ECC Capital Corporation (NYSE: ECR), a mortgage finance real estate investment trust that originates and invests in residential mortgage loans, today announced the tax treatment for its 2005 dividend distributions.

Dividend Tax Treatment

The following dividend table provides detail related to four taxable dividends that are reportable for ECC Capital stockholders for the 2005 tax year:

Long Term

Declaration Record Payment Total Ordinary Return of Capital

Dates Dates Dates Distribution Income Capital Gains

04/12/05 04/25/05 05/02/05 $0.07 $0.07 $0.00 $0.00

06/28/05 07/12/05 07/26/05 $0.22 $0.22 $0.00 $0.00

09/27/05 10/10/05 10/24/05 $0.18 $0.18 $0.00 $0.00

12/20/05 12/30/05 01/31/06 $0.18 $0.18 $0.00 $0.00

TOTAL $0.65 $0.65 $0.00 $0.00

No portion of the dividends constitutes "qualified dividends" eligible for the reduced rates on dividends pursuant to the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.

Excess Inclusion Income

For stockholders that are tax-exempt or non-U.S. corporations or residents, you may be required to report a portion of ECC Capital's dividend to the IRS as "Excess Inclusion Income."

- Tax-exempt stockholders will be subject to unrelated business taxable

income (commonly referred to as UBTI) with respect to such excess

inclusion income;

- Non-U.S. stockholders will be subject to the 30 percent U.S. federal

withholding tax on this income without reduction under any otherwise

applicable income tax treaty; and

- U.S. stockholders, including taxpaying entities, will not be able to

offset such excess inclusion income with net operating losses.

ECC Capital will provide the amount of Excess Inclusion Income per share on ECC Capital's Web site at http://www.ecccapital.com when this information is available.

Tax Disclaimer

The information contained in this release should not be considered tax advice. You should consult a tax advisor regarding the specific federal, state, local, foreign and other tax consequences to you regarding your ownership of shares of ECC Capital's common stock.

About ECC Capital Corporation

ECC Capital Corporation, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., is a mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates and invests in residential mortgage loans. Through its wholesale and retail subsidiaries, ECC Capital offers a series of mortgage products to borrowers, with a particular emphasis on "nonconforming" borrowers who generally do not satisfy the credit, collateral, documentation or other standards required by conventional mortgage lenders and loan buyers. ECC Capital is structured to qualify as a REIT by managing a portfolio of nonconforming loans it originates or acquires. As a REIT, ECC Capital's principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders from the spread between the interest income on its assets in its portfolio and the costs of capital to finance its acquisition of these assets.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws and ECC Capital intends that those forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor created thereby. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could affect ECC Capital's future plans. ECC Capital cautions that these statements are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements. You should review the other factors and risks discussed in ECC Capital's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 8, 2005. You should also be aware that, except as otherwise specified, all information in this news release is as of January 30, 2006. ECC Capital undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in ECC Capital's expectations.

For Further Information:

AT THE COMPANY:

Roque A. Santi

Chief Financial Officer

(949) 856-7611

rsanti@encorecredit.com

Source: prnewswire