Fleet Named NASE Official Bank in the Northeast; Fleet Selected By NASE To Provide Financial Services For Small Business.

Business Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2000

FleetBoston Financial has been named the official bank in the Northeast by the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). This alliance gives the NASE endorsement to Fleet Bank products designed to meet the financial services needs of the self-employed and small businesses in the Northeast.

"I'm excited about our new affiliation with Fleet," said Bennie L. Thayer, President and CEO of the NASE. "Fleet is the premier bank in the Northeast, and its commitment to small business is extraordinary. The NASE recommends Fleet Bank with confidence to our members and to all small businesses in the Northeast."

The alliance will allow Fleet to work with NASE members to fulfill the unique financial needs of small businesses. Services that will be offered to NASE members include:

   -- money to finance growth and acquisitions; -- tools to manage cash flow; -- services to reduce operating costs; -- investments to grow wealth for entrepreneurs and employees; and, -- techniques to manage risk.  Primary product offerings include:  -- Comprehensive deposit and investment products -- High-rate premium money market account -- Customized loan products for all-stage -- Business Credit Express (instant decisioned -- SBAExpress credit product -- OfficeLink, for online banking -- AMFax, for daily account reconciliation -- Merchant card processing -- Storefronts@fleet, for Internet merchandising -- Cash management -- Fleet Business Leasing -- Professional Employer Organization -- Retirement planning -- Property and Casualty Insurance 

The alliance was announced to NASE membership during the two-day NASE Regional Seminar held recently in Waltham, MA, from April 27 through April 28.

The NASE has over 30,000 members in the Northeast, and more than 200,000 members nationwide. The NASE, a 501(c)(6) non-profit business association, was founded in 1981 and is the nation's largest association of entrepreneurs. Eighty percent of the NASE members are small business owners with five or fewer employees.

More information on the NASE can be found at their web site www.nase.org.

"We're committed to the needs of small business," said Norman J. DeLuca, Managing Director of Small Business Services at Fleet. "Our alliance with the NASE allows us to help small businesses prosper, by providing them with the tools and financial services they need in today's demanding entrepreneurial environment."

Fleet currently serves over 450,000 small business customers throughout its 7-state franchise, from New Jersey to Maine. Fleet has $9 billion in small business deposits, $4 billion in total small business loan commitments, and it is the eleventh largest small business lender nationwide. It is the largest SBA lender in the Northeast, and the fourth largest in the nation. At more than 400 branch locations, Fleet has also created special Business Solutions Centers, staffed by professionals trained and dedicated to small business customers. Fleet's Small Business web site is www.fleet/smallbusiness.com.

FleetBoston Financial is the eighth-largest financial holding company in the United States. An $187 billion diversified financial services company, it offers a comprehensive array of innovative financial solutions to 20 million customers in more than 20 countries and territories. Among the company's key lines of business are: retail banking, with over 1,250 branches in the Northeast; commercial banking, including capital markets/investment banking and commercial finance; investment services, including discount brokerage; and full-service banking through more than 250 offices in Latin America. FleetBoston Financial is headquartered in Boston and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:FBF).

Founded in 1981 the NASE, a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization, is the nation's largest organization for entrepreneurs, and represents over 200,000 of the smallest of small businesses and the self-employed nationwide. Seventy-eight percent of its members are business owners with five or fewer employees and one-third have no employees at all. For more information contact the NASE at 1023 15th Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 20005, call (202) 466-2100, e-mail jdmcdowell@nasehq.org. or visit http://www.nase.org.