IRVING, Texas — Coming on the heels of reaching its four-year anniversary and hitting $100 million in total originations, Exeter Finance Corp. announced this week that it entered into a $100 million line of credit with Wells Fargo Bank.

Company executives pointed out the credit facility will provide substantial capital for the growth of their loan portfolio, enabling expansion of its branch network this year. They added that the Wells Fargo facility significantly increases the size of Exeter's previous line of credit.

Exeter shared plans to add staff in order to enter new markets and sign up additional dealers for its finance program. The company already operates branches in Irving, Texas; Independence, Ohio; Paramus, N.J.; Schaumburg, Ill.; St. Louis; and Manchester, N.H. The company also has a market presence in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Exeter also is looking to continue the servicing of its retained loan sale program to fund supplemental loan production.

"We're proud to be working with such an experienced market leader as Wells Fargo, and establishing the foundation for a long-term partnership," stated Sam Ellis, president and chief executive officer of Exeter.

"This debt capital brings Exeter the opportunity to grow significantly," Ellis added.

The CEO also hailed the company's employee base as a reason for recent milestones and the ability to secure the Wells Fargo facility.

"Throughout the recent economic crisis, our team worked extremely hard to build a solid origination and servicing platform," Ellis emphasized.

"As a result, our systems, controls and scalability gave Wells Fargo the confidence to make this commitment," he went on to say.

Richard Frunzi, Exeter's chief operating officer, also commented about the company's current standing.

"We owe a lot of thanks to our dealers for their support over the last couple of years," Frunzi said.

"We look forward to expanding the number of dealer customers we're able to serve through our proven branch model of local underwriting, funding and relationships," he concluded.