MCLEAN, Va., March 4, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONA) announced today that its banking subsidiary, Sonabank, has completed the design and the coding of SABL, a state of the art asset based lending system and has begun beta testing of the system with two clients. One of the clients is a major government contractor and the other is a major contractor in the commercial construction business. Both are long time fixtures in the Northern Virginia market and are long time clients of the Bank. It is anticipated that the beta testing will take from two to four weeks. New clients may be added as soon as we determine that the system contains no serious glitches.
Unlike most Asset Based Lending (ABL) systems which are based on manual processes or software which certifies a company's borrowing base periodically (with periodic field exams), SABL provides a real time capability to analyze and adjust borrowing availability based on actual collateral levels. SABL is predicated on a link between the client's accounting software, whatever it may be, and Sonabank's server.
Georgia Derrico, CEO of Sonabank commented that: "The system is a win/win for Sonabank in that it provides much more stringent controls and supervision than on existing systems but at the same time provides borrowing customers immensely more flexibility and ease of use than available anywhere else."
Jacques Smith, Sonabank VP and Head of Information Technology, commented that: "The key element to the system which distinguishes it from most of the other systems on the market today is the link to the internet which allows (and requires) the Bank's customers to download their data to Sonabank's server. Depending on the borrowing base, agreement data will be downloaded and Sonabank will track Accounts Receivable, Inventory and Other Assets. Unlike the ARTS system developed at Southern Financial Bank, which was a web based product, SABL is a multi tiered application that uses the internet for data transport only. There is no website to tempt hackers or pose a security risk."
Georgia Derrico commented that she believes that SABL will be an important tool in expanding its business in the Washington Metropolitan Area and throughout Virginia where government contracting is already a very important activity and promises to become even more so in the future. "We don't expect to have a hundred accounts using SABL a year from now. But we do expect it to be a contributor to fee income and to facilitate the development of relationships with government contractors."
If you would like more information on SABL please contact Devon Porter on 540-347-4521 x 2507 or email him at dporter@sonabank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that relate to future events or the future performance of Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Inc. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results. These forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of the respective management of Southern National Bancorp and Sonabank and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond their respective control. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results discussed or implied in these forward-looking statements because of numerous possible uncertainties. Words like "may," "plan," "contemplate," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "continue," "expect," "project," "predict," "estimate," "could," "should," "would," "will," and similar expressions, should be considered as identifying forward-looking statements, although other phrasing may be used. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and may not be realized due to a variety of factors. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in the reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) filed by Southern National Bancorp. You should consider such factors and not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. No obligation is undertaken by Southern National Bancorp to update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the issuance of this press release.