Prism Mortgage Company Earns Fannie Mae's Technology Leadership Award

Business Wire, July 2, 1999

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1999--

Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM), the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages, has presented Prism Mortgage Company (NASDAQ:PRFN) with Fannie Mae's Technology Leadership Award for Prism's innovative use of Desktop Underwriter.

Prism uses Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system to process its loans more quickly and cost-effectively allowing more families to achieve the American dream of homeownership.

"Prism Mortgage Company has been a leader in the use of Desktop Underwriter, and we are pleased to have this Chicago-based lender as one of our key partners," said Elizabeth S. Harshfield, senior vice president for Fannie Mae's Midwestern Regional Office in Chicago. "Since April 1998, they have used the system to process more than 23,000 loans. These remarkable numbers show Prism's dedication to using technology efficiently and effectively."

The use of Desktop Underwriter is just one of Prism's ongoing initiatives to be on the leading edge of mortgage technology.

"Since our inception, Prism Mortgage Company has focused on reducing costs and increasing efficiency," said Bruce Abrams, chairman and chief executive of Prism. "Desktop Underwriter has helped us cut the time and cost of the mortgage loan process in half -- a huge benefit to homebuyers. The technology allows us to process loan applications and receive approvals directly from Fannie Mae within a minute. As a retail-focused lender, we continually seek to implement such improvements to provide the highest level of customer service. Prism Mortgage Company is honored to accept this prestigious award. We look forward to continuing to work with Fannie Mae to pilot new enhancements to the technology."

Desktop Underwriter is an automated loan origination and underwriting system, and is a key component of the MORNETPlus suite of technology solutions for the mortgage finance industry.

Desktop Underwriter can be used to underwrite mortgages eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae, including Fannie Mae's Community Home Buyer's Program loans. The program allows loan originators to quickly receive approvals nearly anywhere on laptop computers, including in the customer's home or office.

Lenders who use Desktop Underwriter are able to offer their customers reduced paperwork and streamlined appraisal options that enable homeowners and home buyers to take advantage of reduced fees and faster processing.

Lenders like Prism Mortgage Company also are using Desktop Underwriter for electronic, point-of-sale decisions, allowing borrowers to receive loan approval recommendations within seconds.

Prism Financial Corporation is a leading national retail mortgage banking company that originated more than $10 billion in loans in 1998, making it the 11th largest retail originator in the country.

Based in Chicago, Prism is nationally licensed, with more than 1,100 loan officers in 25 states. Prism operates through more than 150 retail branches as well as through partnerships with major Internet mortgage web sites. Since it was founded in 1992, Prism has been the fastest-growing mortgage originator.

Prism Financial's subsidiaries include Prism Mortgage Company of Chicago, Pacific Guarantee Mortgage Corp. of Point Richmond, Calif., Mortgage Market Inc. of Lake Oswego, Ore., First City Financial Corp. of Englewood, Colo., and PointSource Financial LLC. Of Dallas, Texas.

For more information, contact: Lisa Morrell, vice president of marketing/communications at 312/410-8662. Prism's executive offices are located at 440 N. Orleans, Chicago, IL 60610.

Fannie Mae is a New York Stock Exchange company and the largest non-bank financial services company in the world. It operates pursuant to a federal charter and is the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages.

Over the past 30 years, Fannie Mae has provided nearly $2.5 trillion of mortgage financing for over 30 million families. More information about Fannie Mae can be found on the Internet at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Style Usage: Fannie Mae's Board of Directors has authorized the company to operate as "Fannie Mae," and the company's stock is now listed on the NYSE as "Fannie Mae." In order to facilitate clarity and avoid confusion, news organizations are asked to refer to the company exclusively as "Fannie Mae."