Business Finance Highlights First International Bank’s New e-Marketplace Financing Strategy

HARTFORD, Conn., June 19, 2000—The June 2000 edition of Business Finance tracks President Clinton, U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley, First International Bank, and others in Part One of a business trend series, "Stepping Into The Global E-Marketplace." In the article, journalist Fay Hansen weighs in on the people and companies propelling the growth of business-to-business e-commerce. She features First International Bank’s chairman and CEO, Brett N. Silvers, who credits e-marketplaces with sparking "a revolution in our business."

First International Bank, a subsidiary of First International Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FNCE), is a recognized leader in financing small industrial companies worldwide. The company ranked first for U.S. Export-Import Bank transactions in each of the last three years, booking more than 100 loans per year to companies on five continents. In May 2000, the company won the prestigious President’s "E" Award for Export Service from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In the Business Finance article, Silvers notes that, "Industry-specific Internet marketplaces allow buyers and sellers from all over the world to transact business." While the e-marketplace provides the forum for doing business, Silvers intends for his company to provide the means to close the sale. During the next 30 days, First International will debut ThruCredit®, its new Internet-based loan technology. Eight industrial e-marketplaces recently signed on as strategic allies of the bank to make ThruCredit® available to their members: ChemIndustry.com, e-STEEL.com, Enermetrix.com, ForgeFinder.com, MachineTools.com, Plasticscommerce.com, RailNet-USA.com and Textrade.com. First International is actively exploring additional alliances, as it seeks to link its global financing capabilities with e-marketplaces in other basic industrial sectors.

First International offers 14 commercial and international loan products online comprising its e-CreditMenu(sm), up to US $5 million per transaction. According to Silvers, by 2003, "50 percent of our requests for credit" are expected to originate through industrial B2B portals on the Internet – "and that’s a conservative figure."

The Business Finance article is posted in the magazine’s online version at: http://www.businessfinancemag.com/archives/appfiles/Article.cfm?IssueID=326&ArticleID=13583.

First International Bank (www.upscapital.com) – a world leader in the use of SBA, USDA and Export-Import Bank-backed loans – provides innovative credit, trade and financial solutions for small and medium size industrial businesses. The company has more than 200 employees and representatives at 28 locations worldwide. U.S. offices are in Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Hartford, Los Angeles, Miami, Morristown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rochester, Springfield, St. Louis, and Washington, DC. International representatives are based in Argentina, Brazil, Central America, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, North Africa, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and West Africa. During 1999, the company originated $551 million in loans primarily within its industrial niche, and closed the year with a managed loan portfolio of $1.1 billion. Established in 1955, the bank is a subsidiary of the publicly traded First International Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: FNCE), with headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut.

MEDIA CONTACT:

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