BMW Financial Services Ranked Seventh Among 'Best Medium Companies to Work for in America'

Prestigious Award Confirms Company Reputation as an Exceptional Employer

DUBLIN, Ohio, June 29 -- BMW Financial Services has been named one of the "Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America" by the Great Places to Work Institute (GPTWI) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The newly-established award is the third honor received by the company in the past year commending its workplace initiatives.

BMW Financial Services was ranked seventh among the 25 companies selected in the medium business (251 -- 1,000 employees) category. More than 400 companies in the small and medium categories were evaluated for this honor.

"It's gratifying to see our commitment to create a positive company culture being recognized by those who know best -- unconditional experts in the field of human resource management," noted John Christman, Chief Executive Officer of BMW Financial Services, Americas Region. "We proudly accept this latest accolade and tribute to our mission to become THE best company to work for in America," said Christman upon presentation of the award at the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition in New Orleans yesterday.

The businesses on the "Best Companies" list were acknowledged as having used smart people management strategies to develop a strong trust between employees and management. The selections were based on the results of a randomly-distributed employee opinion survey about the organizations' workplace cultures. Areas examined included: methods of communication between senior management and employees, opportunities for personal and professional growth, vehicles for employee recognition and appreciation, company benefits and bonus programs and special events and ways of having fun.

Attracting and retaining talented employees have been crucial factors behind BMW Financial Services' long-term growth and success, noted Christman. "Without the valuable contributions of our associates, we would not have enjoyed ten consecutive years of expansion in sales and managed assets today totaling more than $15 billion. Only by maintaining a positive working environment can we sustain our high service-delivery standards."

GPTWI cofounder Robert Levering said, "The companies on this list set the standards for all workplaces. They show that companies can become successful by creating an environment where employees trust their management, have pride in their work and have positive relationships with their coworkers."

The Great Place to Work Institute, Inc. is a research and management consultancy with offices in 25 countries throughout the world. The organization produces similar "Best Companies to Work for" lists, including Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For."

SHRM is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 185,000 individual members, its mission is to both serve human resource management professionals and to advance the profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries.

BMW Financial Services also recently received two top honors for its strategic performance and employee training programs: the 2003 Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame award, given out by the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc., and the number 45 ranking in Training Magazine's 2003 Top 100 List.

BMW Financial Services

BMW Financial Services NA, LLC was established in 1992 as a captive finance company to support the sales and marketing efforts of the BMW Group in North and Latin America. With more than $15 billion in managed assets and nearly 500,000 customers, BMW FS leases or finances more than half of the new BMW vehicles sold in the U.S. BMW FS employs more than 700 people, most of whom are located in the Dublin, Ohio Customer Service Center.

BMW Financial Services provides a wide range of leasing, retail, commercial, banking and insurance products tailored to meet the needs of BMW customers and dealers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. All lease servicing, including credit underwriting, funding, customer service, title administration, lease-end and collections are handled at the Dublin customer service center. A growing portfolio of banking, credit card and insurance offerings is also available through the BMW Bank of North America, based in Salt Lake City.