Press Releases

"We are very excited to bring Rick on board," said Art Lyon, president of HomEq. "His extensive background in the mortgage industry makes him the ideal person to lead HomEq in growing our sub-servicing portfolio."

Lee will be responsible for directing all marketing activities including developing and executing a marketing strategy; representing the company at industry conferences; expanding relationships with investment firms and rating agencies that are active in or follow the sub-prime industry; and maintaining relationships with federally sponsored agencies and other external clients.

Lee was previously executive vice president of business development for Fairbanks Capital Corp. in Salt Lake City, Utah, responsible for new business development of sub-servicing clients and the identification of whole loan pools for acquisitions. He also served as vice president for Stephens Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., specializing in negotiating whole-loan mortgage transactions. Lee is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is a current resident of Park City, Utah, and can be reached via e-mail at ricklee-parkcity@earthlink.net.

HomEq, with over 1,000 employees in Sacramento and Roseville, Calif., and Boone and Raleigh, N.C., is becoming a leader in the sub-servicing business by leveraging its experience in originating and servicing home equity and home improvement loans. The portfolio currently includes 360,000 loans, which equates to approximately $19 billion in outstanding principal balances. The company recently earned "above average" ratings from Standard & Poor's in the categories of Sub-Prime servicing and Alternative-A servicing and is continuing to drive the positive momentum it has gained since its inception in June 2000.

Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB), created through the Sept. 1, 2001, merger of First Union and Wachovia, had assets of $320 billion and stockholder's equity of $29 billion at March 31, 2002. Wachovia is a leading provider of financial services to 20 million retail, brokerage and corporate customers throughout the East Coast and the nation. The company operates full-service banking offices under the First Union and Wachovia names in 11 East Coast states and Washington, D.C., and offers full-service brokerage with offices in 49 states and global services through more than 30 international offices. Online banking and brokerage products and services are available through wachovia.com and firstunion.com.