Century Bank Signs with Portellus to Implement its LOS, ERM and Broker Portal Solutions; End-to-End Solution Built with Best-in-Class Components Will Take Century Bank's Operations to Next Level.

IRVINE, Calif. -- Portellus Inc., a leading provider of technology solutions and services for the financial services industry, announced that Century Bank, an FDIC-insured financial institution based in Sarasota, Florida, has signed with the company to implement its loan origination system (LOS), enterprise rules management (ERM) solution and broker portal. The Web-based solutions will add newfound agility and flexibility to Century Bank's technology operations and will enable them to compete on a new level using next-generation lending automation.

Century Bank will utilize Portellus' LOS as an end-to-end fulfillment platform to streamline its origination process and provide end users with dashboard-level visibility of workflow functions throughout its organization. The architecture of Portellus' LOS avoids lengthy customized installs by empowering lenders to implement out-of-the box functionality to achieve a faster ROI. Lenders can later build out a more comprehensive solution on an as-needed basis via the easy configuration of features, functions and workflows.

Portellus' ERM seamlessly integrates with the LOS and disparate applications to intelligently achieve best practices and deliver accurate, consistent decisions across Century Bank's operations. The solution utilizes a centralized data repository for all rules, guidelines and processes to validate data throughout the origination process and to automate Century Bank's unique lending workflow. Portellus will also integrate its ERM and LOS with Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter (DU) to combine portfolio and secondary marketing best execution strategies for both its nonconforming and conforming products. Because business users are empowered to rapidly author and deploy rules in plain English, Century Bank will be able to swiftly capitalize on changing marketplace conditions, and will be able to drastically reduce total cost of system ownership.

In addition to Century Bank using Portellus' ERM solution to govern both its back office decision-making requirements, it will also utilize the system to extend instant risk-based pricing, product eligibility and automated underwriting approvals to the point-of-sale, complete with conditions and exceptions. Portellus' broker portal provides Century Bank's entire broker network with real-time access to best-fit products and pricing, credit pulls or re-pulls, debt management, integration with Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter (DU), complete pipeline visibility and updated loan status. Collectively, the broker-facing point-of-sale tools help brokers to quickly say "yes" to borrowers at the point of initial borrower contact, and helps Century Bank to increase its pull-through rate and facilitate broker loyalty.

"Before selecting Portellus, we looked at some of the more established mortgage technology vendors, but found those platforms to be inflexible, costly to maintain and incapable of service-oriented integration with disparate systems," said Fran Sedini, senior vice president at Century Bank. "Portellus demonstrated its solution to be extremely agile, highly configurable and easily maintainable. The system capabilities that were proven in their Customer Readiness Lab coupled with what we trust will be a swift implementation made going with Portellus' unique approach to end-to-end lending automation a sound technology decision with a clear ROI."

"In order to aggressively compete in the industry's rapidly changing landscape, forward-thinking organizations like Century Bank are implementing next-generation origination and fulfillment technology solutions that will allow them to flex and scale their processes and policies to capitalize on marketplace dynamics," said Skip Hulme, director of product management at Portellus. "We are pleased to add Century Bank to a growing list of lenders that have made the decision to utilize Portellus' end-to-end LOS and Enterprise Rules Management solutions to optimize their lending performance and profitability."

Portellus will be offering demonstrations of its suite of mortgage technology solutions at the National Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Exposition in San Diego, March 29-March 31, 2006, booth 431 and meeting room 24A.

About Century Bank

Century Bank FSB is a regional retail and wholesale mortgage lender which originates mortgage loans of all types, including first and second lien loans, conforming, Alt-A, sub-prime, construction permanent loans and home equity lines of credit. Over the past several years, Century Bank has increased its origination volume by four fold and continues to expand and diversify in the wholesale and retail market.

About Portellus

Headquartered in Irvine, Portellus Inc. is a leading provider of technology applications and services for the mortgage banking and insurance industries. The company's Decision Management solution, Enterprise Rules Management (ERM) solution, Mortgage Solutions Framework, Point-of-Sale Portals and Insurance Rating and Underwriting Engine utilize Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to seamlessly integrate with existing systems, enabling clients to gain competitive advantages, reduce costs, mitigate risk, increase profitability, adhere to compliance regulations and swiftly enter new markets. For more information, visit www.portellus.com or call 949-250-9600.