Westar Financial Moves and Expands Headquarters; First Tenant in the Financial Center

31 May 2000

Westar Financial Moves and Expands Headquarters; First Tenant in the Financial Center

    TUMWATER, Wash.--May 31, 2000--Westar Financial Services, Incorporated (OTCBB:WEST), the first operational financial portal, announced today that it has completed the move and five-fold expansion of its headquarters and data center. Westar had headquartered in Olympia for nearly two decades but decided in 1999 on the move to The Financial Center in Tumwater.
    "We needed both space and infrastructure," stated Rachel Aest, facilities manager for the firm. "We investigated alternatives for nearly a year before deciding that the combination of resources offered us by Vine Street Investors, a local development group, was perfect for us. We needed five times as much space as we had, high speed communications capabilities, easy access for our team members, relatively sophisticated security and a fast buildout. Vine Street delivered all of that and, in addition, we got the ability to double our floorspace in short order. And, for the first time we have what we needed to build a truly sophisticated data center."
    "Most of the firms with which we do business are substantially larger, many are insured institutions," added Vicki Christensen, Vice President -- Information Systems. "Our enhanced electronic and physical security is important to them. Our new headquarters and data center allow us to assure our strategic allies, both institutions and `dot.com firms' of our structural reliability. Coincidentally with the move we installed another IBM AS/400 system and mirrored the two for true 24/7 capacity. I intend to add a third system, geographically separated from our primary and backup, for absolute confidence."
    "With the `bricks' side of our business growing at 30% a quarter, the e-commerce volumes eclipsing that rate and a mandate for developing operating leverage through intelligent technology, new offices were an imperative," added Aest. "This gives us the technology to support volumes ten times last year's level and allows us the room to more than triple our workforce. I'm looking forward to giving the facilities the workout for which they were designed."
    The firm's physical address is changed to: Westar Financial Services Incorporated, The Financial Center, 150 Israel Road, Tumwater, Washington 98502.
    WEST is the only publicly traded automobile-oriented financial portal. Westar entered into automotive e-finance through a $1 billion funding commitment to DriveOff.com, a 3rd generation e-commerce business model allowing consumers to buy and finance new automobiles in a single electronic transaction. Through DriveOff.com, Westar completed the first entirely electronic Internet automobile purchase and lease transaction in October 1999. The company operates its Dealer Direct Retail Leasing program in the western states and is rapidly expanding its Internet, Intranet and Private Label e-finance capabilities nationally through alliances with DriveOff.com, AmSouth Bank and others.

    Statement regarding "Forward Looking Statements": Statements concerning future performance, developments or events, including expansion of operations, growth of loan originations, ability to place securitizations, success of the e-commerce model, trends in interest rates, various statements concerning expectations for growth or profits and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations.