Accent Mortgage Services Unveils 'Accent Mortgage Academy' With 200 Graduates; 'Net-Branch' Expansion Continues With 140 Branches.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 1999--

Accent Mortgage Services, a subsidiary of The Accent Group which recently merged with Lahaina Acquisitions, Inc. (NASDAQ OTC:LAHA), today announced the success of its Accent Mortgage Academy with the training of over 200 students in its first quarter of operations. It also noted that its expansion of branch offices is continuing with over 140 "Net-Branches" now online. The operation, which is a part of Lahaina by virtue of the completion of its merger last month, includes residential mortgage financing, as well as stage funding and other mortgage activities.

"We are very pleased with the continuing interest in Accent Mortgage Services "Net-Branch" strategy, and the enthusiastic participation in our Accent Academy," stated L. Scott Demerau, Chairman and CEO of both Lahaina and The Accent Group, Inc. "These activities represent a significant base for our future growth, with the "Net-Branch" being our technology leverage. This allows us to compete with other firms like E-Loan (NASDAQ:EELN) and Mortgage.com (NASDAQ:MDCM)," explained Demerau. When asked about the differences in the Accent approach to the marketplace, he replied, "While we all use the Internet to prospect for loans, Accent goes a step further, making the Internet the key component for our back-office data sharing and regulatory compliance. Further, our "Net-Branches" operate with nominal financial overhead to the Company, acting much like certain national real estate professionals. With this "Net-Branch" approach, we do not have the need for the large facilities and headcount necessary for the E-loan or Mortgage.com operations." He continued, "We feel this makes us more efficient and provides the benefits of field operations to interface with the clients, but without the overhead of a large corporate staff."

The Accent Academy offers a full range of courses aimed at the mortgage professional including mortgage origination; loan processing; loan management; FHA loan administration; staged funding and basic loan officer training. "Our 'Loan Officer 101' course has been the most popular," said Randy Harris, National Marketing Director of Accent Mortgage. He reviewed the offerings, noting "We offer a complete educational approach, allowing the staff and management to begin and grow to be as large as they want. This type of offering is unique to Accent, and we are quite proud of it."

Lahaina Acquisitions, Inc. is a public holding company who, as a result of its merger with The Accent Group, Inc., operates real estate development and financial services groups, including a nationwide, "Net-Branch" mortgage organization. The Accent Group markets "Internet based" mortgage processing to its branches, and has recruited over 140 new branch offices in the past 128 days, all without the expense traditionally associated with construction of branch offices. For more information, contact L. Scott Demerau; Chairman at [phone], or on the Internet at www.accentmortgage.com.

The press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current plans and expectations of Lahaina, its affiliates or subsidiaries, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future activities and results of operations to be materially different from those suggested or described in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ include, among others, risks associated with announced or future acquisitions (such as the uncertainties of the successful conclusion of ongoing discussions, the quality of projects acquired, financing costs and profitability of operations), fluctuations in operating results, variations in stock prices, change in public interest .in resorts, political and economic climate, competition, weather conditions, risks of operations, regulatory agencies, policies, financing difficulties and difficulties in integrating newly acquired businesses. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's SEC filings. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC.