Aimbridge Indirect Lending Launches Program in Michigan; Credit Unions Compete in Challenging Indirect Lending Market

DENVER--Dec. 1, 20030, 2003--Aimbridge Indirect Lending, a division of The Aimbridge Group and a financing channel that connects credit unions with an automotive dealer network to provide members and potential members with automobile loans, announced that it has launched an indirect lending program in Michigan as part of the company's national expansion efforts.

Five credit unions, including DFCU Financial, Credit Union One, Michigan First Credit Union, Royal Oakland Community Credit Union, SOC Credit Union and 100 automobile dealerships in the Michigan region are participating in the program. Prior to launching the program, employees from The Aimbridge Group trained these credit unions on the systems and processes. The company also provided each credit union with a descriptive operations manual on the indirect lending program.

According to DFCU Financial Senior Vice President of Consumer Lending Ken Jones, Michigan credit unions work in a very competitive indirect lending market because Michigan is the home of the major automakers and various finance companies. To create a successful indirect lending program, Michigan credit unions must be able to effectively position themselves in the market. DFCU Financial began an indirect lending program three years ago and recently turned to Aimbridge to help it invigorate the program.

"We needed a company to aggressively manage dealer relationships," Jones said. "The Aimbridge Group has extensive dealer knowledge, and the company helps us manage the loan volumes coming from the dealers so that we can generate more business. We also wanted to have a quicker turnaround time on loan decisions and Aimbridge's system provides automatic decisioning via the Internet."

"After partnering with The Aimbridge Group, DFCU Financial generated almost double the volume we generated on our own," Jones added.

Steve Bentley, CEO of The Aimbridge Group, said, "While this is a challenging market, Michigan credit unions have the potential to grow their indirect lending programs and work together to compete with finance companies to offer members and potential members auto loans. We are committed to helping Michigan credit unions position themselves favorably in the market and build successful indirect lending programs."

Jones concluded, "Developing successful indirect lending programs is The Aimbridge Group's full time job. The company is always thinking of ways to increase indirect lending volumes. Aimbridge has employees dedicated to the Michigan market who understand how to get more out of the program, and that is exactly what we needed to help our program become more successful."

About The Aimbridge Group

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

The Aimbridge Group is comprised of five divisions, including Aimbridge Indirect Lending, Aimbridge Leasing, Aimbridge Mortgage, Aimbridge Financial Services and Aimbridge Automotive Group. While the company is headquartered in Denver, it has remote offices throughout the United States.

For additional information, write The Aimbridge Group at 4610 S. Ulster St., Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80237 or contact Andrea Harris at 303-306-3231. Visit its Web site at www.aimbridge.com.