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First Enterprise Financial Group, Inc. Announces $29.2 Million Sale Of Auto Finance Receivables

4 December 1997

First Enterprise Financial Group, Inc. Announces $29.2 Million Sale Of Auto Finance Receivables

    EVANSTON, Ill., Dec. 4 -- First Enterprise Financial Group,
Inc. today announced the sale of $29.2 million of auto finance
receivables to General Electric Capital Corp.  The notes have an estimated
average life of 1.5 years and were priced to yield 10.35% to GECC.  First
Enterprise will act as servicer for the portfolio of receivables.
    Michael P. Harrington, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FENT, said,
"This sale, an alternative to our securitization program, is the seventh in a
series of sales to GE Capital, the first of which was in December 1993.  The
proceeds will be used to pay down the First Enterprise senior revolving credit
facility and increase FENT's liquidity.
    "The Company will recognize a gain on the sale in accordance with FASB
125.  The anticipated gain will be somewhat smaller than gains on similar
sized sales earlier this year.  The smaller gain results from a higher cost of
borrowing requirement used in the GECC transaction.  This smaller gain,
coupled with an expected higher fourth quarter provision for loan losses and
reduced level of originations may have a negative impact on the Company's
fourth quarter and total year reported results," added Harrington.
    Harrington further stated, "In order to meet its funding needs, the
Company will require additional financing to supplement its expected cash
flows from operations, the anticipated borrowings under its Credit Facility
and proceeds from the issuance of securitized notes and sold receivables.  To
that end, the Company is seeking to augment its capital base through the
issuance of subordinated notes to one or more financial institutions."
    First Enterprise Financial Group, Inc., with corporate headquarters in
Evanston, Illinois, operates in nine states through First Enterprise
Acceptance Company (FEAC).  Located in Enterprise, Alabama, FEAC is a
specialty finance company engaged primarily in purchasing and servicing
installment sales contracts originated with automobile dealers for financing
the sale of used automobiles, vans and trucks.  The Company's 44 branch
offices are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina,
Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
    This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future
events and future performance of the Company that involve risks and
uncertainties that could materially affect actual results.  Investors should
refer to documents that the Company files from time to time with the
Securities and Exchange Commission for a description of certain factors that
could cause actual results to vary from current expectations and forward-
looking statements vary from current expectations contained in this press
release.  Such filings include, without limitation, the Company's Form 10-K,
Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports.
    The Company's common stock is traded on Nasdaq's National Market System
under the symbol FENT.

SOURCE  First Enterprise Financial Group, Inc.