Advanta Issues 2001 Earnings Guidance; Sale of Mortgage Business Continues On Track.

Business Editors

SPRING HOUSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 23, 2001

Advanta Corporation (NASDAQ:ADVNB; ADVNA) today announced that the Company expects its 2001 fiscal year operating earnings from Business Card and Advanta Partners to be approximately $1.41 per diluted share. The Company also reiterated that it will increase focus on its profitable business credit card business, already one of the nation's largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards, as it completes the sale of its Mortgage business during the first quarter of 2001. The Company anticipates book value per share of $16.00 to $17.00 after completion of the strategic alternatives process and related restructuring and other charges at March 31, 2001.

Advanta management will hold a conference call with analysts and institutional investors today, February 23, 2001, at 9:00 am Eastern time. The call will be broadcast simultaneously for the public over the Internet through http://www.advanta.com or http://www.vcall.com. To listen to the live call, please go to the web site at least fifteen minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to listen to the live broadcast, replays will be available shortly after the call on the Vcall site.

Advanta (www.advanta.com) is a highly focused financial services company with over 2,600 employees, servicing approximately $20 billion of assets, including approximately $12 billion in managed assets and approximately $8 billion in assets serviced for third parties. Advanta has been providing financial services to consumers and small businesses since 1951.

Advanta leverages its first-class direct marketing and information based expertise to develop state-of-the-art data warehousing and statistical modeling tools that identify potential customers and new target markets. Over the past five years, it has used these distinctive capabilities to become one of the nation's largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards to small businesses. Advanta also created one of the first automated underwriting and sales engines used in the non-conforming mortgage industry.

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. The most significant among these risks and uncertainties are: (1) the Company's managed net interest margin; (2) competitive pressures; (3) factors that affect the level of delinquencies and charge-offs, including a deterioration of general economic conditions; (4) interest rate fluctuations; (5) the level of expenses; (6) the timing of the securitizations of the Company's receivables; (7) factors affecting the value of investments held by the Company; (8) the effects of government regulation, including restrictions and limitations imposed by banking laws, regulators, examinations, and the agreements between the Company's bank subsidiaries and their regulators; (9) relationships with significant vendors, business partners and customers; (10) the amount and cost of financing available to the Company; (11) the ratings on the debt of the Company and its subsidiaries; (12) the ability to attract and retain key personnel and customers; (13) the timing and closing of the sale of the Mortgage business; (14) factors affecting the final purchase price of the sale of the Mortgage business; (15) the approval of the sale by regulatory agencies and Advanta shareholders; and (16) factors affecting the ultimate amount of restructuring and other related charges associated with the conclusion of the strategic alternative process for the Mortgage and Leasing businesses. 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.