Advanta Corp. appoints David A. Brooks as president and COO.

SPRING HOUSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1997--Advanta Corp. (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) announced Monday that David A. Brooks, currently executive vice president of VISA USA, will join Advanta's Office of the Chairman as president and chief operating officer.

His appointment immediately follows the resignation of Richard A. Greenawalt, who has accepted a position as chief executive officer of Olympic Financial, a Minneapolis-based auto lender. Brooks is expected to assume his new post by the end of this month.

"Dave joins Advanta at a time when we have established a presence as a leader in the diverse consumer services arena-building upon the great success we've achieved in financial services and the expertise we've developed in information management," said Dennis Alter, chairman of Advanta. "We expect that, based on a career that has included executive positions at some of the world's leading financial organizations, Dave will provide aggressive, focused leadership for our growth and diversification. We are delighted to have him on board."

Brooks, 57, has spent his entire career in banking. In the last three years he was responsible for VISA USA's Member Relations, Merchant Relations, Acquirer Relations, and all attendant sales and service responsibilities to these areas.

Prior to that he spent nearly 10 years at Citibank where at different points he led the Western Division of the US Consumer Bank, managed Citibank Mortgage (at the time the largest US mortgage banking operation), and headed Global Compliance and Corporate Policy.

During his preceding nine years at Crocker National Bank, he rose to the position of vice chairman. Earlier in his career, Brooks served as Deputy Head of Retail Banking at First National Bank of Chicago and at the age of 29 led The First National Bank of Cambridge, Ohio as its president and chief executive officer.

Brooks earned his Bachelor of Science and a Master's in Business Administration from Ohio State University and attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He is a trustee of the American Graduate School of Management, Thunderbird.

Of Greenawalt, Alter remarked, "Rich has been a colleague and friend for the past nine years. His contributions helped Advanta emerge as one of the premier high-growth financial services companies in the country. He helped all of our businesses to grow in a rapidly changing competitive environment. His legacy has been well earned and richly deserved."

With nearly six million customers, over $18 billion in managed assets and 3,400 employees at Sept. 30, 1996, Advanta is a rapidly growing consumer financial services enterprise. The company proudly serves consumers and small businesses through high quality, innovative offerings of credit cards, mortgages, leases, insurance and deposit products. -0- Editor's Note: Photos available upon request.

CONTACT: Advanta Corp.

Stacey Chazin, 215/732-4100

Phyllis Hoffman, 215/444-5073