For Immediate Release

CBE's Contract with IRS Ends

WATERLOO, IA – The CBE Group, Inc. (CBE), a Waterloo-based accounts receivable company announced today that they were informed last evening that their contract with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to recover delinquent taxes was being cancelled at the end of this contract period which is today, March 6, 2009.

For over the last two years CBE has been collecting delinquent taxes for the IRS. The program started in September of 2006 and has been extended twice bringing the program to the end of the existing contract period. Over the course of this program CBE and one other Private Collection Agency (PCA) have recovered over $80,000,000 for the United States Government and American Taxpayers. CBE’s investment to ensure the program’s success included but was not limited to: the development of customized software and reports, meeting the highest data and facility security stan- dards, and hiring and training management and staff. Not so coincidently, the IRS Private Debt Collection Program (PDC) was also just reaching a financial break-even point as it is perfectly posi- tioned to operate “self funded” and without the need for congressional appropriations.

CBE employs nearly 700 people within the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area. Since the inception of the contract, CBE has employed more than 100 employees to work on every facet of the IRS contract. Tom Penaluna, President and CEO, said “These employees are some of the best and brightest we have and we will look to integrate each and every one of them in our ever expanding business. We are proud to state that we have no intention to lay a single person off. I am personally disappointed we lost a contract that has proven to be successful, but I am most disappointed for the members of our staff who worked their hearts out to represent the IRS and their country on this very important mission to recover some of the over $290 billion tax gap that exists today. We refuse to look at this as a set back for CBE because our company has so many other very positive things going on.”

CBE was recently re-awarded a new contract with the U.S. Department of Education that is sched- uled to start later this year. This contract represents one of many examples of CBE’s commitment to hire more people throughout the remainder of the year. This past February CBE was recognized as one of the Top 25 Best Places to Work in Collections in 2008 in the U.S., an honor that validates CBE’s stature at the top of the collection industry.

Penaluna continues, “It should not go unsaid how appreciative and proud the staff at CBE and the citizens of Iowa should be of the efforts that our U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley put forth to save this program. I believe this program would have been killed a year ago if it had not been for him. I also want to thank Senator Harkin for his last minute call to the IRS Commissioner with the message not to kill the program. Our local Congressman Braley has also been a supporter, casting votes in the past, to keep this program alive. In addition, we would like to thank Mayor Tim Hurley who was in Washington DC this week lobbying to keep this program alive.”

Contact: Nina Hamer, Executive Assistant to Tom Penaluna, (800) 925-6686 x1234 or (319) 833- 1234

About The CBE Group
The CBE Group serves a variety of organizations throughout the United States, including healthcare organizations, colleges and universities, guaranty agencies, financial institutions, satellite and telecommunications companies, utilities, and government agencies. For more information, visit www.cbegroup.com.

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