American Business Financial Services and VerticalNet to Offer Secured Financing Program to VerticalNet's Business-to-Business Communities.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers BALA CYNWYD, Pa. and HORSHAM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2000 New Program Offers Financing for Storefronts and E-Commerce e-commerce, commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory transfers. Centers VerticalNet, Inc. (Nasdaq: VERT), the Internet's premier portfolio of business-to-business industrial trading communities, and American Business Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. , Inc. (Nasdaq: ABFI) today announced that they signed an agreement that will enable ABFI to offer secured business loans across VerticalNet's online trading communities An online trading community exists to provide its members with a structured method for trading, bartering, or selling goods or services. These communities often have forums and chatrooms designed to facilitate communication between the members. . Through this agreement, VerticalNet's users will be offered ABFI's secured financing products, including a new secured financing program through its business lending subsidiary, American Business Credit, Inc., that will allow businesses to borrow funds to establish storefronts and e-commerce centers within the VerticalNet(R) trading communities. As part of the agreement, VerticalNet will create two links across its online communities to a co-branded Web site that will provide business borrowers with information describing American Business Credit, its products and services. "Our relationship with ABFI advances VerticalNet's initiative to find partners that we believe will help our customers fulfill ful·fill also ful·fil tr.v. ful·filled, ful·fill·ing, ful·fills also ful·fils 1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises. 2. their business needs," said Mark Walsh
Mark Walsh is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. , president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of VerticalNet. "We expect that ABFI's comprehensive financing program will enable VerticalNet customers to better educate themselves about finance issues, as well as obtain loan services to help them grow their businesses. The relationship is an important step for VerticalNet as we continue to add a variety of resources to our trading community structure." "This partnership is directly aligned with our corporate strategy to leverage the power of B2B e-commerce (Business to Business Electronic-COMMERCE) Refers to one business selling to another business via the Web. See e-commerce. ," said ABFI Chairman and CEO Anthony J. Santilli. "We are poised to maximize this relationship by increasing productivity and driving down the cost of making loans." "We believe that the reach of VerticalNet's online communities, combined with the online customer service capacity of ABFI's most profitable subsidiary, American Business Credit, will create a meaningful business-to-business credit resource on the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the ," Santilli continued. "Businesses are finding that they can build sales and improve profitability by using the power of the Internet. By teaming with VerticalNet, we are expanding our ability to capture market share in a new and exciting way. We believe that VerticalNet's customer profiles present significant opportunities for American Business Credit to rapidly increase market share, while expanding our national presence. As we move forward, we will be looking at other B2B e-commerce opportunities that make sense for our Company." About ABFI American Business Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABFI) is a diversified financial The diversified financial services segment includes a range of consumer and commercially-oriented companies offering a wide variety of products and services, including various lending products (such as home equity loans and credit cards), insurance, and securities and investment services holding company which provides investment products and credit services to consumers and businesses, including subordinated investment notes, business loans, and first and second home equity mortgage loans. The Company offers its products and services to consumers and businesses nationwide. About VerticalNet VerticalNet, Inc. (www.verticalnet.com), owns and operates 55 industry-specific Web sites designed as online business-to-business communities, known as vertical trade communities. These vertical trade communities provide users with comprehensive sources of information, interaction and e-commerce. They are grouped into the following industry sectors: ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, COMMUNICATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL, FOOD AND PACKAGING, FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY, HEALTHCARE/SCIENCE, MANUFACTURING AND METALS, PROCESS, PUBLIC SECTOR, SERVICE, TEXTILES AND APPAREL. Additionally, VerticalNet provides auctions, catalogs, bookstores, career services and other e-commerce capabilities horizontally across its communities with sites like Industry Deals.com, IT CareerHub.com, LabX.com and Professional Store.com. VerticalNet's NECX Exchange provides an exchange for the electronic components industry. This announcement contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc (i) VerticalNet's belief that its agreement with ABFI will help its customers fulfill their business needs; (ii) VerticalNet's expectation that ABFI's financing program will enable VerticalNet customers to better educate themselves about finance issues, as well as obtain loan services to help them grow their businesses; (iii) VerticalNet's plan to continue adding resources to its vertical trading communities' capabilities to deliver Internet solutions; (iv) ABFI's belief that it will create a meaningful business-to-business credit resource on the Internet; (v) ABFI's belief that VerticalNet's customer profiles present significant opportunities for American Business Credit to rapidly increase market share, while expanding its national presence; as well as (vi) other statements that are preceded by, followed by or include the words "believes," "plans," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," or similar expressions (or the negative of any of the foregoing). For such statements, VerticalNet and ABFI each claim the protection of the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include market demand for VerticalNet and ABFI's products and services as well as their ability to develop new products and services on a timely basis; the increasingly competitive and constantly changing environment for the products and services offered by VerticalNet and ABFI; rapid technological and market changes; the ability to recruit and retain personnel, particularly technology specialists; potential intellectual property and licensing issues; the development and sale of superior products or services by competitors; general economic conditions, including interest rate risk; future residential real estate values; regulatory changes (legislative or otherwise) affecting the real estate market and mortgage lending activities; availability of funding; loan payment rates; delinquency delinquency Criminal behaviour carried out by a juvenile. Young males make up the bulk of the delinquent population (about 80% in the U.S.) in all countries in which the behaviour is reported. and default rates; changes in factors influencing the loan securitization Securitization The process of creating a financial instrument by combining other financial assets and then marketing them to investors. Notes: Mortgage backed securities are a perfect example of securitization. May also be spelled as "securitisation. market, as well as those factors set forth in (i) VerticalNet's Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the period ended December 31, 1998 and VerticalNet's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the quarter ended September 30, 1999, both of which have been filed with the SEC; and (ii) American Business Financial Services, Inc.'s SEC filings. VerticalNet is the registered trademark of VerticalNet, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. |
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