| ECC Capital Corporation Subsidiary to Acquire Mortgage Origination Branches From Saxon Capital, Inc. |
IRVINE, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ECC Capital Corporation (NYSE: ECR), a mortgage finance company that originates and invests in residential mortgage loans, today announced that its retail subsidiary, Bravo Credit Corporation, has signed an agreement with America's MoneyLine, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Saxon Capital, Inc. (NYSE: SAX), to acquire certain assets and retail mortgage branches located in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas. The proposed transaction will allow Bravo to accelerate its business plan implementation and growth with an exceptional opportunity to minimize costs and the ramp-up time required to open new retail mortgage branches. The completion of the proposed acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. As part of the proposed transaction, Bravo Credit will extend employment to America's MoneyLine employees at the acquired locations. In addition, Bravo Credit will offer positions in its Tampa office to Tampa, Florida employees of America's MoneyLine. The companies are working together to facilitate a smooth transition in order to minimize the effects on employees and customers. Shabi Asghar, President and Co-CEO of ECC Capital, commented, "The proposed acquisition is consistent with our 2005 business plan of expanding our retail origination platform. We welcome the team of experienced associates from America's MoneyLine, Inc. to join our Company." Roque Santi, Chief Financial Officer of ECC Capital added, "This transaction is a win-win situation for both companies and their employees. It gives us the opportunity to grow our retail operations and at the same time, allows us to maintain focus on our core business without lost management time spent negotiating lease, equipment and services contracts." About ECC Capital Corporation ECC Capital Corporation, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., is a mortgage finance company that originates and invests in residential mortgage loans. Through its wholesale and retail subsidiaries, ECC Capital offers a series of mortgage products to borrowers, with a particular emphasis on "nonconforming" borrowers who generally do not satisfy the credit, collateral, documentation or other standards required by conventional mortgage lenders and loan buyers. ECC Capital is structured to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) by managing a portfolio of nonconforming loans it originates or acquires. As a REIT, ECC Capital's principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to stockholders from the spread between the interest income on its assets in its portfolio and the costs of capital to finance its acquisition of these assets. Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements relating to the proposed acquisition and the successful integration of the business and personnel, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and ECC Capital intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created thereby. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could affect ECC Capital's future plans. ECC Capital cautions that these statements are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, (i) the condition of the U.S. economy and financial system, (ii) the interest rate environment, (iii) the stability of residential property values, (iv) the potential effect of new state or federal laws or regulations, (v) the effect of increasing competition in ECC Capital's sector, (vi) ECC Capital's ability to successfully implement its growth strategy, (vii) continued availability of credit facilities and access to the securitization markets or other funding sources, and (viii) ECC Capital's ability and the ability of its subsidiaries to operate effectively within the limitations imposed on REITs by federal tax rules. You should also be aware that all information in this news release is as of May 4, 2005. ECC Capital undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in ECC Capital's expectations.
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