A financial services program designed to provide working capital liquidity to small businesses.

HOUSTON - Oct. 1, 2002 – Charter Capital Holdings LP, a Houston based specialty financial services company, announced today that it will provide working capital liquidity to small businesses by converting their invoices to cash in a process commonly known as factoring. Charter Capital’s FactorLine services are geared to accommodate small businesses that cannot qualify for conventional commercial bank loans. FactorLine services are intended to be complementary to traditional commercial banking services, leaving the bank to concentrate on developing other relationship-driven services demanded by small businesses, services such as checking, payroll, and personal banking.

Almost unlimited financial leverage can be gained by the business, as leverage to convert invoices to cash is primarily limited only by the production and quality of the accounts receivable. Charter Capital’s underwriting approval is based more upon the quality of the accounts receivable and the integrity of the Client’s billing system than upon the present financial condition or history of the business or owner. Candidates for FactorLine tend to be startup to young businesses, high growth businesses, or, in general, businesses financially stressed and invoicing on account from $20,000 to $1 Million per month.

FactorLine guidelines and procedures have been designed with as much convenience for the Client as possible kept in mind and with the least distraction or interruption as possible to the Client or its customer accounts. On a mechanical level, Charter Capital must obtain a first lien position in the accounts receivable intended to be factored. It is customary for Charter Capital and its Client’s senior lien holders to negotiate mutually satisfactory lien positions in the interest of facilitating a FactorLine. Advances and certain residual amounts are typically made weekly to the Client’s commercial checking account via electronic transfer. Receipts are redirected to a lock box managed by Charter Capital in the name of the Client with daily, detailed reporting made to the Client by facsimile.