PITTSBURGH, Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- PNC Bank, a member of The PNC
Financial Services Group, today announced an agreement with the home
improvement site ImproveNet.com, through which the bank is offering home
equity loans and home equity lines of credit to consumers in select states.
    "With PNC's alliance with ImproveNet.com, PNC Bank is offering homeowners
a fast and convenient way to apply online for a home equity loan or line of
credit to help finance their home improvement projects," said Bryan Ridley,
senior vice president and manager of Consumer Lending at PNC. "PNC Bank is
committed to offering customers choice in how and when they bank. Through our
relationship with ImproveNet.com, we are expanding our online resources to
accommodate the growing number of consumers who are interested in electronic
banking."
    ImproveNet.com identifies home improvement professionals in a number of
construction trades by area and matches them to a homeowner's project needs --
at no cost to homeowners. The site also offers free advice from building and
design experts, along with calculators to estimate the cost of home
improvement projects.
    Registered visitors to ImproveNet.com interested in locating a lender to
finance their home improvement projects can click to the "Find a Lender"
section of the site. If they live in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New Jersey,
Florida, New York or Maryland, they are presented with a link to the online
Loan Center at PNCBank.com.  At the Loan Center site, visitors will find more
information about home equity loans and home equity lines of credit as well as
an online loan application.  PNC Bank can issue a preliminary loan decision in
as little as 30 seconds of an application being submitted, so customers can
quickly learn if their financing has been secured.
    "We are very pleased that with the agreement with PNC Bank, our homeowners
will have the convenience of being able to apply for a home equity loan at the
same time they use our help to find a contractor," said Ron Cooper, ImproveNet
CEO and Chairman. "By offering a one-stop resource through ImproveNet, we hope
to convert more homeowners to home-improvers, providing even more qualified
leads to our pre-screened service providers."
    PNC Bank has a track record of introducing online innovations. It was the
first large bank in the country to auction CDs online. Its electronic bill
delivery and payment allows customers to request the delivery of bills from
participating billers, as well as pay bills through Account Link(R), located
on the bank's Web site.
    ImproveNet Inc. (Nasdaq: IMPV) combines the convenience and speed of the
Internet with personalized assistance to make home improvements more
successful for homeowners, contractors, architects, designers, manufacturers,
retailers, lenders and real estate professionals.  Among the companies
currently using ImproveNet content and services as an e-business and customer
loyalty solution are GE, DuPont Corian, Owens Corning, Dow, Delta Faucet,
Yahoo, Microsoft Home Advisor, Knight Ridder and Cox Interactive. For more
information, contact http://www.ImproveNet.com, http://www.ImproveNetPRO.com or
800-437-0473.
    PNC Bank is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
(NYSE: PNC), which is headquartered in Pittsburgh and is one of the largest
diversified financial services companies in the United States, operating
regional banking, corporate banking, real estate finance, asset-based lending,
private banking, asset management and global fund processing services.

        Reach PNC Bank on the World Wide Web at http://www.pncbank.com

Link to this page:

  

http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/701257.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 701257
CONTACT:
Maureen Brown of PNC Bank, 412-768-2752, or
maureen.brown@pncbank.com

---

---

Issuers of news releases and not PR Newswire are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Terms and conditions, including restrictions on redistribution, apply.
Copyright © 1996- PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
A United Business Media company.