IFC Irwin Financial Corp

Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley & Privacy Compliance Drive Need for Irwin Financial's eLearning Initiative ~From Operating Company to Enterprise Wide - ePath Learning Deployed to 2000+ Employees~ NEW LONDON, Conn., June 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Irwin Financial Corporation (NYSE:IFC), a bank holding company focusing on mortgage banking, small business and home equity lending, is taking a progressive approach to mandatory compliance training. Faced with an immediate training need in one of its operating companies, Irwin Financial wanted a solution that would meet its current tactical need yet be flexible enough to address its strategic requirements across the corporation's operating companies. Within a few weeks of selecting ePath Learning, Irwin Mortgage -- one of the corporation's four operating companies -- was training its employees using ePath Learning ASAP(SM). Two months later, the Irwin Financial Online Learning Center, a Web-based learning portal, was made available to all Irwin operating companies. Today, with the help of ePath Learning, a pioneer in the development of browser-based Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), Irwin Financial is successfully training more than 2,000 employees on compliance issues related to the Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley and Privacy. "We had a real-time compliance training need but we also wanted a solution with the flexibility to meet our strategic goals for training development, deployment and system integration across the enterprise. ePath Learning provided that flexibility," said Robert Luczak, Assistant Vice President, National Training. "ePath Learning quickly developed custom courses using their ASAP platform so I could later edit them to accommodate our different operating companies." Luczak added, "Across the board, middle managers in particular really benefit from the training platform, because until our deployment of ePath Learning ASAP, they had no method of tracking the progress or status of their staff's training." Irwin Financial Corporation first investigated learning technologies in late 2003 with the goal of selecting a common platform for compliance training that could be implemented, as needed, across the disparate operating companies. Equally important, was the ability of the learning solution to deliver consistent content, track learner progress and validate testing and assessment. In fact, Irwin Mortgage has required its employees to attain a passing grade of 100% or face a 'lock out' of the IT system. From a technical standpoint, Irwin Financial needed to ensure minimal impact on existing legacy systems, because the operating companies ran on different IT platforms. Irwin Financial selected ePath Learning ASAP for its ASP delivery model, which met their goals of ease of use and implementation. Not only would ePath Learning ASAP entice users through ease of use, but it would also allow Irwin trainers to blend their own course content with customized courseware from ePath Learning. "Irwin Financial wanted to do more than just have its employees complete the compliance training, we wanted to demonstrate to bank regulators that our staff really possess the learned knowledge and is applying it to daily decisions," said Dave Meyercord, SVP Investments. "Now that we have completed a significant amount of compliance training using ePath Learning ASAP, we are continually finding new ways to use the platform that we had not previously considered. We are now well positioned to quickly roll out solutions for all our operating companies when training needs arise." "We see a specific need among financial service institutions to deploy required compliance training, while limiting disruption to larger front and back office IT and legacy systems," said Dudley Molina, President and CEO of ePath Learning. "When it comes to compliance training, it is imperative to have a solution that not only tracks progress, but can also quickly assess learner knowledge. ePath Learning ASAP is an easy and cost-effective solution, and its ability to customize courseware for rapid deployment is a good fit for financial services organizations." About ePath Learning Drawing upon its deep experience and expertise within the custom courseware development industry, ePath Learning stands alone as a single source provider for affordable eLearning solutions. The Company's strategy is to deliver the technology platform of convergence that is a unique blend of LCMS architecture with critical LMS functionality, resulting in a solution that delivers the best of both technologies via its browser-based, easy-to-use, native ASP delivery model. The company's flagship product, ePath Learning ASAP, is one of the first eLearning solutions to combine the power of a database management system, the global reach of the Internet and the ease of use of browser-based software. For more information, visit http://www.epathlearning.com/ About Irwin Financial Irwin Financial Corporation (NYSE:IFC) is an interrelated group of specialized financial services companies organized as a bank holding company, with a history tracing to 1871. The Corporation, through its major subsidiaries -- Irwin Mortgage Corporation, Irwin Union Bank, Irwin Home Equity Corporation, and Irwin Commercial Finance -- provides a broad range of financial services to consumers and small businesses in selected markets in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit http://www.irwinfinancial.com/ MEDIA CONTACTS: Chris McCoin or Richard Smith McCoin & Smith Communications LLC, for ePath Learning 508-429-5988 (Chris) or 978-433-3304 (Rick) or DATASOURCE: ePath Learning; Irwin Financial Corporation CONTACT: Chris McCoin, +1-508-429-5988, , or Richard Smith, +1-978-433-3304, , both of McCoin & Smith Communications LLC, for ePath Learning Web site: http://www.epathlearning.com/ http://www.irwinfinancial.com/

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