment to a corporation, which then claims a federal deduction for the depreciated cost of the assets before leasing them back to the municipality.

While some local governments favor the deals because they help finance infrastructure projects, both Treasury officials and congressional lawmakers have criticized SILOs as tax shelters that deprive the government of income tax revenue.

A pending proposal in the Senate would cut federal tax benefits for SILO deals entered into by Nov. 18, 2003, while another proposal in the House would affect deals after Feb. 12, 2004.

Kies says that if lawmakers do not consider the coalition's alternative proposal, leasing firms would be forced to increase the costs of leasing deals with tax-exempt entities in anticipation of legislation curbing the tax benefits of such deals.

"The consequence of that is the industry will basically be frozen," says Kies.

[Headlines]

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"Biz Loans: Demand Up, Standards Down"

ELT News (Equipment Leasing Association)

A Federal Reserve survey shows a rise in loan demand for the first time in three years.

The Fed polled senior loan officers at 56 domestic and 21 foreign banks. Over 20 percent of domestic banks reported increased demand for commercial and industrial loans from small firms, and 11 percent reported increased demand from large and middle-market firms.

Meanwhile, 18 percent of domestic banks said they have lowered their lending standards on commercial and industrial loans for large and middle-market firms, and 11 percent said they have lowered their lending standards for small firms.

[Headlines]

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Venture Capital Stays The Course in Q1 2004 With $4.6 Billion Invested

http://www.nvca.org/pdf/Q104MTReleaseEmbargoFINAL.pdf

[Headlines]

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NetBank Announces Expanded ATM Network

Bank Technology Weekly News

Customers of Internet bank NetBank will now have access to more than 5,000 NetBank ATMs across the country.

The bank has announced that it is in the process of branding the ATMs that were purchased its acquisition of Financial Technologies, Inc. last year.

A bank representative says the expanded network, which now ranks as the fourth-largest of any bank in the country, will give retail and small business customers even greater access to their funds and will build more brand awareness.

The NetBank ATM network covers all 50 states and will be implemented in phases according to the regions with the highest concentrations of NetBank customers.

[Headlines]

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### Press Release ##############################

NetBank Reports Leasing Business (Republic ) Down 12%

(Loan Production "flat"---- The commercial equipment leasing business had production of $39 million, a decrease of $5.2 million or 12% )

ATLANTA----NetBank, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTBK), parent company of the country's first commercially successful Internet bank, NetBank(R) (www.netbank.com), reported earnings for the first quarter of 2004.

Net income totaled $9.4 million or $.20 per share for the first quarter, compared to $10.7 million or $.22 per share for the same period a year ago. Based on the company's strong financial position, the board of directors declared a dividend of $.02 per share payable to shareholders of record on May 15, 2004. The dividend will be disbursed on June 15, 2004.

Deposits totaled $2.6 billion, a quarter-over-quarter increase of $106 million or 17% on an annualized basis. Growth was centered in small business accounts and escrow funds for our mortgage servicing operations. Small business deposits grew by $6.6 million during the quarter or 100% on an annualized basis. The $47 million decrease in retail deposits was primarily in single-service or non-core CD account relationships. The bank continues to refine its pricing to attract and retain multi-product relationships that produce value for both the customer and the bank. Although overall retail deposits declined, average balances in core transactional accounts increased over the quarter. The average retail checking balance at quarter-end was $2,210, an increase of $147. The average retail money market balance totaled $15,858, up $81.

Updates on other key performance statistics include the following:

-- The indirect auto lending operation generated $87 million in

loans, an increase of $32 million or 59% from last quarter

-- The commercial equipment leasing business had production of

$39 million, a decrease of $5.2 million or 12%

-- The core servicing portfolio grew to $13.1 billion, up $670

million or 5% from last quarter and up $5.3 billion or 68%

from a year ago

There have been no material changes in our litigation over leases originated by Commercial Money Center, Inc. (CMC). Based on legal expenses and unrealized income, the CMC matter affected first quarter earnings by $1.3 million, pre-tax, or $.02 per share, after tax. Our case against the CMC sureties remains strong, and we are in the process of amending our complaint to pursue fraud and unfair trade claims that would entitle us to treble damages. The sureties are Illinois Union Insurance Company, an affiliate of ACE INA Group (NYSE:ACE); Safeco Insurance Company, an affiliate of Safeco (Nasdaq:SAFC); and Royal Indemnity Company, an affiliate of Royal and Sun Alliance Group (NYSE:RSA).

Additional highlights of the quarter include:

-- Banking segment results comprised 30% of earnings

-- A quarter-over-quarter increase in bank deposits of $106

million or 17% on an annualized basis

-- Average earning assets at the bank of $4.2 billion, a $339

million increase from last quarter, fueled mostly by the

retention of select company-originated loans and leases

-- Total loan production of $3.3 billion, essentially flat from

the previous quarter

-- Total loan sales of $3.8 billion, a quarter-over-quarter

decrease of $185 million

-- An annualized balance sheet turn of 3.3 times

Management repurchased 672,100 shares of the company's common stock during the quarter. The average price paid per share was $12.26. The board of directors has subsequently increased the buy back authorization by one million shares. Along with shares still available under previous authorizations, management currently has approval to repurchase approximately 1.3 million shares. Purchases may be made in the open market or through private transactions.

With this quarter's earnings announcement, the company introduced a revised financial format to break out results within its transaction processing operations as a segment. The mortgage segment was renamed "Financial Intermediary" to better reflect the scope of activity envisioned within this segment. In addition to mortgages and mortgage-backed securities, the company plans to originate and deliver non-mortgage assets into the capital markets as part of this operation. Financial results related to the company's mortgage servicing portfolio were moved into the banking segment since the company views its mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) as a strategic, long-term asset. The actual servicing operation was placed into the transaction processing segment since it services loans for third parties as well as intra-company businesses.

All segment tables within this release report results under the revised format to provide quarter-over-quarter comparisons. The company also updated the supplemental data that it posts to the Web site to conform to the new format.

Management Commentary

"This quarter's results show the progress we're making in diversifying the company's revenue and only hint at the potential that lies ahead," said Douglas K. Freeman, chairman and chief executive officer. "We continue to work toward a balanced business model with counter-cyclical levers and stable, annuity-like income sources. Our banking segment reported impressive results that allowed us to manage through the difficult environment that we faced in our conforming mortgage operation as volumes declined and pricing pressures increased."

"The quarter shaped up fairly close to our expectations," said Steven F. Herbert, chief finance executive. "Profitability in our financial intermediary operations came under significant pressure as rates moved higher early in the quarter and mortgage lock activity diminished. Secondary market margins were also affected by aggressive pricing behavior within the correspondent channel. Improving fundamentals within the banking segment and an abatement of impairment charges within the servicing portfolio partially mitigated those challenges."

"We've shared publicly that our goal is to reach a point over the next few years where our earnings are comprised of equal contributions from our three primary operating segments -- banking, financial intermediary and transaction processing," Freeman concluded. "There is still a lot of work to be done, especially in executing our vision within our transaction processing operations. But, this quarter's solid results and a more varied earnings contribution mix between the segments should further encourage our investors and associates. It clearly indicates that we're gaining traction."

Banking Segment

Pre-tax income, before gains on securities and net servicing results, grew to $3.5 million, an increase of $2.7 million or 330% from the previous quarter. This dramatic improvement resulted from two primary factors. Revenues rose by $1.6 million, driven mostly by growth of $339 million in the bank's earnings assets. And, expenses fell by $1.0 million, representing a return to more normalized levels from last quarter's high.

At the bottom line, segment results were affected by a $2.1 million loss, pre-tax, related to the company's mortgage servicing asset and a $3.2 million gain, pre-tax, on the sale of certain securities in the bank's investment portfolio. The sale was part of the company's proactive asset-liability management strategy. The company holds only saleable assets on its balance sheet that management routinely analyzes from a best execution standpoint. Assets are sold at opportune times to mitigate inherent risks.

About NetBank, Inc.

NetBank, Inc. (Nasdaq:NTBK) operates with a revolutionary business model through a diverse group of complementary financial services businesses that leverage technology for more efficient and cost effective delivery of services. Its major subsidiaries include NetBank(R) (www.netbank.com), the country's first commercially successful Internet bank; RBMG, Inc., a wholesale mortgage lender that generates residential mortgages through a nationwide network of independent brokers and correspondent lenders; Market Street Mortgage Corporation, a retail residential mortgage lender that conducts business in 39 states; Meritage Mortgage Corporation, a wholesale mortgage lender that originates non-conforming residential mortgages through a nationwide network of independent brokers; Republic Leasing Company, Inc., a wholesale originator and servicer of commercial business equipment leases; NetInsurance, Inc., an online insurance agency representing some of the nation's leading insurance companies; and NetBank Payment Systems, Inc., a provider of ATM and merchant processing services to small institutions and non-bank retail businesses. NetBank is a Member FDIC. NetBank, RBMG(R), Market Street Mortgage(R) and Meritage(R) are Equal Housing Lenders. About NetBank, Inc.

CONTACT:NetBank, Inc. Matthew Shepherd, 678-942-2683 mshepherd@netbank.com

Full Press Release Available at:
http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=NTBK&script=
417&layout=-6&item_id=520114

[Headlines]

### Press Release ##################################

Mona Janes-Capriglione, CLP Promoted to Executive Vice President

St. Louis, MO

Mona Janes-Capriglione, CLP was recently promoted from Vice President of Sales to Executive Vice President. Mona, with her sixteen years of experience in the equipment leasing industry, has been and is a driving force in the success of Wildwood Financial. Her promotion will give her additional responsibility in handling the overall daily operations of the company.

[Headlines]

#### Press Release #################################

Wildwood Financial Moves to a New, State-of-the-Art Corporate Headquarters

St. Louis, MO,

Wildwood Financial Group, Ltd. just completed the construction of their new corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO. The new facility includes a state-of-the-art corporate training and technology center. Wildwood’s new facility is located at 2646 Highway 109, Suite 101 Wildwood, MO 63040. Phone (636)405-5100 Fax (877)235-0808.

Contact:

Bob Baker, CLP

Wildwood Financial Group, Ltd.

800-373-3581

877-235-0808

baker@wildwoodfinancial.com

www.wildwoodfinancial.com

[Headlines]

#### Press Release ###################################

Norvergence Names New Subsidiary Chief Financial Officer

(note: related stories at HP Financial:

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/March%202003/03-27-03.htm#hp

http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Weekly_Report-10-15.htm

http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/October%202003/10-17-03.htm#nove

Robert C. Arnold Brings Over 20 Years of Experience to Norvergence Capital

NEWARK, N.J., -- Norvergence Inc., a Newark-based equipment systems and leasing company, recently named Robert C. Arnold to the position of Chief Financial Officer for Norvergence Capital, a wholly owned financial services subsidiary of Norvergence Inc.

Norvergence Capital, slated to begin operations in June of this year, will provide financing to Norvergence customers who have been approved for its MATRIX(TM) line of cost savings solutions.

Mr. Arnold comes to Norvergence Capital from HP Financial Services, where he was the Finance Director for North America. At HP Financial Services, he was responsible for all financial functions and was instrumental in integrating the HP and Compaq Financial services portfolios. Mr. Arnold was part of management team that launched Compaq Financial Services in 1997.

Prior to his employment at HP Financial Services, Mr. Arnold was the Chief Accounting Officer at Computer Leasing, Inc., a firm which grew to be one of the largest independent lessors during his 13-year tenure.

Mr. Arnold is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA, New Jersey Society of Public Accountants, Financial Executives International and the Institute of Management Accountants.

About Norvergence:

Norvergence is a technology company providing advanced telecommunication and information technology solutions for growing businesses nationwide. Norvergence has current offerings that will drastically reduce customers' total telecommunication and information technology monthly expenditures. Founded in 2001, Norvergence currently has 1,800 employees in 32 offices nationwide. Norvergence Capital, LLC, will begin financing Norvergence customers in June 2004.

For more information on all of the NorVergence Matrix(TM) solutions, please visit us at: www.norvergence.com or www.norvergencematrix.com

For information on the NorVergence 800 Direct Solutions, please go to: www.norvergencephonesystems.com or www.norvergencepbx.com

For information on integrated telephone systems, please visit us at: www.norvergencesoho.com or www.norvergencesolutions.com

For information on Norvergence Capital, please visit us at: www.norvcapital.com

Norvergence Matrix(TM) CCS, Matrix(TM) SOHO and Matrix(TM) ATM Voice Gateway are all registered trademarks of Norvergence, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Norvergence Inc.

CO: Norvergence Inc.; Norvergence Capital

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ORIX Announces Annual Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2004

TOKYO----ORIX Corporation (TSE:8591) (NYSE:IX), a leading integrated financial services group, announced that revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004 increased 6% year on year to 720,773 million yen, income before income taxes(1) rose 126% to 102,157 million yen, and net income grew 79% to 54,020 million yen.

Revenues for "direct financing leases" and "interest on loans and investment securities" were down compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year as ORIX continued to focus on the profitability of each transaction and carefully selected new assets. However, revenues from "operating leases" increased due mainly to improvements in the precision measuring equipment rental and automobile rental businesses, "residential condominium sales" grew due to the increase in the number of condominiums sold to buyers, while "brokerage commissions and net gains on investment securities" also increased as a result of improvements in the stock and bond markets. In addition, lower "interest expense" and fewer "write-downs of long-lived assets" and "write-downs of securities," and an increase in "equity in net income of affiliates" contributed to the significantly higher earnings.

The "Equipment Operating Leases" segment had higher segment profits thanks to improved profitability of the precision measuring and other equipment rental operations, while the "Real Estate" segment also did well with contributions from gains from the sale of office buildings and the condominium development business. The "Life Insurance" segment posted higher earnings as a result of the continued shift to highly profitable insurance-only life insurance products. In the "Asia and Oceania" segment, the contribution from an equity method affiliate and the strong performance of the automobile leasing operations of a number of companies in the region added to segment profits, while "The Americas" segment posted higher profits largely as a result of lower provisions and fewer write-downs of securities.

Operating assets were down 6% to 4,849,194 million yen and total assets were also down 5% to 5,624,957 million yen compared to March 31, 2003 due to our continued attempt to grow profits without increasing assets. Shareholders' equity increased 12% on March 31, 2003 to 564,047 million yen and the shareholders' equity ratio was 10.0% compared to 8.5% at March 31, 2003. ROE rose from 6.0% to 10.1% and ROA improved from 0.49% to 0.93% compared to the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003.

For details on the annual earnings announcement please access "Annual Results 2004/3" and "Analysis of Annual Quarter Results 2004/3" from ORIX's web site at: www.orix.co.jp/grp/ir_e/data/report/index.htm.

About ORIX

ORIX Corporation (TSE:8591) (NYSE:IX) is an integrated financial services group based in Tokyo, Japan, providing innovative value-added products and services to both corporate and retail customers. With operations in 23 countries worldwide, ORIX's activities include: leasing, corporate finance, real estate-related finance and development, life insurance, and investment and retail banking. For more details, please visit our web site at: www.orix.co.jp/grp/index_e.htm.

These documents may contain forward-looking statements about expected future events and financial results that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those described under "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:ORIX Corporation Leslie Hoy, +81-3-5419-5102 email: orixir@orix.co.jp URL: www.orix.co.jp/grp/index_e.htm

SOURCE: ORIX Corporation

(releated Orix stories at: http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Orix.htm )

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