First Franklin Unveils NationPoint Brand to Retail Mortgage Marketplace New Retail Brand More Accurately Reflects Company's Nationwide Presence as a Leading Direct Lender, Ending 2004 With a Record $1.6 Billion In Production SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- First Franklin Direct, a retail direct-to-consumer division of National City, one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country, today unveiled its new consumer brand: NationPoint. As part of today's announcement, the company also launched a new website at http://www.nationpoint.com/. Developed with extensive feedback and research from consumers, partners and real estate professionals, the new NationPoint brand was created to reflect key brand characteristics that its target market pinpointed as desirable traits it wanted in a direct lender: strength, integrity, nationwide presence, trustworthiness, approachability and accountability. Commenting on the launch of the new NationPoint brand, Andy Pollock, president of First Franklin, said: "We are proud to launch this exciting new brand into the retail marketplace. In such a crowded, competitive field, NationPoint really stands out as a strong, trustworthy brand that will attract consumers looking to receive the absolute best customer service available anywhere in the direct-lending space -- from point of sale to funding." "The launch of our NationPoint brand also more accurately reflects our nationwide presence as a leading consumer direct lender," said Michael Petree, executive vice president of NationPoint. "Regardless of customer location or geography, we are available to serve our customers seven days a week. Our consumer-direct brand launch also helps avoid any customer confusion with the rest of First Franklin, which remains focused on wholesale business." The launch of NationPoint capped off another successful year for the retail-lending division, which had a record-breaking production year in 2004, with $1.6 billion in production -- a 110% increase over 2003. "Our strength in the marketplace has been remarkable and we have been able to hold our overall production volume near record levels while other retail lenders have seen their production volumes slip 30% to 50% from their 2003 levels," said Petree. "Our people, processes and technology have been incredibly resilient over the past couple of years, and our focus on home-purchase mortgage products served us well as refinance volume has contracted." Specifically, Petree points to the division's proprietary operating (DVN) platform as a major factor in his division's success. "Our DVN platform combines a best-in-class LOS (loan operating system) functionality with a heavy CRM component to enable us to meet our customers' full range of mortgage needs -- when, where and how they choose. It really enables us to fulfill on our key customer value proposition: Mortgages at the Speed of You," concluded Petree. NationPoint will continue to roll out additional enhancements to its DVN platform. And, together with the strength of the new retail brand, the company believes that it is in a strong position to continue to increase its market share in the direct-lending arena. About NationPoint NationPoint is a consumer-direct division of National City Bank of Indiana. NationPoint has an operations center in Irvine, California. NationPoint makes it easy for consumers to make pre-qualification inquiries, to apply for home loans and to obtain a loan decision via telephone and/or the Internet. NationPoint offers loan products in 46 states. For more information about NationPoint, visit its Web site at http://www.nationpoint.com/ or call 1-800-770-4277. About First Franklin Financial Corporation First Franklin Financial Corporation, a leading seller of residential mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, is a subsidiary of National City Bank of Indiana. First Franklin Financial Corporation is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, please contact Stephen Corsi, SVP Marketing, 408-964-6000. DATASOURCE: First Franklin Financial Corporation CONTACT: media, Stephen Corsi of First Franklin Financial Corporation, +1-408-964-6000, or ; or Tim Cox of Z!ng Public Relations, +1-650-369-7784, or , for First Franklin Financial Corporation Web site: http://www.nationpoint.com/ Web site: http://www.ff.com/

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