PRESS RELEASES

Equipment repossessions and liquidations rose in Q1,
marking first major increase since 2002

Trucks, construction equipment, medical devices and
personal computers stand out

WESTBURY, NY, May 10, 2005-Nassau Asset Management's NasTrac Quarterly Index (NQI) detected a sizeable increase in equipment repossessions and liquidations during first quarter (Q1) 2005 compared with the same period in 2004. Edward Castagna, senior executive vice president, says Q1 was the first quarter since 2002 that Nassau has seen a significant rise in overall volume of repossessions and liquidations, with NQI highlighting the most notable changes.

Equipment segments showing increased activity in Q1 included trucks (up 45%), medical devices (up 258%), and personal computers (up 79%). Repossessions of construction equipment rose moderately (up 13%). Machine tool activity slowed, posting 44% fewer repossession and liquidation assignments.

"It is too early to call this a trend, but Q1 is the first time in a long time that repossession and liquidation activity increased for most equipment sectors," Castagna says. "We are monitoring the situation to see if our internal statistics reflect deeper economic issues."

Conditions that may have driven repossessions during Q1 include rising fuel and insurance costs for trucks and, more broadly, a general slowdown in U.S. economic growth as measured by big-ticket factory orders, consumer spending, wages, and debt. Interestingly, an increase in Nassau's volume may be a product of greater lending activity by clients in the equipment finance industry, which means there are more leases and loans in the marketplace in 2005 that may be subject to default.

In addition to the five equipment sectors included in the public NQI for Q1 2005, Castagna notes, Nassau also experienced a major jump in repossessions and liquidations involving printing presses.

NQI reports on trends in active asset classes. It reflects Nassau's internal repossession and orderly liquidation activity in a given quarter compared to the same quarter the previous year. Readers should keep in mind that results must be viewed over several quarters to establish trends. Companies can contract with Nassau to dig deeper into the numbers, helping mitigate risk in portfolios and/or provide useful economic indicators.

About Nassau
Nassau Asset Management of Westbury, NY, has been providing full-service asset management, including equipment remarketing, fleet and plant liquidations, collections, and appraisals for more than 25 years to the equipment finance industry. For more information, please visit www.nasset.com or call 1-800-4.NASSAU.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Edward Castagna
Senior Executive Vice President
Nassau Asset Management
1-800.4.NASSAU, ext. 301
ecast@nasset.com, cc:carla@crosslink.net

Carla Young Harrington
SCAPR (For Nassau Asset Management)
540-899-3913
carla@crosslink.net