1st Metropolitan Offers Free Education to Brokers; National Brokerage Provides Continuing Education Class During Annual Meeting.

Business Editors

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004

In an effort to make positive contributions to the mortgage industry, 1st Metropolitan Mortgage, a national mortgage broker and a division of Empire Equity Group, Inc., announced it will offer free continuing education classes to mortgage brokers during its annual meeting April 28 to 30 at the Wyndam Bonaventure Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 1st Metropolitan became a foundation supporter of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers in order to offer the three-credit hour class on Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which will help Florida brokers fulfill their continuing education requirements.

"As a committed member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, we wanted to take this opportunity to invest in the education level of other mortgage brokers," said Daniel Jacobs, chief executive officer at 1st Metropolitan. "With the continuing scrutiny of our industry and the whirlwind of new regulations, we feel our industry should focus internally and make the necessary improvements to satisfy customers and regulators. We feel education is a key component of self- regulation and self-improvement."

Florida brokers are required to have a total of 14 credit hours a year.

"One of the reasons we chose Florida for our conference is because it is the first year brokers are required to have continuing education credits," Jacobs said. "By offering this class and other educational sessions to all Florida brokers, we're showing our strong belief that education, product and marketing knowledge is key to the success of a company and the entire mortgage industry."

In addition to the class, there will be several educational sessions on improving marketing and sales techniques. Three of the mortgage industry's most notable speakers will provide insight and practical knowledge to attendees. One of the sessions will feature Greg Frost, who is known as a mega-originator and has been a top provider of residential mortgages in New Mexico since 1985. He is ranked in Mortgage Originator magazine as the ninth residential lender in the U.S. and is ranked sixth by Broker magazine. He is also among the first billion dollar loan originators.

Another of the sessions will feature Tim Braheem, president of First Rate Financial Group in Westlake Village, Calif. He is also CEO and creator of LoanToolBox.com, a complete online training resource for mortgage originators

Ron Vaimberg, who specializes in national sales training that improves the selling skills for loan officers will also be a featured speaker at the conference. Vaimberg has been active in the mortgage industry since 1985 and has been conducting sales and motivational seminars throughout the United States since 1994. "We're excited about this all-star line up and believe the participants will receive invaluable information from these top mortgage-industry professionals," Jacobs said.

Also featured at the annual conference is a marketplace of lenders including Wells Fargo Mortgage, New Century Mortgage, Option One Mortgage, Decision One, Countrywide Home Loans and Bank of America. Representatives from the appraisal and credit reporting industries will also be on hand.

"After a great deal of consideration, we felt one of the best ways to demonstrate our views about education to the industry was to open our conference up to all mortgage brokers," Jacobs said. "Because when the industry performs at a higher level overall, everyone wins."

In addition to the sessions and classes, there will be a casino night social event and a golf tournament.

About 1st Metropolitan Mortgage

1st Metropolitan Mortgage, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C. and a division of Empire Equity Group since 2002, is a national mortgage brokerage, offering products from such lenders as Countrywide Home Mortgage, Chase Mortgage and Washington Mutual. 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.