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Birch Financial Inc. commenced business in August 1994 with the primary intent of providing premium financing to the landscape industry. In July 1995, Automatic Installment Services (AIS) was contracted to administer the loans of their clients with financial oversight resting in the hands of Nelson Colvin, President of Birch Financial, Inc. Birch Financial, Inc. operates with a line of credit from First Bank in St. Louis, MO. The company has over $25,000,000 in Premium Financing Loans and $1,200,000 in Equipment Loans. Birch Financial, Inc. is also doing business in Nevada, Arizona and Utah, providing premium financing primarily to landscape contractors. The company is planning to enter the Texas and Florida markets in the near future. Birch Financial, Inc. has a captive market with a familiar database of clients and a known credit history. It has the advantage of working through affiliated companies that guarantee the loan return.

Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company of Blackhawk State Bank, a commercial bank operating in Wisconsin and Illinois in the United States. The bank provides various consumer banking, business banking, and related financial services. Consumer banking services to individuals include demand, savings, and time deposits. Consumer lending services include installment loans, mortgage loans, overdraft protection, personal lines of credit, and credit cards. The business banking services, which are provided to small business, commercial, and governmental organizations, include commercial and commercial real estate lending, deposits, cash management, and letters of credit. The bank’s investment portfolio consists primarily of U.S. government and agency securities, mutual funds, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, collateralized mortgage obligations, and municipal bonds or repurchase agreements backed by similar securities. The bank’s deposits are divided between interest bearing and noninterest bearing. Noninterest bearing deposits consist of checking accounts of individuals, businesses, and governmental organizations. The interest-bearing deposits include savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and NOW accounts. As of December 31, 2003, the bank operated 11 branches in Wisconsin and Illinois. Blackhawk Bancorp was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Beloit, Wisconsin.

Blue River Bancshares was founded in 1937 and is based in Shelbyville, Indiana. Blue River Bancshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Shelby County Bank and Paramount Bank, which provide community banking services for individuals and businesses in south central Indiana. Its deposits products include checking, NOW, savings, and time deposits. The company also offers real estate loans for single-family and multi-family properties and medium and short-term loans for commercial, agricultural, and industrial properties, as well as consumer and commercial lines of credit secured by real estate; commercial loans for the purpose of financing equipment, working capital, expansion, and other general business purposes; consumer loans, including automobile loans and equity lines of credit; and agricultural loans. As of March 31, 2007, it operated three full service branches in Shelbyville, Morristown, and St. Paul, Indiana; a loan production office in Fishers, Indiana; and one office in Lexington, Kentucky.

BNP Paribas Lease Group (BNPLG) provides lease financing for commercial equipment ranging from copiers to tractors. Its offerings include equipment outsourcing, flexible leases, and wholesale financing, as well as insurance, repairs, and other support. The group is part of European banking giant BNP Paribas' equipment solutions business. It partners with sister firms Arius, Artegy, and Arval to offer financing options for computers and other office equipment, heavy equipment and vehicles, and corporate and ultra-light vehicles. The group operates throughout Europe and is expanding its presence in the US. BNPLG was created in 2000.

The Brazos Higher Education Service Corporation, Inc. (“Brazos”) is a non-profit service corporation which provides administrative support and management services to a number of independent non-profit corporations each of whom are dedicated to helping students and parents finance the cost of higher education. The Brazos Managed Companies is a term commonly used to describe the independent non-profit companies, collectively, which are managed by Brazos. With the first company founded in 1975, Brazos and the companies it manages have continued forward with the primary purpose of financing higher education. Through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) to private student loans, the individual companies have historically acquired pools of student loans through the issuance of student loan revenue bonds or bank warehouse facilities. Brazos and the companies it manages have been the key participants in student loans for over 30 years.

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