Consumers Name E-LOAN As One of America's Top Twenty Companies for Privacy

Business Wire, April 11, 2007

Independent Industry Survey Ranks E-LOAN In Top Twenty for Third Consecutive Year

PLEASANTON, Calif. -- E-LOAN([R]), an online consumer direct lender, today announced that, for the third consecutive year, a national independent study of consumers has ranked E-LOAN among the top twenty companies for privacy in America. The 2007 Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study is an annual survey sponsored by TRUSTe and conducted by Ponemon Institute.

"E-LOAN has always made the protection of consumers' financial information and privacy our top priority," said Tess Koleczek, chief privacy officer of E-LOAN. "These results are especially gratifying because it means that these same consumers have recognized and rewarded our efforts to protect their privacy with this top ranking for the third consecutive year."

The annual survey evaluates how consumers perceive organizations that collect and manage their personal information. The study ranks companies and federal agencies industry-by-industry and provides a list of overall top performing companies. Companies were ranked by consumers as a part of an unaided recall survey in which they were asked to name one to five companies they believed to be the most and least trusted for using and protecting their personal information.

Since its inception, consumers and industry experts have recognized E-LOAN for its pro-consumer values and its commitment to revolutionizing the way consumers get a loan. It has kept true to its fundamental core value of providing consumers a fair, open and honest loan experience. Independent studies conducted by Keynote Systems, The Customer Respect Group, The Ponemon Institute and TRUSTe have consistently bestowed top honors to E-LOAN for its dedication to providing borrowers with a simple, easy and open way to obtain mortgage, auto and home equity loans. And, more recently, consumers have also overwhelmingly embraced E-LOAN's high yield online savings and certificates of deposits offering that was launched in September 2006.

About E-LOAN([R])

E-LOAN is an online consumer direct lender dedicated to providing consumers with a simple, easy and open way to obtain mortgage, auto loans, home equity loans, and online savings and certificate of deposit accounts. Since its launch in 1997, E-LOAN has drawn upon its pro consumer values to improve the lending and online savings experience in revolutionary ways. By eliminating the traditional incentive structure to charge consumers higher rates, giving consumers free access to credit scores and eliminating lender fees, E-LOAN is providing a uniquely open, fair and honest process. Protecting consumers' financial privacy is also a paramount concern, leading E-LOAN to implement industry leading privacy practices and advocate strong consumer financial privacy protection laws. Consumers have recognized E-LOAN for its trustworthiness and respect for customers. Three independent studies conducted by TRUSTe and The Ponemon Institute ranked E-LOAN as one of the Top 20 Most Trusted Companies for Privacy in America. In another independent study conducted by The Customer Respect Group, E-LOAN received the overall highest rating in the Online Customer Respect Study of North America's largest financial services firms. Since it started its operations, E-LOAN has originated and sold over $32 billion in mortgage and consumer loans.

E-LOAN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banco Popular North America, a New York State-chartered bank, which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Popular, Inc., a full service financial services provider with operations in Puerto Rico, the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. E-Loan's deposit products are insured with the FDIC through Banco Popular North America. To find out more about E-LOAN and its products and services, logon to http://www.eloan.com or call 1-888-533-5333.