Mission Statement

Senior Credit Officer experienced in middle-market leasing; structured, vendor and 3rd party to the fortune 1000. Proactive team builder, originations capable with strong work ethic. Email: kyletrust@hotmail.com

Senior Management: Baltimore, MD

25 year veteran of commercial and equipment leasing seeking a senior management position with leasing or asset based financing company in the southeast (Florida preferred) Email: kellogg_md@yahoo.com

Senior Management: Chicago, Illinois

Twenty plus years. Senior sales and marketing management most recently Building "businesses" from scratch. Leveraging leadership, administrative, operations, financial, auditing background. WANTED: challenging new opportunity. Email: edok@sbcglobal.net

Senior Management: Denver, CO. Fortune 500 GM/SVP wants to team up with aggressive lender looking for Western expansion mid-market equip. finance/leasing. 20+ years experience within Rocky Mountain/Southwest and Ca markets. Email: legal@csotn.com

Senior Managment: Irvine, CA.

Credit executive, portfolio manager and syndication facilitator. Extensive business building experience in small and mid-ticket operations. Highly innovative. Fortune 100 audit and technology skills. Bottom-line manager. Email: lenhubbard@bigfoot.com

Senior Management: Long Island, NY

Degree Banking/Finance. 13 years leasing exp. Now prez young leasing company where promises were not met. Interested in joining established firm with future. Email:bob33483@yahoo.com

Senior Management: Portfolio Management Consultant; 25+years experience in Collections, Customer Satisfaction, Asset Management, Recoveries, Continuous Process Improvement, Back end Revenue Generation, Cost per Collection Analysis. $5+Billion Portfolio expertise. Email: efgefg@rogers.com

Senior Management: San Francisco, CA., 25 years experience w/global leasing company, sales,marketing,business dev., P&L responsibility, asset mgmt, brokering and re-marketing. Interested in joining an est. firm with a future. Email:rcsteyer@yahoo.com

Senior Management: Somerville, NJ.

28 year veteran in Construction Equipment/Transportation.

Full P&L responsibility, profit driven, team builder, sales manager, strong portfolio management skills. Will consider relocation. email: leasingman_95@hotmail.com

Senior Management: Tampa FL.20+ years of small to middle ticket finance, operations and sales management experience. Outstanding record of revenue enhancement, operational improvement and team development. Email: rlindcpa@earthlink.net

Full listing of 89 job wanted ads at: http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

[Headlines]

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DVI Case Could Yield Results Today

ABS Net

A court hearing today could decide the fate of DVI Financial's troubled securitization trusts, and the outcome could affect the degree to which other issuing entities are insulated from the companies that create them.

The Delaware bankruptcy court holding the hearing is expected to approve a long-delayed transfer of servicing duties on the medical-equipment leases backing DVI's issues to Lyons Financial, a unit of trustee U.S. Bank. Because bankrupt DVI is currently servicing the credits, it's likely that the transfer will help abate massive collateral delinquencies and help bondholders collect some of the $1.6 billion that they are owed.

However, it's possible that the servicing transfer could be delayed by numerous lawsuits that DVI's unsecured creditors filed this week. The plaintiffs, who are seeking to break open the bankruptcy-remote trusts to collect on DVI's debts, oppose the transfer because such a move would make it harder for them to seek claims from the securitization trusts in the future. Rulings are expected next week.

Unsecured creditors usually don't take that step, but DVI's complicated legal structure opened the door for such actions. Even if the lawsuits don't delay the servicing transfer, the threat they pose could influence the structuring of future securitization trusts. If a decision comes down in the creditors' favor, it could increase other securitization trusts' exposures to similar claims.

The plaintiffs in the DVI case include equipment vendors and manufacturers, a municipality owed taxes by DVI and parties that have filed separate suits against former DVI officials. In one action, equipment manufacturer Toshiba America called the servicing transfer "unconstitutional," complaining that it could strip the company of its ability to recover money it is owed - even though DVI bondholders would still receive payments tied to leases on Toshiba's equipment.

Also scheduled are rulings on lawsuits that DVI's unsecured creditors filed in November and December. The November suit challenged DVI's ability to swap poorly performing leases out of its securitization vehicles for stronger collateral. The December action sought to block holders of bonds from DVI Business Credit Receivables Corp. from liquidating the deals' underlying assets.

(Leasing News was the first to break the DVI story; all from insiders.

There are several lawsuits in progress.

( http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/DVI_Fraud_cont.htm )

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What Lessors Are Saying About Value-Added Services

ELA News On Line

Over the last year offering value-added services have been promoted within the leasing industry as a way to increase business and earn more in the face of narrowing margins. ELA asked lessors how they are incorporating value-add services into their service offerings, and what results they’re seeing. Overall, it seems lessors are combining solid industry knowledge, personal service and technology to create the most effective value-adds for their customers.

Chris Bucher, Hibernia National Bank, said his firm has technology-based value added services in development and hopes to deploy them by mid-year. Though he hasn’t experienced a demand from leasing customers for value-added services, Bucher believes in being proactive. He sees the leasing arm of Hibernia offering value-adds as an alignment with Hibernia Bank’s value-added services, and part of an overall trend in the banking industry to add value and differentiate. “The technology is within our reach, so we’re leveraging it,” Bucher said.

Rich Miller, IDB Leasing, said that since IDB’s percentage of direct leasing customers is relatively small, they don’t do much in the way of value-added services beyond correspondence through monthly statements. Although they have considered offering insurance products, Miller said, “Value-adds are something to think about and we could be doing more, but they’re not something we’re focusing on.”

At Capital Advance Leasing, Scott McCullum finds relationship responsiveness and continual communications are fundamental value-adds which he believes many lessors are missing in their services. One of Capital Advance Leasing’s most successful value-adds has been implementing weekly customer e-mail updates. “That little step that we implemented has had huge impact with customers,” said McCullum. The reaction from lessees of Capital Advance’s communicative nature has been such that they look to Capital Advance in a wider advisory capacity for anything from new bank lines to insurance company recommendations.

Steve Trollope, Arrow Capital Corporation, strongly believes that valued-added services considerably strengthen their competitive advantages in acquiring new vendor business, as well as maintaining existing vendor partner relationships. He notes that traditional value-added services such as high service levels, fast credit approval, and simple documentation are no longer primary value-add metrics. Trollope said, “While they are important, other value-add services are increasingly becoming important such as web-based vendor program capabilities. Arrow Capital presently provides its vendor partners with comprehensive web-based finance program solutions. Offering this particular value-added service strongly differentiates us from our competition and truly helps us “win” business.”

Rick Zywotko of Computer Connection Corporation, a remarketer of networking equipment (WAN), offered value-added services he believes resonate with their customers. Computer Connection charges no fees for auditing or storage (within reasonable limits), and they maximize return on the asset at lease end, which they are able to achieve because of their knowledge of the networking equipment space, longevity and reputation. “We are celebrating 30 years in business this summer—a considerable milestone in the computer equipment space—and our commitment to quality is key to the value-added services that our customers absolutely appreciate,” said Zywotko.

According to Patrick Byrne, Balboa Capital Corporation, in 2004 his firm is focusing on value-adds that target their existing customers. He noted, “We are currently in the process of introducing new products and services to improve customer retention by increasing convenience, improving billing and asset management, and meeting long-term customer needs.” This company-wide effort includes sales, marketing, operations, and customer support. He added, “We have established a lofty goal for repeat business in the coming year and will be closely monitoring our success rate.”

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Welch and Wetlaufer Photograph

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/02/04/business/04JACK.jpg

Marina Garnier, photographer, New York Times.

Here is John F. Welch Jr., the former chairman of General Electric, with his fiancée, Suzy Wetlaufer, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last year. Mr. Welch has a deal with HarperCollins, including an advance said to be $4 million, to produce a how-to book on business with the title "Winning. See News Briefs.

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Weekly Bulletin Board Complaint Report

“I am writing as a warning on a current scam taking place by ************. I found this company on the internet under a search for equipment leasing & financing at ************. The website was very professional and prompted me to call. I talked with rep ******** who seemed very knowledgeable about leasing and did not pressure sell. He told me that in order to start the lease process that I would have to send an up front deposit which would apply toward my first payment if approved and would be returned if I was denied financing. I questioned this practice and he assured me this was an industry standard practice and that they needed a monetary commitment, so I would not take my business elsewhere after they put in all the effort on my lease. So I was still skeptical and called the Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce that are listed on their literature about their membership status. ******checked out as a long time member in good standing, so I felt confident that I could send the deposit, and felt that it would speed up the process.”

The broker who wrote this was asked for copies of the check, copies

of literature, or any agreements. The complaint was made in November. The broker has never returned e-mails.

2. This started in early December and concerns a major leasing company in California who’s salesman approved a lease for $150,000 for a company with a proposal letter. Only $36,000 was funded, and through a third leasing company, not theirs, and they later denied the remaining amount.

The problem stems that the vendor received a copy of an approval, shipped the equipment, received $36,000 for one part of the system, and now is suing the “lessee” for the remainder.

The complaint centers on whether the leasing company actually made an approval to the lessee for $150,000. Whether the vendor should have shipped on an approval, or order for part of the system, is not the complaint.

In finally receiving and reviewing all the documents, hearing from

both sides, the applicant admitted in a fax “ I was stupid because

I now see “the first approval had no dollar amount on it, in addition, there was a second approval for the remainder of the equipment, but he did not like the terms and conditions. The vendor shipped without any purchase order from either party, and after waiting two years, was now suing the applicant for payment for parts II and II to the full

system. The applicant asked what he could do. An SBA loan

was recommended, if he could apply, as the title at best was

not clear and it was not a lease/finance situation.

3. From late December: A broker has a signed commitment letter and was successful in getting the lease approved, but the approval is not the same as the commitment letter. It is higher. The price of the equipment changes, and so did the lease rate.

The broker says he earned the money because he got the lease approved. A day before we were to print the complaint, the broker

sent a cashier’s check by Federal Express, return all advance money.

4. A telephone call from an applicant regarding finding his “leasing

company” listed on our complaint bulletin board, and the party

had not returned his $8,000. He wanted to know more about

the original complaint. We told him what we required, and he

stated he was going to let the “leasing company” know he would

be filing a complaint. We have not heard back or received

the documents we requested.

5. Physician found Leasing News by going on Google and typing

in “where to file fraudulent leasing complaint.” He said we came

up number one. We explained the procedure, advised he tell

the party he would be filing a complaint. Have not heard back

from the Physician. This was three weeks ago.

6. It appears the person named in the alleged false employment application was arrested as we received a copy of the public

arrest document from a reader. It appears Rick Wilbur dodged another bullet.

Richard Wilbur

Managing Partner

Media Capital Associates, LLC

rick@mediacap.com

(480) 941-8558 ext #104

[Headlines]

Charlie Lester Joins Group to Create New Agreement Form

“LPI Financial Services will be glad to participate in the fund to

develop the standard proposal agreement on behalf of LPI and the brokers we

work with. This is the most controversial area of our business and having a

standard format would give all of us a more comfortable feeling that we have

done our best to meet the letter and intent of the law.

“Thanks to you and Ken Greene for supporting this effort. How about 4 installments of $50 each? If you charge interim rents, you could net up $43 or more. Add an Evergreen

and you can make another $200. Maybe the unscrupulous use of interim rents

and Evergreens by some funding sources could be your next project.

“We will forward LPI's proposal to Ken for review.”

Charlie Lester

LPI Financial Services

clester@lpifinancial.com

Here are others that have joined the effort to date:

Ben Carlile

Allegiant Partners Incorporated

Warren Hawkins

Bank Partners

Paul Behechti

Bridge Capital Leasing

Gary Saulter

Chase Industries

Gary Trebels, CLP

Vice-President

IFC Credit Corporation

Theresa Kabot

Kabot Commercial Leasing

The people who are donating $200 to this effort, also are presenting the documents their company uses today, and their experience. The form will be generic, and hopefully

valid in most states. It certainly will spell out what is "earned"

for working on an application.

If you have the faith that if the lease does not go through, you

will return all the money, that is your choice.

If you want to be remunerated for your time and effort, we

hope to make this form available "for free" to all readers,

once we find six more who want to "donate" $200 to this effort.

While we do not want to give legal advice, particularly realizing that states differ and there are also licensing issue, we asked Ken Greene for some "generic" help.

He has agreed to perform this service, review the forms, and then devise a "generic one" to help brokers retain expenses, particularly if an application is not approved or terms and conditions change.

"I am glad to help if a pool of leasing companies would like to get together and hire me to put together a thorough form. It can still be simple, but it should be internally consistent and not appear to be punitive in nature."

Ken

Kenneth C. Greene

Law Offices of Kenneth C. Greene

980 Magnolia Avenue Suite 6C

Larkspur, CA 94939

Vox: 415 461 3777

Fax: 415 461 3733

E-Mail: keng@kengreenelaw.com

Website: www.kengreenelaw.com

For those who participate, Ken Greene is willing to do extra work for a minimal fee on the form for their specific needs. Each company will sign an agreement regarding this form to cover expenses incurred should a lease not go forward, plus give other clauses for specific terms and conditions to be covered in the proposal. Should we not obtain the $2,000 needed, all money will be returned. As per our policy, we also reserve the right to refuse a sponsorship.

[Headlines]

Leasing News Advisory Board

The Leasing News Advisory Board is chosen by the publisher. They are not financially compensated. They participate in the overall direction of our electronic newspaper. As per a “printed” newspaper procedure, it is the editor's sole discretion as to what is printed and not printed; not the board of directors or any advisory board

The purpose is to give more business advice, procedural viewpoint, help promote the

growth of Leasing News, contribute their experience and knowledge toward the

policy and mission; to help this electronic newspaper grow.

Here is our current Advisory Board:

http://www.leasingnews.org/editorial_staff.htm

Bob Baker, CLP

Wildwood Financial Group

Ellisville, Missouri

Bob Baker has been in the finance and leasing business for over 30 years and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the United Association of Equipment Leasing (UAEL), after serving four years as a regional chair and serving on both the Education and the Nomination-and-Election Committees. He was the 33rd individual to receive CLP (Certified Leasing Professional) certification from the UAEL, and remains one of fewer than 233 leasing professionals who have received this recognition.

Mr. Baker has served on the advisory boards of the Manifest Group, Business Credit Leasing and participated in the annual round table for Colonial Pacific Leasing. He has also served in a broad spectrum of leasing positions, including VP of Sales, VP of Operations, as well as President of his own leasing company.

He also served as educational chairman of the National Association of Equipment Lease Brokers (NAELB) and is an active member of the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors (EAEL); he has been published numerous times in many equipment leasing journals.

---

Steve Crane, CLP

Bank of the West

Walnut Creek, California

Steve Crane has been in the equipment leasing industry for over 22 years. He currently holds the position of Vice President and Marketing Manager for Bank of the West in the San Francisco area, where he has been for 9 years. Prior to this, Steve spent 9 years as a principal in Taylor Financial, an equipment lessor in Oakland, California. He has also worked at CIT, Ingersoll-Rand Financial and Westinghouse Credit in various capacities. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the California State University, Sacramento in Finance and Marketing and earned his Certified Lease Professional (CLP) designation in 1999.

-----

Phil Dushay

Global Financial Services

Manhattan, New York

Phil Dushay was born in Brooklyn, New York, started in the importing business, and from a friend who was in the automobile leasing business, joined him to develop equipment leasing. He spun the company off in 1980 to start Global Financial Services in Manhattan, not specializing in any specific field although the company developed a following in non-profit and various church and religious organizations throughout the United States. In 1989, he expanded into other financial products as his customers were asking for assistance in the growth of their companies. In 2003, he created a new division to train independent salesmen in all the aspects of finance, including leasing ,accounts receivable financing, business acquisitions, debt restructuring, working and venture capital. His students have found great success and he finds most of his time now to developing entrepreneurs, who also utilize his knowledge and sources of funds.

He has been married to his wife Laurie for 34 years. They have three children; two girls and a boy. Both of his daughters are married. They have four grandchildren (three girls and a boy aged 8, 5, 3 and two weeks.) His son Marc has worked for Global Financial Service for eight years.

Ken Greene, Esq.

Larkspur, California

Kenneth Greene, founder and principal of the firm received his B. A, at
Brandeis University, located in Waltham, MA, graduating cum laude. He
received his J.D. at Santa Clara University in 1980, also graduating
cum laude.

Mr. Greene began his leasing career with BankAmerilease, then practiced
with several firms prior to establishing his own practice. He has been
associated with the Equipment Leasing Association ("ELA"), United Association of
Equipment Leasing ("UAEL"), Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors
("EAEL"), California Bankruptcy Forum ("CBF"), and American Bankruptcy
Institute ("ABI"). He has served twice on the Board of Directors of
UAEL, and has also been its Legal Committee Chairman, Legal Line Editor, and
Regional Committee Chair. He also currently serves on the ELA Service
Providers Business Counsel for 2001-2002, and served as the UAEL Chair
of the Spring Education Conference in San Francisco for the year 2000.

Mr. Greene is a frequent writer and lecturer on matters of leasing law
and other related legal issues. He is an acknowledged contributor on
bankruptcy issues to Miller & Starr, California Real Estate 2d (Bancroft Whitney),
contributed to UAEL'S Leasing Professionals' Handbook, the Monitor, and
has been a frequent contributor to UAEL's Newsline. He lectures on leasing
law and documentation, litigation and collection matters, and has produced
and presented seminars to leasing companies on enhancing the
attorney-client relationship. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for Leasing
News. He has also instructed on law and documentation for the UAEL CLP
Academy, and has taught nationally for Euromoney Lease Training.

Mr. Greene has also recently launched his entertainment practice, has
formed a production company, and is involved in working with artists,
including musicians, actors, and writers, with respect to legal , as
well as business matters. He is also active in civic matters as well, having
served on the Board of Directors of the Marin Symphony Orchestra and
participating in numerous other community affairs and events. He has been married to his wife Barbara for 20 years, and is the very proud father of Alex, 14 (and 5'11"!) and beautiful Gigi, 12.

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Bruce Kropschot

Vero Beach, Florida

Bruce Kropschot is President of Kropschot Financial Services of Vero Beach, Florida, a merger and acquisition advisory firm for the equipment leasing and financing industry, which he founded in 1986.

Mr. Kropschot has been active in the equipment leasing industry for 30 years and has served as a senior executive of 3 large leasing companies. Kropschot Financial Services has arranged the sale of over 130 equipment leasing and specialty finance businesses and numerous portfolios.

The firm also arranges lease funding, subordinated debt and equity for leasing companies and performs business valuations.

Mr. Kropschot is a CPA and holds BBA and MBA degrees in accounting and finance from the University of Michigan.

He has served on the Board of Directors of Equipment Leasing Association, Eastern Association of Equipment Leasing and United Association of Equipment Leasing.

---

Fred St. Laurent

Z Resource Group

Atlanta, Georgia

Fred St Laurent is a seasoned marketing professional with a real understanding of the Financial Services Industry. Having been a member of Equipment Leasing Association, United Association of Equipment Leasing and National Association of Equipment Leasing and an active member of the Leasing News Advisory Board, he has been a participant in many forums on behalf of ethics related issues, and has published articles and spoken publicly about his views concerning topics related to the future of the Industry.

He began his recruiting career being trained in the trenches as a Project Coordinator with Management Recruiters International, learning from thousands of financial professionals before being promoted to a Senior National Recruiter. He has been mentored under some of the best Financial Professionals and Recruiters in the industry. His relationships are structured as partnerships with the goal of building highly productive teams. He has a depth of sales management experience, having developed marketing plans, hired and trained sales teams, and has a firm grasp on what elements are required to create an environment of success for both clients and candidates.

Bob Teichman, CLP

Teichman Financial Training

Sausalito, California

Bob Teichman, CLP was born in New York. After attending the High School of Music & Art and the New York College of Music, he received his undergraduate degree from Columbia College. He pursued his graduate studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

He started in automotive leasing in 1963 in sales, then moved into equipment leasing in the late 1960’s. For over 20 years he provided funding for leasing companies as an officer of both bank and non-bank lenders. Along the way, he started several successful leasing companies. His company, Teichman Financial Training, located in Sausalito, California, was founded in 1998 and provides lease education and consulting services to lessors, funders, brokers and other members of the financial community.

He is active in the United Association of Equipment Leasing (“UAEL”). For three years he was the Chairman of their Education Committee with responsibility for the Certification Program and Educational Programs. He was also a member of other committees including the Standards Committee. Bob recently finished serving his fourth year as a member of UAEL's Board of Directors.

Bob is a frequent speaker at leasing industry events, and has written articles for UAEL’s Newsline and other industry publications. He is a co-author of the Leasing Professional’s Handbook.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the CLP Foundation.

Ginny Young
Brava Capital
Orange, California

Ginny is the owner of Brava Capital which is a commercial finance
company in Orange, CA which specializes in franchise financing. Brava
was started in 1995 after Ginny sold her 50% share of Pacific Funding
Group, Inc.(PFG) ,to her partner. PFG specialized in franchise finance
as well. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Topa Thrift and Loan
She was a very active member of the United Association of Equipment
Leasing having chaired various committees, worked on regional committees,
speaker/panelist at annual conferences, '99 ACE Conference Chair, membership chairman, and served on the Board of Directors for 4 years. She has a BS in psychology form UCLA.

Leasing News Policy ( on our web site and printed in every edition

of our e-mail:)

http://www.leasingnews.org/policy.htm

Our Mission:

http://www.leasingnews.org/Mission_Statement.htm

[Headlines]

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

Current Openings

Account Excecutives
Contract Administrator

Sales Representatives

Account Executives

IFC Credit Corporation is seeking Account Executives ready to roll up their sleeves in establishing strategic financing alliances with select vendors and manufacturers in healthcare, industrial and technology marketplace segments. Proven track record of success in equipment financing a must. Specific industry and collateral experience a plus. Hiring now in major markets throughout the country. Email your resume to pmcdermid@ifccredit.com

About the Company: IFC Credit Corporation is located at 8700 Waukegan Rd., Morton Grove,
IL 60053 www.ifccredit.com

[Top]

Contract Administrator

Contract Administrator: Ridgewood, NJ. Position requires admin,. exp,. and includes working w/customers, salespeople, vendors, funding sources and internal sources to document, fund, book and track leases.
Email: twslevin@ffcsi.com

ABOUT THE COMPANY: First Financial Corporate Services, Inc. is a four year old high growth technology leasing company. www.ffcsi.com

[Top]

Sales Representatives

Seeking Sales Representative preferably in Midwest area, will consider out of area. Minimum 3+ years vendor experience. No requirement for market type. DVI and ORIX sales representative encouraged to apply. Please contact Susan M. Adamatis, Vice President - 800/669-7527 ext 1255 or
e-mail: susana@netlease.com

About the company: Netlease is located at
80 North Gordon, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, 60007
www.netlease.com

Sales: Seeking salespeople with 1+yrs. experience in Medical Leasing. Unlimited growth potential. AFG welcomes any HPSC employees who are looking for a new home!
E-mail: ecarlberg@alliancefunds.com

About the Company: Alliance Funding Group, Inc. 2099 S. State college Blvd., Suite 100 Anaheim, CA. 92806 www.alliancefunds.com

[Top]

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"ELA Release 2003 Annual Report of Progress; Now Available Online"

ELT E-News Daily

The 2003 ELA annual report, entitled, “Report of Progress 2003”, is now

available online. Please visit

http://www.elaonline.com/aboutela/ELAAnnualRpt.pdf

to look at this informative report, which gives an overview of ELA and describes the

highlights of 2003. The Key Member Contact from each member company will

receive a hard copy in the mail shortly.

The report summarizes ELA’s 2003 activities in five major areas: Advocacy,

Business Development, Access to Capital, Industry Knowledge, and

Professional Competency. These have been identified by the ELA Board of

Directors as the major areas of member and industry service for ELA. The

report also describes the composition of the ELA membership and leadership,

in addition to providing general information about the leasing industry.

[Headlines]

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

Training, Human Resources Expert Joins The Alta Group

http://two.leasingnews.org/photos/ljackson.jpg

Glenbrook, Nev.,—Lynda Jackson, founder and CEO of Corporate Learning Systems, is the newest principal of The Alta Group, an international consulting and training firm serving the equipment leasing industry. Jackson, who has worked in the equipment leasing industry for more than 30 years, has a passion for maximizing human resources and helping companies evaluate their training return on investment (ROI).

Jackson’s custom training programs are not focused solely on simple task performance but on training and cultivating leaders and professionals who know how to add value to an organization by seizing opportunities to improve products, services and customer service.

Jackson joins The Alta Group’s professional development team to help senior executives implement systems that manage learning, evaluate training and HR performance and consider the ROI. She brings 25 years of experience in small-ticket leasing and lending to her training and consulting work, having held various administrative, sales, sales management and executive positions with leading financial services and leasing corporations. Jackson is also a member of the International Society for Performance Improvement.

"As companies recognize the need to increase their investment in workplace learning and performance measurement initiatives, the breadth of training and business experience in The Alta Group uniquely qualifies us to help them invest wisely and achieve the greatest return on their investment," Jackson says.

“We are delighted that Lynda is joining us as our newest principal. She has excellent industry experience and an innovative approach to providing equipment leasing and financing specific training and development programs. Lynda will complement Alta’s Professional Development Division, which includes Shawn Halladay, Jack Asinger and Joe Cannon, by providing additive experience and capabilities,” concludes John Deane, founding principal of The Alta Group.

The Alta Group (www.thealtagroup.com) is an international consulting and training firm serving the equipment leasing and finance industry. It is composed of more than 20 professionals--former CEOs, company founders, and industry organization leaders--who collectively have more than 500 years of experience. The company was founded in 1992 by Norm Chapman, John Deane, John Giddens and Bill Montgomery.

[Headlines]

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

Synovus Completes Acquisition of Peoples Florida Banking Corporation

COLUMBUS, Ga.----Synovus (NYSE:SNV), the Columbus, Georgia-based, diverse financial services company, today announced the completion of its acquisition of $255.6 million asset Peoples Florida Banking Corporation, the parent company of Peoples Bank.

"We are very excited about this acquisition because it's an important step in our expansion in Florida," said Richard Anthony, Synovus President and COO. "By adding a high performing bank like Peoples Bank in the north Tampa bay area, we are strengthening our presence in the state and adding a leadership team that will add value to Synovus."

David W. Dunbar, Chairman, President and CEO of Peoples Bank added, "It is a great day for Peoples Bank because we share the same values and service standards that Synovus is known for. Our customers will enjoy the same responsiveness and support from the people they know best. We will now have more products and solutions through the Synovus family of companies. Our partnership will definitely give our customers an additional edge."

Peoples Bank currently operates four offices, including its headquarters in Palm Harbor, Florida, and branch offices in Port Richey, Clearwater and Oldsmar. Peoples Bank is a state-chartered, independent commercial bank organized and founded in 1996. The bank provides a comprehensive range of financial services to individuals, corporations, professional associations, nonprofit organizations and local governments in the Tampa Bay, Florida area.

Synovus (NYSE:SNV) is a diversified financial services holding company with more than $22 billion in assets based in Columbus, Ga. Synovus provides integrated financial services including banking, financial management, insurance, mortgage and leasing services through 40 affiliate banks and other Synovus offices in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee; and electronic payment processing through an 81-percent stake in TSYS (NYSE:TSS), the world's largest third-party processor of international payments. Synovus is No. 20 on FORTUNE magazine's list of "The 100 Best Companies To Work For" in 2004. See Synovus on the Web at www.synovus.com.

CONTACT:Synovus, Columbus Media Relations Aimee Davis, 706-644-0528 or Investor Relations Patrick A. Reynolds, 706-649-4973

[Headlines]

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

GE Energy Financial Services Launched

--Delivers GE’s financial services to the global energy industry

--Expanding activities from ‘Wellhead to Wall Socket’

STAMFORD, Conn. -- GE Commercial Finance (GECF) announced today it has centralized energy-related financial services within an expanded global business unit, GE Energy Financial Services (EFS). The move is part of a GE-wide initiative to enhance customer and industry focus.

“The financial requirements of energy customers are constantly evolving,” said Alex Urquhart, EFS president and chief executive officer. "With EFS, they now have a complete range of energy financial products and services provided by experienced energy professionals. EFS’s focus -- and strength -- is delivering meaningful financial solutions for the energy industry, from wellhead to wall socket.”

In the past five years, GE more than doubled energy assets under management to over $12 billion. To expand its range of its products and services, EFS added an Energy Commercial Solutions unit headed by James Kelly. This new group provides equipment, fleet, real estate and vendor financing programs to energy companies, in conjunction with EFS’s structured financial solutions. GE’s Global Project & Trade Finance business, which invests in energy project debt, is now part of the GE energy finance unit. EFS expects to provide $3 to $4 billion a year to energy companies.

About GE Energy Financial Services

Based in Stamford, Conn., GE Energy Financial Services (EFS) provides enterprise financial solutions to the global energy industry from wellhead to wall socket – including utilities, independent power generators, as well as transmission and distribution, oil & gas, refining, pipeline, coal mining, and energy technology companies. EFS’s more than 200 professionals provide a range of financial products including structured equity, senior debt, leases, partnerships and project finance, as well as corporate, equipment, fleet, real estate and vendor finance. (http://www.geenergyfinancialservices.com). EFS is a unit of GE Commercial Finance, a global, diversified financial services company with assets of over US$217 billion. GE is a diversified manufacturing, technology and services company with operations worldwide.

CONTACT:

GE Energy Financial Services - Ken Koprowski, 203-961-5743

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Redefining Small Business...Upwards

By Charles B. Wendel, President

Financial Institutions Consulting

It seems that every bank defines its small business segment somewhat

differently. However, most banks base their definition on revenue

and, to a lesser degree, on loan needs. That emphasis exists largely

because it allows for an objective and simple approach to

categorization.

In the past year, we have seen increased interest on the part of some

of the most innovative small business players in rethinking their

definition. Typically, the foundation is still revenue based, but the

number that serves as the cap is heading upwards.

WHY REVENUES ARE THE NORM

Segments are meant to be actionable. Both consultants and bankers

have seen segmentation schemes that are elegant in their design, but

impractical to execute. I remember one consulting colleague from

years ago producing 20+ segments for a consumer-banking client. It

was brilliant analysis, but it was worthless.

Simply put, revenues work well as a frame for this segment. Revenues

provide a relatively objective metric. Certainly among smaller

entities, companies of the same size tend to have the same financial

services needs. The microbusiness's requirements are largely

homogeneous; so too are the needs of the five or ten million-dollar

company.

WHY THE CAPS ARE INCREASING

As mentioned above, each bank applies slightly different definitions

to its commercial and corporate business segments. We often find

traditional cutoffs as follows:

$0-1 million: microbusinesses

$1-10 million: small business

$10-250 million: middle market

$ 250+ million: large corporate

Here's what we think may be happening:

1. BRANCH-BASED MICROBUSINESSES ARE BEING REDEFINED UPWARDS TO

INCLUDE COMPANIES UP TO $2-5 MILLION. Cost-based economics are

driving this change, as well as the belief that product requirements

are largely similar. This organizational approach makes sense for

those banks that wish to put their marketing focus on larger

companies. It is not necessarily a bad decision to broaden the micro

definition, but it is probably not the way to achieve growth in this

segment due to the likelihood of greater variability in the quality

of attention customers receive from branches.

2. THE CORE MIDDLE MARKET IS BEGINNING TO UNDERGO MAJOR DEFINITIONAL

CHANGES. In our view, the major definitional problems relate to the

middle market and not small business directly. However, as banks

reexamine their position in the middle market, it has a domino-like

impact on their small business focus.

Historically, middle market groups have defined themselves very

broadly (for example, $10-250 million). In fact, we even know one

bank that includes $1+ billion companies as part of its middle

market. But, companies from $10-250 million can be very different

and, certainly, offer different profit potential to the bank.

At many banks, middle market profitability has been eroding in recent

years. Why? While interest margins have been squeezed, many banks

have failed to reposition their sales approach to include an emphasis

on non-credit product areas. In addition, in many cases, the

productivity revolution that transformed consumer banking has missed

the middle market.

Oftentimes, smaller middle market companies are served with the same

infrastructure and cost base as much larger companies, but this

group's economics cannot support this misalignment. Therefore, more