FTRANS Corp., a financial technology company created in the advanced technology incubator at Georgia Tech, has announced a financial rescue plan that could assist 175,000 Georgia businesses in accessing capital during the global credit crisis.

FTRANS' access to capital and relationships with leading financial institutions will allow qualifying Georgia businesses to quickly access millions of dollars through FTRANS' Quick Response program. According to U.S. Census estimates, there are 75,000 businesses in Georgia that could directly participate in the program and another 100,000 businesses and all government agencies in the state could benefit from having more capital made available. The total impact of new capital available could exceed $25 billion, three times the current level of commercial loans currently on the books of banks chartered in Georgia.

“We were inspired by the decisive action earlier this month when the Federal Reserve announced that it would buy commercial paper directly from large businesses,” said John Hayes, CEO of FTRANS. “Less than one percent of businesses in Georgia would qualify for the Fed program. The Quick Response Program can serve the other 99 percent. To meet this challenge, FTRANS is expanding both its support of our bank partners in Georgia and our in-house ability to provide credit to Georgia businesses. The new Quick Response program was created to help businesses that have seen their traditional sources of credit disappear or contract.”

The technology created by FTRANS enhances the collateral of small and mid-sized businesses enabling banks to make safer business and commercial loans. The result is more credit available for all parties in business sales to other businesses and to governments. The business directly benefits because they receive advances directly from FTRANS or a participating bank, the government or business customer benefits because they receive more credit on more flexible terms from their suppliers.

In describing the newly established Quick Response Program, Kevin Kiernan, Vice President of Sales for FTRANS, said “We have huge demand by quality companies in Georgia that are seeing their traditional sources of credit dry up, including bank loans and credit their suppliers are able to extend. The amount available to a company depends on its size and is roughly about 12 percent of annual sales. We estimate the average available to a qualified company in Georgia under this program is about $2 million.”

Laura Moore, Vice President of Darby Bank & Trust in Savannah, said “We have been using the FTRANS program for nearly three years. It allows us to provide credit to companies where we could not otherwise have helped. In addition, the FTRANS program delivers real value to our customers beyond just the credit and helps them be stronger companies.”

FTRANS was incorporated in 2004 as an incubator company in the Advanced Technology Development Center operated for the State of Georgia by Georgia Tech. Since launching its technology, FTRANS has been adopted by more than 40 banks in the southeast and has served more than 30,000 buyers and sellers in all 50 states and more than 20 other countries. FTRANS has been a strategic partner of the Georgia Bankers Association since 2004.

Businesses that are interested in participating in the FTRANS program should contact FTRANS directly at 877-829-1238, or get more information at
www.ftrans.net
.

For more information, contact:

Jim Lester
—
jim.lester@ftrans.net

(o) 678-268-4039 (c) 404-918-4476

David Rubinger
—
david@rubinger.com

(o) 404-255-8785 (c) 404-502-1240