IBM Rapid Online Financing Processes 10,000th US Transaction, 35,000th WW

One-Hour Web Tool Streamlining Credit Applications for IBM Business Partners’ Clients

ARMONK, NY - 13 Sep 2006: IBM Global Financing (IGF), the world’s #1 provider of IT financing solutions for IBM (NYSE: IBM) and non-IBM hardware, software and services today announced that its Rapid Online Financing tool, which enables IBM Business Partners or Financing Associates to complete simple client-financing transactions online in under an hour, recently processed its 10,000th US financing transaction. The program, which was launched in Europe in 2003, but just less than a year ago in the US, is generally designed for financing transactions of under $500K in the US. Worldwide, the tool has processed over 35,000 transactions, with $3 billion flowing through the system so far this year.

“We are pleased that our resellers are utilizing our IBM Rapid Online Financing service to take control of their clients’ financing requirements,” said Kevin Quarantello, vice president, WW SMB and Channel Financing, IGF. “The popularity of this tool demonstrates that our partners are deeply interested in employing simple, but innovative ways to streamline their IT financing processes.”

Rapid Online Financing can be used to conduct online financing transactions for all IBM and non-IBM hardware, software and services. Today, the tool is deployed in 27 countries and utilized by over 6,000 business partners worldwide.

Rapid Online Financing was designed to be simple and user-friendly. IBM Business Partners access the tool using a standard Web browser. The user indicates the total amount of either hardware, software or services to be financed. A request for a formal quote is sent automatically to IBM Global Financing for rapid credit approval and the reseller is notified by e-mail that a credit decision has been updated on the tool.

Rapid Online Financing not only saves time and is easy to use but also makes financial sense for business partners. It generally leads to faster settlement so business partners get paid more quickly. The tool also gives them access to the hottest deals and latest special offers from IBM Global Financing. In most countries, IBM will also pay the Business Partner a commission for writing a client financing contract.

About IBM Global Financing
IBM Global Financing (IGF), the financing business segment of IBM and the world’s premier single-source provider for multivendor IT financing solutions, serves commercial clients ranging from small businesses to the majority of the Fortune 100. With assets of $31 billion worldwide, IGF provides project financing, commercial financing and asset-recovery services to 125,000 clients in more than 40 countries. Additional information can be found at http://www-03.ibm.com/financing/us/

Contact Information

Fred Clarke

IBM Media Relations

IBM

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