National City Mortgage Customer Call Center Named "Best in Class"

BenchmarkPortal and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University have recognized the National City Mortgage (NCM) Customer Service Call Center as a "Certified Center of Excellence". SANTA MARIA, Calif. (March 2004) - BenchmarkPortal and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University have recognized the National City Mortgage (NCM) Customer Service Call Center as a "Certified Center of Excellence" - placing the NCM call center among the top 10 percent of call centers evaluated. This certification was accomplished after a rigorous review by BenchmarkPortal, repository of the world's largest database of call center performance metrics and renowned authorities in the field of call center operations and management. To earn the Center Of Excellence designation, a call center must meet objective, quantitative criteria and pass audits by BenchPortal researchers. Key drivers of successful call center performance in customer service include operational efficiency, service level standards, process management, customer satisfaction, leadership, resources and employee training. "This award resulted from NCM's ongoing 'No One Cares More' commitment to world-class service through customer-driven operational improvements," said Jack Case, NCM Executive Vice President, Loan Administration. "This continued and intensified focus on service quality assures that our company is delivering the best customer service possible. Being named a 'Center Of Excellence' is just a great honor. It is especially gratifying to have earned this certification in 2003, the busiest year ever for the mortgage banking industry." The NCM Call center serviced a record 2.5 million CSR calls during 2003. Pat Coates, NCM Senior Vice President, Customer Service, emphasized, "Our Call Center team is very, very proud of this accomplishment. This certification attests to the fact that while we had a strong focus on service quality, our team was also able to successfully balance efficiency and effectiveness in our call center operations. That certainly proves to be a win-win award for National City Mortgage and our customers." About BenchmarkPortal BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center metrics, the largest in the world. It provides reports, products and services for contact centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement and agent satisfaction measurement. BenchmarkPortal's Web site can be found at: www.BenchmarkPortal.com For additional information contact: Dr. Jon Anton BenchmarkPortal, Inc. DrJonAnton@BenchmarkPortal.com About National City Mortgage Co. Founded in 1955, National City Mortgage Co., a member of the National City Corporation family, is a leading originator of residential real estate loans through a network of retail offices and wholesale/broker branches. The company has over 300 lending offices located in 37 states. The company's servicing portfolio totaled over $156 billion representing over 1.1 million mortgage loans, as of December 31, 2003. National City Mortgage's Web site can be found at: www.nationalcitymortgage.com.