Prism Financial Corporation Acquires a Leading Florida Mortgage Company

Business Wire, Sept 14, 1999

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 1999--

As part of its ongoing strategy to expand its mortgage lending presence in key geographies, Prism Financial Corporation, one of the nation's largest retail originators, has acquired Mortgage Express, the largest mortgage brokerage business in Florida. The addition of Mortgage Express marks Prism's fifth acquisition of a leading regional mortgage company within the last 12 months.

Mortgage Express, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., operates three licensed retail brokerage offices, in Boca Raton, Royal Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens, and has more than 140 employees. During the last 12 months, Mortgage Express closed more than $400 million in mortgage loans.

"We are extremely excited to have Mortgage Express as our newest teammate," said Bruce Abrams, Prism's chairman and chief executive. "One of our goals this year was to find a strong regional partner in the southeast, and Mortgage Express brings an impressive track record of performance to Prism."

Like Prism, Mortgage Express is a fast-growing, customer-service focused mortgage company. The company was founded in 1993 by Jay Biggins and Alan Reichstein, who will continue to lead Mortgage Express. "We are excited about the synergies of joining the Prism team," Alan Reichstein said. "We will now be able to make loans nationwide, and take advantage of Prism's cutting edge technology and exceptional pricing to continue our growth."

Prism executives are available to discuss the following topics:

- The Mortgage Express acquisition - Consolidation in the mortgage industry - The importance of scale and acquisitions in the current business

environment

About Prism Financial Corporation

Prism Financial Corporation is a leading national retail mortgage banking company that originated more than $8 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 1,000 loan officers in 24 states. Prism operates through more than 150 retail branches as well as through partnerships with major Internet companies. Prism's lines of business include a growing e-commerce and ancillary services divisions. Prism Financial's common stock trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PRFN. 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.

Safe Harbor Provision

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those identified below, which could cause future results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "goals," and other expressions which indicate future events and trends identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates, and if no date is provided, then such statements speak only as of today. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The following factors, as well as those disclosed in its prospectus filed as part of its registrations statement (33-74883) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause future results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated: (1) the level of demand for mortgage credit and ancillary services, which is affected by such external factors as the level of interest rates; (2) the direction of interest rates; (3) the relationship between mortgage interest rates and the cost of funds; (4) federal and state regulation of the Company's mortgage banking and ancillary service operations; and (5) competition within the mortgage banking and various ancillary service industries.