Pasadena, Cal. and Hartford, Conn., May 1, 2000 — ChemIndustry.com, the largest provider of Web-based comprehensive search services for the chemical and related industries worldwide, and First International Bank, a subsidiary of First International Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNCE), today announced that they have agreed to make financing available online to industry professionals and their businesses. The strategic alliance will facilitate purchases and sales by ChemIndustry.com users within the $1.6 trillion global marketplace for chemical-related products and services.

ChemIndustry.com’s free, comprehensive category and key word search services will now be accompanied by the 14 commercial and international financing products in First International Bank’s e-CreditMenu(sm). Under the agreement, the Bank will fund loan amounts up to $5 million per transaction, significantly greater credit availability than the $100,000 maximum "credit card" levels typifying the online business loan market today. e-CreditMenu product offerings range from basic payment guarantees, working capital lines, equipment loans and industrial mortgages to sophisticated international trade, barter and energy financing programs.

First International Bank will underwrite loans and other facilities appearing in the e-CreditMenu in accordance with Riscope(sm), the Bank’s proprietary commercial credit scoring system. Riscope applies to most types of industrial companies around the world and assures them of an efficient and rapid credit approval process. First International Bank will integrate the e-CreditMenu with ChemIndustry.com search services using ThruCredit(sm), the Bank’s technological solution for automating e-business financing.

Yudie Fishman, CEO of ChemIndustry.com, stated that "Our goal is to make ChemIndustry.com the most valuable online resource for chemical and allied industry professionals and businesses when they are looking for industry-specific information. When users of our search services find buyers and suppliers around the world, First International Bank’s global financing capabilities will help them close deals. We are very pleased to be associated with First International, which has a strong commitment to financing small and medium size chemical companies worldwide."

According to Brett N. Silvers, chairman and CEO of First International Bank, "The quality and comprehensiveness of ChemIndustry.com’s value-added database of chemical and related industry information are very impressive. We believe our new alliance with ChemIndustry.com is an ideal way to deliver financing to the greatest number of companies in the chemical industry looking to compete in the global marketplace."

About ChemIndustry.com

Founded in April 1999, ChemIndustry.com (www.chemindustry.com) currently has more than 28,000 separate entries representing 20,000 distinct Web sites in its database, making it the largest specialized search service for chemical and allied professionals on the Web. Traffic at the ChemIndustry.com database is increasing approximately 10 percent a week. An international team of industry experts drawn from industry and academia guides the development of search services. The company licenses its search box to leading Web sites in the industries it serves, which include the chemical, petrochemical, agrochemical, pharmaceutical, biochemical, coatings, and dyes marketplaces.

On April 24, 2000, ChemIndustry.com announced the launch of a Chinese language search service (www.china.chemindustry.com) and the opening of an office in Guangzhou, China. The previous month, ChemIndustry.com signed an agreement with the China Chemical Network (CCN), a leading provider of chemical industry information in China, to enter the websites of 1,500 Chinese chemical companies into the ChemIndustry.com database and include ChemIndustry.com’s search services on the CCN home page.

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, Miami, FL, 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.

ChemIndustry.com:
Elliot King
(410) 356-3943
eking2@prodigy.net

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