Advanta Announces Formation of ESOP.

SPRING HOUSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 11, 1998--Advanta Corporation (NASDAQ:ADVNA;ADVNB;ADVNZ) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the formation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) which will purchase shares of the Company's common stock.

The amount of shares of common stock to be purchased by the ESOP and by the Company under the previously announced stock repurchase program will be up to two and one-half million shares of the Company's Class A and Class B common stock.

Dennis Alter, chairman and chief executive officer of Advanta, said, "As I stated recently when we announced our repurchase program, we believe the current valuation of our Class A and Class B shares makes the stock an extremely attractive investment. The current stock price enables the Company to provide further benefits and motivation to our employees at an optimal price to further enhance long-term shareholder value."

The combined purchases which represent up to approximately 9.9% of the Company's 25.3 million shares of Class A and Class B common stock currently outstanding, net of treasury shares, will be made from time to time through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions at the discretion of the ESOP's trustee for the ESOP and by the Company under the repurchase program in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The amount and timing of the purchases will depend on market conditions.

Advanta is a highly focused financial services company with 2,400 employees, approximately $10.0 billion in managed assets and an additional $8.2 billion in assets serviced for third parties.

Advanta provides consumers and small businesses with innovative products and services including mortgages, equipment leases, business credit cards, insurance and deposit products. The Company also provides a full range of loan purchasing, contract servicing and securitization services to the mortgage industry.

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those projected.

The most significant among these risks and uncertainties are: (1) factors that affect consumer debt; (2) competitive pressures; (3) the level of delinquencies and charge-offs; (4) the rate of prepayments; (5) the level of expenses; (6) the timing of the securitizations of the Company's receivables; and (7) the ratings on the debt of the Company and its subsidiaries.

Additional risks that may affect the Company's future performance are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

   CONTACT: Advanta
             Kamal Advani, VP, Investor Relations
             215/444-5335
                  or
             D'Arcy Rudnay, VP, Corporate Communications
             215/444-5073