1stWEST Participates on CFA Panel at Annual Convention
Jerry Oldham to Speak on Background Investigations

Evergreen, Colorado.  Jerry Oldham, Chairman and CEO of 1stWEST Financial Corporation, will speak at the Commercial Finance Association Annual Convention in Washington , D.C. on October 27, 2006.  Mr. Oldham is on a panel titled "Know and Understand Your Borrower."  He will discuss key aspects of performing background investigations in the due-diligence and work-out process in the asset based lending industry.  Mr. Oldham will summarize case studies of 'Deal Killers' from the work performed by 1stWEST on a regular basis and explain how these situations could have been avoided with better background investigations processes and procedures.

Jerry Oldham is co-founder, Chairman and CEO of 1stWEST Financial Corporation.  Mr. Oldham has a broad senior management background in commercial banking and corporate and real estate finance.  He frequently serves as a consultant or expert witness in litigation and settlement negotiations involving complex corporate finance, real estate, banking and lending practice issues, having assisted in the settlement of hundreds of lawsuits over the years.  Additionally, Mr. Oldham often acts as a consulting team leader to manage the overall due-diligence process on investment decisions for 1stWEST clients.

Mr. Oldham received his B.S. Degree in Finance and Real Estate from The Pennsylvania State University and his M.S. Degree in Banking and Finance from Colorado State University .   He also serves on the Board of Governors of the Education Foundation of the Commercial Finance Association.

1stWEST Financial Corporation is a worldwide leader in providing financial background investigations, asset searches and fraud investigations for the corporate finance industry and other professionals in need of satisfying background due-diligence requirements on prospect companies, management teams and principals.  1stWEST's premier product is a financial background investigation report, the Risk Profile Report. This Report is critical to the due-diligence process by assisting in assessing the possible contingent liability risk that might otherwise reside in an investment decision because of undisclosed financial or character issues of the prospect company, it's managers or owners.

Please visit our Exhibit Booth #142 at the 62^nd CFA Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. between October 25-27, 2006.

More information about 1stWEST can be obtained at www.1stwest.com.