APPRO Introduces New APPRO LoanCenter for Vehicle Finance; New Software Gives Managers More Control and Connects to Web.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 1999--Lenders will have to fight for customers in a world of hyper-competition, a smaller applicant base, and increasing credit risks if they are to thrive beyond the Year 2000. The winners in that battle will be those who embrace the right processing technologies today that will provide them the strategic advantages they will need tomorrow. The latest new product line from APPRO Systems, Inc. is intended to ensure that its customers are among those left standing as hyper-competition takes its toll among vehicle finance lenders. APPRO's new LoanCenter family helps lenders out-perform their competitors by giving them more control over their credit policy, greater lending capacity per employee, and direct connectivity to dealers and consumers via the World Wide Web.

APPRO President Craig Uffman made the product announcement at the Consumer Banker's Association Auto Finance Conference in Atlanta today. APPRO LoanCenter grew out of APPRO's drive to help lenders manage what Uffman characterized as the paradox of the next millennium.

"Vehicle Lenders will have to deal with a paradox caused by several converging factors if they are to survive in the next few years. First and foremost, they have to generate accelerating earnings and revenues year-to-year. If not, Wall Street will penalize them with a lower stock price. This kind of growth means expanding your customer base, which is never easy but is harder than ever when it's easier than ever for competitors to join the fray. Secondly, they have to grow their business while decreasing costs. Third, they have to improve their quality, especially credit quality, each year. Fourth, the population of those traditionally targeted by vehicle lenders is decreasing, meaning that they have to search harder to find each desirable applicant. Fifth, the credit characteristics of that shrinking target market is changing quickly due to the proliferation of unsecured debt, so they can no longer rely on traditional screening techniques to keep credit risk down. Sixth, they have to do all of this in a fraction of the time that was acceptable in the nineties because technology is causing customers to demand real-time responses to credit requests."

APPRO LoanCenter helps lenders manage this paradox in five ways:

(1) APPRO LoanCenter enhances managerial control with its new 32-bit APPRO Risk Manager. This component combines traditional credit scoring along with the APPRO Expert System to make most credit decisions automatically within seconds. APPRO 3-D Risk-Based Pricing automatically executes management's tiered pricing policy based on factors like credit quality, collateral quality, or deal structure. APPRO Risk Manager also controls and tracks policy overrides by buyers and executes management's desired work flow using its new "Flexible Work Flow" technology. The result is greater control and consistency in processing.

2) APPRO LoanCenter provides the Connectivity need by lenders by providing direct access to the World Wide Web. "APPRO LoanCenter allows lenders to leverage the Internet to communicate directly with dealers and consumers via the Web. This drives applications volume up and service times down," Uffman said. LoanCenter also connects with branches as well as the major installment loan systems found in the marketplace.

(3) APPRO LoanCenter expands a lender's Capacity by allowing buyers and processors to complete many more applications and contracts per hour. The combination of automated credit and pricing decisions, the elimination of needless data entry, and the availability of specialized Buyer's Analysis Tools allows lenders to increase loans booked per hour per person.

(4) Making critical information available instantly is another focus of APPRO LoanCenter. For example, buyers can quickly evaluate borrower quality or the state of their dealer relationships using graphical displays that are available at the push of a button. "LoanCenter is all about `information at your fingertips.' Competitive lenders can leverage their data by instantly analyzing it or routing it via email or the Web to those that need it," said Uffman.

(5) APPRO LoanCenter anticipates the labor market demographics faced by lenders with its focus on ease-of-use. Extensive help features and its familiar look-and-feel is designed to drive down the learning curve costs that are so frustrating to lenders. "Ease-of-use was an important design goal, so it's no surprise that lenders comment on that. Anyone who can use Microsoft Office(TM) will pick up APPRO LoanCenter quickly. As one of our reviewers put it, LoanCenter screams `Power' yet whispers `Simplicity.' That's the mix we think lenders will need to compete with APPRO clients in the future."

About APPRO

APPRO Systems, Inc., founded in 1979, is privately held and managed. The company's family of credit assessment products is installed in over 100 financial institutions in North America. Along with its Consumer Lending and Home Improvement Systems, APPRO's products include the 20/20 Small Business Lending System(TM), a comprehensive, automated credit risk assessment system for commercial lenders.

APPRO's Consumer and Small Business Lending Systems are used by lenders to process applications and evaluate credit risk. The company's customer portfolio includes Hibernia Bank, First Security Bank, One Valley Bank, The Toronto Dominion Bank, and AutoNation.

APPRO Systems, Inc. is headquartered at 9489 Interline Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA, 70809. For more information, contact Steve Topp at [phone] or visit the company's website at www.approsystems.com.