Stewart Title Issues First Commercial Title Guaranty in Slovak Republic

HOUSTON (USA, Texas) Aug 26 (PROTEXT/PRNewswire) - The SlovakRepublic office of Stewart Information International Inc., awholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp.(NYSE: STC),has issued the first commercial title guaranty in the SlovakRepublic. The title guaranty covers a portfolio of officebuildings located in Bratislava and has a combined value of morethan 90 million Euros (US$120 million).

The acquisition represents the sixth major investment byHCEPP II, Heitman LLC's Central European Property Fund and itsfirst investment in the Slovak Republic. The existing propertieswere acquired in a joint venture with the developer, B.S.R.Europe (TASE: BSR), a subsidiary of B.S.R. Engineering andDevelopment, and Leader Holdings and Investment (TASE: LDER).The newly-developed property, which is still in lease-up, was 100percent acquired by HCEPP II.

"Transactions of this size are occurring more and morefrequently across Central and Eastern Europe especially after theaccession into the European Union. Many international investorsand lenders are building portfolios to take advantage of theattractive returns here and in other former Eastern Bloccountries," said Zdenek Valka, Slovak and Czech Republic countrymanager, Stewart International, s.r.o.

The higher returns, however, come with higher risksassociated with the histories of these respective market regions,and land ownership and title related issues are still majorchallenges yet to be completely resolved, noted Valka. To resolvethis tension, investors are turning to companies like Stewart toprovide a solution. By working with local law firms and using its111 years of experience in title search, remediation of titledefects and strong underwriting principles, Stewart is able tosignificantly reduce title risk and provide financialindemnification for remaining title risks, allowing largeprojects to succeed.

"The title guaranty gives us a greater sense of security,"says Dennis M. Dart, senior vice president, director LegalAffairs for Heitman. "In the past, we relied on the opinions ofattorneys -- and very good attorneys -- but there areuncertainties and inherent risks of title in Central Europe."Dart explained that with a title guaranty, Stewart was able toassume the risk and provided Heitman's leadership team with peaceof mind.About Stewart International

Stewart International provides oversight and leadership forStewart's expansion to markets outside of the United States. Byconsulting with governments on land laws, developing automatedpublic land record systems, promoting primary and secondarymortgage markets, delivering solutions that speed and simplifythe conveyance process, and providing market-driven titleassurance, Stewart International enhances the real estatetransaction process. To date, Stewart provides title guaranteesand title insurance policies, escrow services, and real estateinformation services in more than 30 countries through itsoffices in Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic,Dominican Republic, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Scotland, SlovakRepublic, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and theUnited States. Stewart has an 18-year history of providing realestate information solutions for various governments includingthe Slovak Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Hungary,Costa Rica, Washington, D.C., and other locations in the UnitedStates. For more information, visithttp://international.stewart.comAbout Stewart

Stewart Information Services Corp. is a technology driven,strategically competitive, real estate information andtransaction management company. Stewart provides title insuranceand related information services through more than 7,700 issuinglocations in the United States and several international markets.Stewart meets the needs of the real estate and mortgageindustries through the delivery of information services requiredfor settlement using e-commerce. These services include titlereports, flood determinations, document preparation, propertyreports and background checks. Stewart also supplies post-closingservices to lenders, automated county clerk land records,property ownership mapping and GIS for governmental entities.Stewart provides expertise in tax-deferred exchanges. Moreinformation about Stewart can be found at http://www.stewart.com/Web site: http://international.stewart.com

http://www.stewart.comSource: Stewart Information International Inc.Contact:Ted C. Jones, Director-Investor Relations, +1-713-625-8014, orted@stewart.com , or Brad DeLoach, +1-713-625-8568, orbdeloach@stewart.com , both of Stewart Information InternationalInc./

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