ADI Forms Marketing Alliance with The Asian Banker

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--May 23, 2006--The Automotive Dealership Institute (ADI) and The Asian Banker have agreed to a wide-ranging marketing partnership that allows the Singapore-based research and intelligence company to represent ADI's automotive and banking-related courses and other products in development across Asia, it was announced by ADI CEO/Executive Director Alan Algan and Emmanuel Daniel, The Asian Banker's president and editor-in-chief.

The first joint project will be a two-day workshop titled, "Building a Successful End-to-End Automobile Financing Business: Profiting from the Value Chain of the Auto Financing Business," scheduled for Aug. 7, 2006-8 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Asian Banker, which is regarded as the most authoritative intelligence provider on emerging best practices and benchmarks to commercial banks to all countries in the Asia Pacific region, has offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, China.

The workshop is designed for vice presidents, directors, senior managers and consultants involved in the automobile and auto financing industries, and will provide a comprehensive practical toolkit for developing a coherent and profitable strategy evolving with the marketplace. ADI executives making the journey from Arizona to Malaysia will be Algan, President/Director of Corporate Affairs Keith Tuber and Professor Jack Ferry.

As part of the agreement, the companies will also exchange links to their popular Web sites.

"We chose the Automotive Dealership Institute because we could see that they provide world-class automotive management programs that could help any bank in Asia," said Daniel. "As the automobile ownership business is booming in many parts of Asia, we searched for an appropriate partner to bring world-class skills to this marketplace."

Looking at the Asian market for the automobile financing business, ICICI's business soared 56 percent last year, while AmBank, Malaysia's largest car financier, experienced growth of 16.5 percent. Growth is also booming in other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand. But with high spreads, ranging from 4 percent in China on average, to 10 percent and above in India and Indonesia, the auto lending business attracts banks and other financial institutions like bees to honey.

"We evaluated a number of other schools, in the United States and elsewhere, but none possessed the credibility and the hands-on expertise that ADI demonstrated," said Daniel. "The key elements of their curriculum are immediately transportable to this region, their faculty's resumes are comprised of people who are experts in their own right, and their alliances with other industry leaders in the United States and abroad immediately plugs us into a very sophisticated network of resources. We are looking forward to a long, fruitful relationship."

The Asian Banker is dedicated to providing incisive and up-to-date information and analysis on strategic developments in the financial services industry. The company, founded in 1996, publishes the Asian Banker Journal, the leading commentator on developments in the Asia Pacific region's financial services industry.

"We are pleased that The Asian Banker has selected us to be its American partner," said Algan. "We take pride in providing a world-class automotive education, and our association with such powerhouse industry leaders as Northwood University, the Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals (AFIP) and the Institute for Ethical Behavior says much about our commitment to excellence."

The two-day workshop is expected to attract scores of top level banking leaders from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines and other Asian countries interested in the American perspective on automotive lending. Local case studies will complement the broader American viewpoint, providing delegates with useful information they can take back to their institutions.

"The potential of the Asian market is enormous," said Tuber. "Modern technology has made the world a much smaller place, and the opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with the world, and to learn from other business cultures in the process, is most gratifying. We are in the process of working with The Asian Banker to develop additional programs that specifically address their needs, and we are nearing completion on other projects of our own for the American automotive market that we believe will receive overwhelming acceptance in Asia and Europe. While this is an exciting time for us, a period of great growth and satisfaction, we remain committed to our core business -- providing the best automotive education available anywhere in the world."

This year alone, the Automotive Dealership Institute has formed alliances that call for Web site link exchanges, among other projects, with the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association; Dealership for Life; Idealergroup, LLC; the Institute for Ethical Behavior; Northwood University; and the Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals (AFIP).

Ferry, who will participate as workshop leader, served in senior executive positions with Ford Motor Credit and Americredit Corp., and also worked in top management positions, including finance director and special finance director, at three major dealership groups in Arizona and Indiana. A former vice president of the Financial Management Association, Ferry has won numerous awards, including the Financial Management Association's Outstanding Member of Finance.

"This is an incredible opportunity for ADI," said Ferry, who earned degrees in Business Administration and Finance from California State University, Fullerton. "We already get a number of students from around the country, including such diverse states as Washington, Illinois and Alabama, as well as from our own back yard, the greater Phoenix area, Nevada and California. The prospect of teaching professionals in Asia and other regions of the world, and potentially having them come to our Southwest headquarters, is truly exhilarating."

The Asian Banker is regarded as the most authoritative intelligence provider to regulators, banks and related financial services players in the Asia Pacific region. Despite its name, the company monitors developments globally and contextualizes global benchmarks and best practices for the Asian marketplace. Its products and services can be grouped into three main business lines: The Asian Banker Publications, which include the flagship Asian Banker Journal and various e-newsletters; Asian Banker Research, which provides proprietary, generic and subscription-based research services that cover focused operational areas of the financial services industry; and the Asian Banker Forums, which include the Asian Banker Summit, the region's foremost gathering of decision makers in the financial services industry, as well as focused roundtables for specialists to meet and consider the state of their respective areas. For more information, visit www.theasianbanker.com.

The Automotive Dealership Institute is a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based automotive management school that specializes in educating the next generation of finance and insurance managers and service advisors. ADI is licensed by the State of Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education and approved by the Arizona Department of Education. For more information call 877-998-7200 or visit www.autodealerinstitute.com.