Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA – January 17, 2008 – Westlake Financial Services announces expansion into the Wyoming and Tennessee markets. With these two additions, Westlake originates automotive loan contracts in a total of 31 states across the U.S. with local field representatives in each market.

“One of our stated goals for 2008 is to increase our national footprint.” says Ian Anderson, Senior Vice President of Production and Business Analytics, “To that end, we see Westlake’s expansion into these states as another step towards that goal.”

Brian Heath, Vice President of Marketing, explains the decision to enter Wyoming as “a logical, easy step to take. We already have a strong operation and presence in neighboring Colorado, so Wyoming made sense as one of our next states.”

Anderson adds, “We also analyzed the demographic and economic conditions in both states, and found them both to have the right mix of what we are looking for: an increasing population, a strong economy, and increasing car sales. Tennessee, in particular, has strong credit quality; and we feel our full-spectrum of financing products will work well there as well as in Wyoming.”

“Each state has a unique set of challenges,” says Heath, “But we feel prepared to hit the ground running. For example, Wyoming is geographically challenging to service because it is so spread out. But by using a combination of local reps along with our Internal Marketing Team based here in Los Angeles, we feel we can give Wyoming dealerships the same level of personalized service that people have come to expect from us.”

“We look forward to meeting new dealerships across both states and being able to offer them the products and services they want, and deserve, from their auto-financing company,” says Anderson.

Wyoming will be considered part of Westlake’s “Central Region” and Tennessee joins Westlake’s “Mid-Atlantic Region.” Future expansion plans for 2008 include New Jersey and West Virginia.

To learn more about Westlake Financial, including markets served and financing products available, visit www.westlakefinancial.com.

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