| John Rucker: Merchant Capital Corporation
www.merchantcapital.com I have worked with Rockport's principals since 1988 on tax-exempt bond issues. In such a transaction, Rockport processes the loan through HUD and in effect "credit enhances" the underlying mortgage giving the debt a AAA rating. It is then our job to assemble a financing team, organizing and structuring a bond issue and selling the tax-exempt bond to the capital markets. I have found the guys at Rockport to be very easy to work with. They have a high energy level and are extremely efficient and friendly. They remind me of my partners at Merchant Capital. They close a lot of transactions with a small highly organized staff. At times I feel that they are an extension of our firm and feel like they are "family" as they say in the South.
| 
