PLEASANTON, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- E-LOAN(R)
(Nasdaq: EELN), an online consumer direct lender, today announced that it
received the overall highest rating in the First Quarter 2005 Online Customer
Respect Study of North America's largest financial services firms.
The independent study conducted by The Customer Respect Group, an
international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations
treat their customers online, reported that E-LOAN's Consumer Respect Index
rating was the highest among all traditional and Internet-based financial
services firms included in the survey. The Customer Respect Index is a
qualitative and quantitative in-depth analysis and independent measure of a
customer's online experience when interacting with companies via the Internet.
Overall, financial firms improved their performance over the past year.
However, in the area of privacy -- an area consumers continually report as the
single most important area when choosing a financial services provider
-- financial services firms, excluding E-LOAN, have failed to perform, with
nearly half of financial services firms sharing personal data without
permission.
"When consumers consider working with financial services companies,
customer respect is a major factor," said Terry Golesworthy, President of The
Customer Respect Group. "In our study, E-LOAN consistently scored high in all
areas of customer respect, including privacy. We applaud E-LOAN's commitment
to its customers."
"E-LOAN is a company that was founded on the fundamental belief that
consumers deserve better," said Mark Lefanowicz, Chief Executive Officer of
E-LOAN. "In our experience, consumers are looking for a lending partner that
they can trust. We continually have honored that covenant by offering
exceptional customer service and adhering to the strictest of consumer privacy
protection standards."
Since its inception, E-LOAN has been working on behalf of consumers to
transform the lending industry, providing consumers with a more open, fair and
honest lending experience. As a staunch consumer advocate, E-LOAN played an
integral role in the legislative battle to provide consumers access to their
credit scores, the most important factor in determining whether a consumer is
approved for a loan and at what rate.
In June 2002, E-LOAN co-founded Californians for Privacy Now (CFPN), a
coalition dedicated to requiring financial services companies to first obtain
consumers' consent before sharing their information with third parties and
affiliates. As a result, E-LOAN helped facilitate the California
legislature's passage of the strongest consumer financial privacy protection
law in the nation.
Additional information about this study and The Consumer Respect Group can
be obtained by visiting http://www.CustomerRespect.com, calling 617-378-3173 or
emailing info@customerrespect.com.
About E-LOAN
E-LOAN is an online consumer direct lender dedicated to providing
borrowers across the credit spectrum with a more enjoyable and affordable way
to obtain mortgage, auto and home equity loans. By making credit scores freely
available to consumers and integrating them with a suite of sophisticated
advice tools, E-LOAN is pioneering the nascent debt management advice category
-- helping consumers proactively manage their loan portfolios to lower their
overall borrowing costs. The company relentlessly advocates eliminating the
unnecessary processes, fees, hassle, haggle and lack of transparency
traditionally associated with the consumer loan experience. Protecting
consumers' financial privacy is a paramount concern, prompting E-LOAN to
implement industry leading privacy practices and advocate strong consumer
financial privacy protection laws. In June 2004, an independent study
conducted by TRUSTe and The Ponemon Institute ranked E-LOAN as one of the top
20 most trusted companies for privacy in America. E-LOAN was the highest
ranked online financial services company to make the top 20.
Consumers can log onto http://www.eloan.com or call 1-888-E-LOAN-22 to access
E-LOAN's products, services and team of dedicated loan and debt advice
professionals. E-LOAN, Inc. is publicly traded on the Nasdaq National Market
under the symbol EELN. From inception through December 2004, E-LOAN has
originated and sold over $24.1 billion in consumer loans.
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current
expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. E-LOAN's actual results may
differ from the results described in the forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to,
general conditions in the mortgage and auto industries, interest rate
fluctuations, and the impact of competitive products. These and other risk
factors are detailed in E-LOAN's periodic filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
E-LOAN Press Contact: E-LOAN Press/Investor Contact:
Laurie Azzano Tiffany Fox
Cosmo Public Relations E-LOAN, Public/Investor Relations
504-296-1349 925-847-6314
laurie@cosmo-pr.com tiffanyf@eloan.com
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Related links:
http://www.eloan.com
CONTACT:
media, Laurie Azzano of Cosmo Public
Relations, +1-504-296-1349, or laurie@cosmo-pr.com, for E-LOAN;
or media or investors, Tiffany Fox of E-LOAN, +1-925-847-6314, or
tiffanyf@eloan.com
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