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Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Denver, Colorado - The Native American Bank announced a new partnership with LenderLive Network and GreenPoint Mortgage. The creative partnership will offer a turnkey home mortgage program with Native American Bank and two of the industry�s most prominent leaders.

The program provides NAB with the ability to originate a loan for purchase, refinance or rehabilitation anywhere in the country. LenderLive will act as a retail operation for mortgage originations giving NAB the ability to work as a mortgage lender without the costs of hiring loan managers. GreenPoint will function as a broker partner, purchasing loans processed by NAB and LenderLive, and ultimately offering customers a full range of mortgage products at competitive rates.

�The name of the game is leveraging,� said Elouise Cobell, executive director for the Native American Community Development Corporation, the non-profit affiliate of Native American Bank. �Nowadays in banking, we don�t have to recreate the wheel. I am very happy to have such strong partners as LenderLive and GreenPoint who know the area of home mortgaging. With NAB�s strong footprint in the Native American community, it�s a perfect fit. A win-win for everybody.�

Native American Bank currently originates mortgages through the Browning office that covers both the Blackfeet and Rocky Boy Indian communities. Under the new arrangement, mortgages will be originated in the name of Native American Bank with LenderLive providing the fulfillment capabilities of both a call center and Internet access to applicants. �We are thrilled to provide solutions and services that will directly lead to increased homeownership among the Native American community� said Rick Seehausen, chief operating officer for LenderLive.

�This partnership opens the door to a seamless process for Native Americans to have the ability to apply for a mortgage,� said Stephanie Harmon, housing director for Native American Community Development Corporation, pointing out that the biggest challenge in Indian Country is home ownership. �Going through the mortgage process is difficult; to settle is cumbersome. LenderLive will take care of that process for the customer,� she explained.

GreenPoint Mortgage, selected because of the development of their Tribal POINTTM Mortgage Program, will serve two functions.

First, GreenPoint will purchase loans on fee simple land from NAB. All loans sold to GreenPoint will be on a whole loan basis with servicing released. NAB will earn origination fees and serviced released premiums through the sale of the loan.

GreenPoint�s second relationship with NAB will be a brokerage partnership. NAB and LenderLive will originate and process the loan application and will forward the package to GreenPoint for underwriting, closing, funding and servicing.

�We are excited about this partnership with Native American Bank and Lender Live,� said CeAnn Kelly, Vice President and director of GreenPoint�s tribal lending program. �We specialize in meeting the needs of underserved markets, and this is clearly a market with a great deal of unmet demand for home ownership. We have worked hard to identify the unique needs of Native Americans wanting to purchase housing on tribal lands and to create a set of loan products to meet those unique needs. Through this partnership, we will be able to create greater housing opportunities than any of us could on an individual basis.�

GreenPoint has a proven track record in the development of new markets and lending opportunities. According to NAB president and CEO John Beirise, the ultimate objective in the partnership with GreenPoint is to create enough product to have a market for trust land mortgages, �just like there is a market for mortgages in the non-Indian communities through players like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, with the end result being cheaper financing for home buyers.�

NAB also plans to work with Tribal housing counselors who are working with individuals applying for a mortgage. The counselor will complete the information on-line while working with the customer and then will submit the mortgage application online for processing by NAB�s team at LenderLive Network.

�This partnership will provide NAB with the opportunity to become the dominant mortgage lender in the Native American market, believed to be the fastest growing emerging market in the United States,� concluded Harmon. �LenderLive will arm NAB with the resources, experience and technology needed to compete for a greater share of Native American mortgage business, whereas GreenPoint is among the most profitable of the 50 largest banking companies in the country and has tremendous capital to fund the loans.�

Relevant Links:
Native American Bank - http://www.nabna.com
LenderLive - http://www.lenderlive.com
GreenPoint Mortgage - http://www.greenpointmortgage.com

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