NEWS RELEASE

7/15/09

GTCR Announces Partnership with Michael Rhodes to Form Palladian Financial Holdings

CHICAGO - (Business Wire) GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced it has entered into a
partnership with Michael Rhodes to form Palladian Financial Holdings, LLC (“Palladian”). Palladian,
headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, will focus on creating a leading platform to provide a variety of services
related to consumer credit, payments and loyalty/rewards. GTCR plans to invest up to $300 million of equity
capital to support management's strategy. Mr. Rhodes will serve as CEO of Palladian.

Rhodes, a 15-year financial services industry veteran, was formerly Vice Chairman at MBNA, the highly
successful credit card issuer built over 23 years and sold to Bank of America in 2005 for $35 billion. In his more
than 11 years at MBNA, Mr. Rhodes held a variety of roles, including Chief Marketing Officer, where he managed
the majority of the P&L for MBNA’s $75 billion U.S. card business.

In this role, Mr. Rhodes drove MBNA’s affinity and partner marketing strategies, which were crucial to the
company’s success. He helped develop over 750 new relationships within various sectors, including financial
institutions, retailers, sports, colleges and universities, professional associations and cause-related groups. He also
managed credit card portfolio acquisitions totaling several billion dollars and restructured a number of
arrangements with some of MBNA’s largest partners.

After the sale to Bank of America, Mr. Rhodes became CEO of MBNA Europe Bank Ltd (EBL). Under his
leadership, MBNA EBL became the largest credit card issuer in Europe, with profitability doubling during his
tenure.

“I believe that the current environment presents an opportune time to build a tremendous business by deploying
customer-focused solutions in financial services,” Rhodes said. “I see great opportunity in everything from
consumer credit to marketing services, risk management, data management & analytics and customer loyalty.
GTCR has a strong legacy of building successful companies in the financial services and technology industries
through acquisitions and organic growth, and I look forward to working with the firm to build a thriving new
company devoted to delivering fresh, new ideas in consumer financial services.”

“Michael is an exceptional executive with a long track record of value creation in financial services, and we look
forward to collaborating with him to capitalize on the opportunity created by the recent developments in the
market,” said Collin Roche, a Principal at GTCR. “Our partnership with Michael reflects another example of
GTCR’s strategy of identifying a highly attractive industry and then forging a partnership with an outstanding
executive to build a market-leading company.”

Palladian Financial Holdings, LLC P 302.421.8202

Nemours Building F 302.299.1578
6th Floor, Suite 610 A www.PalladianFinancial.com
1007 N. Orange Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
“We believe the dislocation in the financial sector, combined with recent regulatory changes, have generated the
unique opportunity to create a leading customer-friendly credit platform,” added GTCR Vice President Mike
Hollander. “We anticipate partnering with a number of leading finanical institutions to enhance Palladian’s
capabilities and also evaluating customer loyalty/rewards opportunities.”

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About Palladian Financial

Palladian Financial, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, is a speciality financial services company focused on
the North American market. For more information about Palladian, contact Michael Rhodes at 302-421-8202 or
mrhodes@palladianfinancial.com.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC is a private equity investment firm and long-term strategic partner
for outstanding management teams. The Chicago-based firm pioneered the investment strategy of identifying and
partnering with exceptional executives to acquire and build companies through a combination of acquisitions and
strong internal growth. GTCR currently manages more than $8 billion of equity capital invested in a wide range of
companies and industries. More information about GTCR can be found at www.gtcr.com.

At GTCR: Collin Roche, 312.382.2214 Mike Hollander, 312.382.2068

At Weber Shandwick: Sean Mogle, 312.988.2046

At Palladian Financial: Michael Rhodes, 302.421.8202

Palladian Financial Holdings, LLC P 302.421.8202

Nemours Building F 302.299.1578
6th Floor, Suite 610 A www.PalladianFinancial.com
1007 N. Orange Street
Wilmington, DE 19801