Aames Financial Corp. Enlists ARC Systems for Automated Underwriting.

AUSTIN, Texas and LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1999--

Credit risk decisioning is fast, accurate and consistent

using ARC Systems

Aames Financial Corp. (NYSE:AAM) has selected Austin, Texas-based ARC Systems (ARCS) to provide automated underwriting for its LendingTree.com relationship. Aames is a Los Angeles-based mortgage lender that specializes in non-conforming mortgage and home equity financing. ARCS provides lending institutions with decision power for better business practices, giving lenders the ability to provide answers at the point-of-sale.

Unlike government sponsored entity (GSE) automated underwriting systems, ARCS provides automated underwriting and credit decisions based on the lender's own criteria. Under this agreement, Aames supplies ARCS with its guidelines for credit approval and product pricing. When an application is submitted to the automated underwriting system for approval, the application is decisioned within seconds determined exclusively by the lender's submitted parameters. If the application does not fall within these established guidelines, it is tagged to undergo manual underwriting for approval or referral.

Aames will initially offer this rapid, rules-based AU feature through LendingTree.com. Currently, consumers must wait several hours to even days to receive underwriting status from Internet lending sites. Now, consumers will be able to go directly to LendingTree.com to apply for a mortgage or home equity loan and receive the credit decision within seconds.

"ARC Systems allows Aames to utilize automated decisioning to provide customers with immediate responses to loan requests made over the Internet," said Celinda Moore, senior vice president of Aames Financial Corporation. "Providing Internet mortgage origination services, including immediate responses to loan requests, is crucial for mortgage lenders in today's competitive Internet marketplace. ARC Systems provides Aames with the automation necessary to leverage the Internet's power to close more loans and to benefit customers by making immediate credit decisions."

"There was a void in the automated underwriting sector of the mortgage industry. Lenders were struggling to figure out how to maintain consistent lending parameters within their portfolio of non-conforming loans," said Ed Jones, president and CEO of ARC Systems. "ARC Systems has filled that void by providing lenders with fast, accurate and consistent decisioning power based on their own lending guidelines instead of basing credit decisions on nebulous trends."

About Aames Financial Corp.

Aames Financial Corp. is a leader in the non-conforming home equity lending market. The Company originates and purchases loans through retail, broker and correspondent lending channels. The company retains the servicing rights to the majority of its loans and maintained a servicing portfolio in excess of $4 billion in 1998.

For more information about Aames Financial Corp., contact Ms. Celinda Moore, senior vice president, [phone]; or write the company at 350 S. Grand Avenue, 43rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071. The company's Internet site can be viewed at www.aames.net.

About ARC Systems

Founded in 1984, ARC Systems is a privately held company that provides lending institutions with the power to make fast, accurate and consistent decisions for risk-based pricing and credit evaluation. The company's proprietary, rules-based system is used by more than 80 lending operations nationwide.

For more information about ARC Systems, contact Mary Tipps at [phone], via email at [e-mail], or write the company at 5316 Highway 290 West, Suite 500, Austin, TX 78735. The company's Web site can be viewed at www.arcsystems.com