This new business is a highly profitable undertaking for PWBank. The move demonstrates that PWBank is continuing to pursue its corporate strategy of diversifying and developing its lending assets by capturing a significant part of the high quality, low-risk Canadian insured residential mortgage market.

David Taylor, President & C.E.O. of PWBank stated, "Pacific & Western's rapidly growing insured mortgage portfolio is a perfect fit with our long-established corporate 'low risk, profitable return' approach to lending. Our Bank is uniquely positioned to capitalize and generate positive earnings from the profitable insured mortgage market because of our low-cost administrative structure. Furthermore, PWBank's proven, state-of-the-art software is well able to handle the increasingly large volumes of insured mortgage transactions."

PWBank, a Schedule I chartered bank, is a branchless financial institution with approximately $1.5 billion in assets. PWBank specializes in providing innovative financing to large corporate and government entities including hospitals, school boards, universities and colleges, municipalities and provincial and federal government agencies. With no retail operations or storefronts, PWBank is one of the most efficiently operating financial institutions in Canada. These overhead savings translate into very competitive rates for PWBank's clients.

Pacific & Western Bank of Canada is wholly owned by Pacific & Western Credit Corp., whose shares trade on the TSX under the symbol PWC. -- www.cnxmarketlink.com