Mercantile Commercial Capital Starts Its Engine - One of America's Fastest-Growing, Private Companies Meets NASCAR on Sept. 16
September 13, 2007 (Des Moines, Iowa and Altamonte Springs, Florida) — Mercantile Commercial Capital's logo will soon be speeding around the NASCAR track, appearing on the deck lid of the Dale Earnhardt, Inc.- owned No.01 Principal Financial Group® Chevrolet. The car will be driven by Regan Smith during the Sept. 16 Sylvania 300 Nextel Cup race at the New Hampshire International Speedway. The Principal Financial Group recently awarded Mercantile Commercial Capital the opportunity during the Inc. 500 Conference, an annual event of networking, learning and celebration for today's entrepreneurial superstars, organized by Inc. magazine. The Principal® is a long-standing presenting sponsor of the Inc. 500 Conference.
"Research shows that one of the top three concerns of Inc. 500 companies is marketing their business. Since The Principal first joined NASCAR in 2006 as a sponsor, we have found great success in reaching millions of fans with our message of financial security. Awarding a growing company a chance to gain national exposure through the country's second largest spectator sport is exciting - we're honored to do it," said Mary O'Keefe, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Principal Financial Group.
Mercantile Commercial Capital was ranked 245 on this year's Inc. 500. Specializing in the Small Business Administration's increasingly popular 504 loan, Mercantile Commercial Capital and its 15 member staff provides financing to help owners of small and midsize businesses buy commercial real estate.
"As a small, entrepreneurial company, we're thrilled to be a part of this," said Christopher Hurn, president and CEO of Mercantile Commercial Capital.
About Inc. 500, Inc. 5,000
For more than 25 years, Inc. magazine has ranked the 500 fastest-growing, private companies in America. This year the publication expanded its ranking to include 5,000 of the fastest-growing companies based on the percentage of revenue growth from 2003-2006 (with revenue of at least $200,000 in 2003, and at least $2 million in 2006). All companies noted on the ranking must be U.S.-based, privately held and independent (not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies) as of Dec. 31, 2006.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)1 is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies and national network of financial professionals. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $282.1 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 18.1 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
1) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered trademarks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
3) As of June 30, 2007.
