InformationWeek Features First International Bank’s B2B E-Commerce Transformation

Hartford, Conn., March 29, 2000 – Brett N. Silvers, Chairman and CEO of First International Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNCE) and its subsidiary First International Bank, are the featured trend story in the March 20, 2000 issue of InformationWeek. The article, "The ABCs Of E-Business", discusses how First International Bank, one of the world’s leading financial institutions serving small and medium size industrial companies, is transforming its management practices, training programs, product line and marketing channels to deliver Internet-based credit worldwide. The article may be viewed at http://www.informationweek.com/778/train.htm.

According to Silvers, "Alliances with industrial e-business marketplaces will become a primary global distribution channel for credit providers like First International Bank within three years. First International Bank’s strategy is to partner with leading B2B e-commerce marketplaces in several basic industries to offer participating buyers and sellers our
e-CreditMenu(sm) commercial and international loans – online, in real time."

First International Bank recently announced its first two partnerships with industrial e-business marketplaces, RailNet-USA.com(tm) on March 15 and MachineTools.com on March 28. Through these and other relationships currently in the works, First International Bank will provide loans up to $5 million per transaction. By contrast, most online business lending today consists of "credit card" type transactions, with a $100,000 maximum. The partnerships will also generate transaction-based revenue streams for e-business marketplaces, which is exactly what their venture capital and Wall Street investors are now demanding.

First International Bank is among the few financial institutions positioned to make the transition to online business credit transactions with ease. The bank’s leadership in making loans to industrial companies around the world is supported by its proprietary commercial credit scoring system, Riscope(sm), as well as by ThruCredit®, its technological solution for automating e-business financing. "Partnerships with e-business marketplaces are a new way to deliver on First International’s greatest strengths," observes Silvers. "As e-business marketplaces gain acceptance, the potential for us to boost high quality loan volume through this new medium will be enormous."

About First International Bank and First International Bancorp, Inc.

Hartford-based First International Bank (www.upscapital.com) and First International Bancorp, Inc. specialize in providing innovative credit, trade and financial solutions to small and medium size industrial companies located in the United States and international emerging markets. The Company is the nation’s most active combined user of loan guarantee programs made available by the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Export-Import Bank. During 1999, the Company originated $551 million in loans primarily within its industrial niche, bringing the managed portfolio including loans on-balance sheet and serviced for investors to $1.076 billion.

The Company has SBA preferred lender status in 21 districts, USDA certified lender status in several states, and Export-Import Bank AA delegated authority for export working lines of credit on a national basis. The Company operates domestic representative offices in Boston, MA, Cleveland, OH, Detroit, MI, Hartford, CT, Morristown, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Providence, RI, Rochester, NY, Springfield, MA, St. Louis, MO, and Washington, DC. The Company also has international representatives in Argentina, Brazil, Central America, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, North Africa, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and West Africa.

CONTACT:

First International Bank:
Michele Zommer
(860) 241-4705
zommerm@firstinterbank.com