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Aimbridge News Detail

--CUSO to share indirect loan originations and participations to reduce risk--

DENVER, June 14, 2005 – Aimbridge Indirect Lending announced that The Credit Union Loan Source, LLC, a Georgia-based CUSO represented by three credit unions, Delta Employees Credit Union, Georgia Telco Credit Union and Atlanta Postal Credit Union and the Georgia Credit Union Services, Corp. will partner with Aimbridge Indirect Lending to offer indirect auto lending services.  CULS is co-owned by the credit unions and GCUS and will also perform the servicing and collecting for each loan.  Aimbridge Indirect Lending connects credit unions with automotive dealer networks to provide automobile loans.

 CULS will operate somewhat differently from most CUSO indirect lending programs.  The owners joined together to consolidate the origination, underwriting and servicing aspects of indirect lending.  The credit unions will purchase participations in the loans originated. This spreads the risk proportionately among the investor credit unions. In a typical indirect program each credit union gets 100 percent of the loans they fund.  Credit union A may get a $20,000 A+ loan yielding 4.5 percent and credit union B may get a $45,000 C loan yielding 8.4 percent but that has a much higher chance of default. In the case of CULS’ investor credit unions – each gets a proportionate share of each loan and shares proportionately in the performance of that loan.  Since underwriting occurs at CULS – there is less conflict between the credit union’s direct program and the indirect program. Servicing is all handled at the CUSO, including billing, payments posting, collections, communications, repossession and dispossession.

 “This partnership is not typical in the credit union indirect auto loan world,” said Ralph Jones, interim president for The Credit Union Loan Source. “Aimbridge has provided us with the technological infrastructure to have a real competitive advantage in this market. With our program, we eliminate much of the hassle that comes with indirect lending, and the credit unions have access to dedicated and experienced indirect talent – all hired at the CUSO.  Indirect lending is not the same as direct lending, and the credit unions realized that instead of each of them hiring the expertise individually they could do it cooperatively.”

Aimbridge’s technology supports CULS’s structure and enables the CUSO to handle the loans and produce reports and analysis on originations that keep the program flexible and management able to respond to changes. The intelligence behind Aimbridge’s platform influenced CULS’s decision to select Aimbridge® as their technology provider.  According to Jones, CULS conducted extensive research and due diligence before deciding which company would be the best fit for its structure.

“We were instantly impressed with Aimbridge’s people, program and systems,” Jones said. “We considered several programs and interviewed numerous credit unions and CUSOs already using Aimbridge. The credit unions in the Ohio marketplace highly recommended Aimbridge and the managers with whom I spoke were very excited about the program. Because we are structured differently than most indirect lending programs, we needed a provider that had flexibility and was able to customize their solution for our implementation.  Aimbridge® is very professional, thoroughly service-oriented and has the expertise to work in our kind of hybrid environment.”

Aimbridge’s indirect lending program is web based and tailored to meet the individual needs of each credit union and dealer. Aimbridge has already successfully reached into the Florida, Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia and Michigan markets.

 “The Credit Union Loan Source, LLC provides us the opportunity to showcase the breadth of our technology’s capabilities, said Ann Schmitt, COO of Aimbridge. “Partnering with CULS and the member credit unions to offer this service to borrowers is a true testament to our technology. We understand the complexity and value of their program. At Aimbridge, our customers are provided with the tools to better monitor their businesses, and our goal is to help our customers grow as institutions and grow in member-base. We are proud to have CULS recognize us as a trusted leader in the marketplace and place the confidence in our technology to do the job right.”

About Aimbridge:
Founded in 1984, Aimbridge markets financial products, such as auto loans, mortgages and insurance products through partnerships with credit unions. The company helps its partners attract members and deepen their relationships by providing members with more reasons to do business with their credit unions.

 Aimbridge Lending is comprised of four divisions, including Aimbridge Indirect Lending, Aimbridge Home Loans, Aimbridge Financial Services and Aimbridge Disposition Services.  The company is headquartered in Denver and has remote offices throughout the United States.