Expansion Reinforces E-LOAN's Commitment to Partnering with Real Estate Agents to Improve the Home Buying Experience

PLEASANTON, Calif., May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- E-LOAN®, an online consumer direct lender, and Mortgage Initiatives Inc., a division of RE/MAX Regional Services, today announced a strategic alliance to expand its relationship to serve the agents and franchisees within the Southeastern Michigan regional area. This expansion of more than 1200 agents and 61 franchisee offices brings E-LOAN's strategic alliance with RE/MAX to 9800 agents and 425 offices total.
 
In the first quarter of 2006, E-LOAN launched its real estate agent initiative to partner with real estate agents from around the country that need to provide a faster and easier way for their clients to get a loan. E-LOAN provides agents and their clients with guaranteed on-time closings; pre-approvals; 24/7 access to a wide breadth of loan products, including non- prime loans; and dedicated, non-commissioned Loan Consultants that are trained to guide individuals to the best loan product for their financing needs.

"This expansion between E-LOAN and Southeast Michigan's offices reinforces that we have found a great partner in E-LOAN," said Patrick Ryan, regional director of RE/MAX Regional Services in Southeast Michigan. "Their unique approach to putting the customer first, communicating updates throughout the entire process and to delivering superior customer service for both the customer and the agent, has shown us that they truly understand what it takes provide the best possible home buying experience."

"Our consistent, year over year customer satisfaction ratings of 90% prove that we understand the importance of taking care of the customer," said Mark Lefanowicz, president of E-LOAN. "By working closely with our real estate agent partners, we are committed to delivering a faster, easier and more predictable home buying experience for their customers, nationwide."

As part of the alliance, the homepages of the RE/MAX Regional Services web sites for Southeast Michigan prominently display an E-LOAN® link to direct consumers to the E-LOAN® pre-qualification and pre-approval center. From there, consumers can shop for home mortgage rates, submit an application and get an online approval decision, all within minutes.

A pre-qualified or pre-approved loan from E-LOAN allows sales associates and their clients to negotiate with prospective sellers with greater confidence. Once their offer on a house or condo has been accepted, sales associates and their clients can depend on E-LOAN's on-time closing guarantee and the personal attention provided by the experienced loan consultants dedicated to RE/MAX Regional Services seven days a week to finalize the transaction as quickly as possible. RE/MAX agents interested in learning more about how E-LOAN can help them meet their client's needs can log onto http://www.eloan.com/agents .

About E-LOAN®

E-LOAN is an online consumer direct lender dedicated to providing borrowers with a simple, easy and open way to obtain mortgage, auto loans, and home equity loans. Since its launch in 1997, E-LOAN has drawn upon its pro consumer values to improve the lending experience in revolutionary ways. By eliminating the traditional incentive structure to charge consumers higher rates, giving consumers free access to credit scores and eliminating lender fees, E-LOAN is providing a uniquely open, fair and honest loan process. Protecting consumers' financial privacy is also a paramount concern, leading E-LOAN to implement industry leading privacy practices and advocate strong consumer financial privacy protection laws. Consumers have recognized E-LOAN for its trustworthiness and respect for customers. Three independent studies conducted by TRUSTe and The Ponemon Institute ranked E-LOAN as one of the Top 20 Most Trusted Companies for Privacy in America. In another independent study conducted by The Customer Respect Group, E-LOAN received the overall highest rating in the Online Customer Respect Study of North America's largest financial services firms. E-LOAN has originated and sold over $27 billion in consumer loans.

E-LOAN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Popular Financial Holdings, Inc., in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of Popular, Inc., a full service financial services provider with operations in Puerto Rico, the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. To find out more about E-LOAN and its products and services, logon to http://www.eloan.com or call 1-888-533-5333.

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Source: E-LOAN

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