FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 22, 2000

OINKE.COM EARNS TRUSTe PRIVACY SEAL

TRUSTe Privacy Seal Granted to Oinke.com for
Helping Consumers Protect Privacy and Security Online

IRVINE, Calif.,- Oinke.com, today announced that it has joined the TRUSTe privacy seal program. Today's announcement demonstrates that Oinke.com meets TRUSTe's strict requirements in the areas of disclosure, choice, access and security.

Beginning immediately, Oinke.com will prominently display the TRUSTe Privacy Seal, or "trustmark," on its Web site. The TRUSTe seal offers a direct link to Oinke.com's privacy statement, which provides Web site visitors with details of the company's privacy and security policies. By displaying the TRUSTe privacy seal, Oinke.com will assure its customers about how the company's Web site handles personally identifiable information.

"Whenever a transaction is conducted on the Web, there is the potential for security worries," said Thomas Markel, Oinke.com's chairman and CEO. "At Oinke.com, we have gone to extensive lengths to ensure that the privacy of both borrowers and lenders is protected. TRUSTe is one of the security measures we use to do that."

The TRUSTe privacy seal is an online branded symbol that signifies that a Web site has posted a privacy statement and, moreover, that the company's data gathering and dissemination practices address the elements of disclosure, choice, access and security outlined in the Federal Trade Commission's fair information practices. Specifically, TRUSTe's licensees must:

* disclose their information gathering and dissemination practices,
* give users choice - through opt-in or opt-out - of any secondary uses of their personal information,
* provide users with access to their personal information to correct any inaccuracies, and
* ensure that reasonable security mechanisms are being used to protect the data that is
collected.

TRUSTe ensures that its licensees are in compliance with their privacy statement through regular monitoring and the TRUSTe Watchdog, an easy to use alternative dispute resolution mechanism for consumers.

"It has become increasingly clear that the TRUSTe seal has emerged as a symbol that consumers look for when deciding whether to do business with a Web site," said Bob Lewin, Executive Director and CEO of TRUSTe. "By becoming a TRUSTe licensee, Oinke.com is making it easy for its customers to protect their personal information online." Oinke.com joins TRUSTe's worldwide licensee base of more than 1000 Web sites, with representation from virtually every vertical segment on the Internet.

About Oinke.com
Oinke.com, an interactive real-time business-to-lender auction Web site that matches borrowers with lenders, specializes in business and commercial real estate loans from $500,000 to $500 million and is headquartered in Irvine, California. For more information on the company, visit its Web site: www.oinke.com

About TRUSTe
TRUSTe, the leading privacy seal program, is an independent organization dedicated to building consumer trust and confidence in the Internet. The TRUSTe network of participating companies includes America Online, Compaq, Ernst & Young, Excite, Intel, Microsoft, and Novell. Founded in 1997, TRUSTe is the premier privacy seal program worldwide. The TRUSTe seal is currently displayed on all of the Internet's portal sites, 15 of the top 20 sites and approximately half of the top 100 sites. Nielsen//NetRatings recently rated TRUSTe the most visible symbol on the Internet. TRUSTe is based in Cupertino, CA, with an office in Washington, DC. To learn more about protecting your privacy online, visit the TRUSTe Web site at www.truste.org.

Contact:
Tom Markel
Oinke.com
(949) 784-8700

Dave Steer, dsteer@truste.org
TRUSTe
(408) 342-1943