1st Metropolitan Introduces Referral LAB; Mortgage Broker Allows Its Branches to Benefit from Referrals.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, a leading mortgage broker and a division of Empire Equity Group, Inc., has introduced Referral Loans Across Boarders (LAB), a program that will give its branches the opportunity to benefit from referrals located outside of their licensed area. A dedicated loan origination staff at the corporate office, which has licensing nationwide, will manage the Referral LAB program.

"Referral LAB will further extend the resources available from our corporate office," said Daniel Jacobs, 1st Metropolitan's CEO. "It will enable branches to cater to the needs of all of their referrals, expanding their customer base and maintaining the high level of customer service that defines 1st Metropolitan Mortgage and creates customers for life."

An individual 1st Metropolitan MetroBranch can be licensed to originate loans in one or many states. However, sometimes branches get leads from areas where they are not licensed to do business. According to an internal survey among branch managers across the country, hundreds and potentially thousands of referred, closable loans are lost each year because of this scenario. In order to mine these leads, 1st Metropolitan has created Referral LAB so all referrals can be served in-house.

In the Referral LAB program, 1st Metropolitan will use LandAmerica's processing services, which will allow branches to monitor the status of the loans being originated by the corporate origination team. The new program will expand the reach of branches and better serve referred customers, thus increasing market share for the company.

"1st Metropolitan's centralized corporate office makes it easy for originators to get the back office assistance they need to be successful," Jacobs said. "Referral LAB eliminates the unnecessary strain at the corporate level from branches securing licenses in multiple states where they only close few loans. We expect the added incentives of the Referral LAB to produce increased loan volumes and enhanced revenues."

1st Metropolitan has experienced significant growth. In 2000, the company originated $350 million. And in 2003, the company's volume rose to $4.2 billion, representing a 1,200 percent growth. This year the company has experienced tremendous success in hiring entrepreneurial branch managers with proven leadership and relationship building skills and high-production.

About 1st Metropolitan Mortgage

1st Metropolitan Mortgage, based in Charlotte, N.C. and a division of Empire Equity Group since 2002, is a leading mortgage brokerage, offering products from such companies as Countrywide Home Mortgage, Chase Mortgage and Wells Fargo. The company is licensed in 48 states with approximately 250 branches nationwide. Leveraging the 20 years of experience of its parent company, 1st Metropolitan has an aggressive business development strategy. 1st Metropolitan's strategic theme for 2004 is The Art of Being 1st: Opportunities Amid Change. For more information, visit www.1stmetro.com.

About Empire Equity Group, Inc.

Empire Equity Group has been in business since 1983 focusing heavily in the Northeastern United States. Since the acquisition of 1st Metropolitan, Empire has established development programs for branch managers, additional infrastructure to meet the needs of branches and installed the latest technology, such as an expanded intranet site and an innovative online loan origination system. For more information, call 704.552.0123.