Ameritrans Amends Quarterly Results to Reflect Change in
   Accounting Treatment of Holding Company Restructuring Costs; Will Omit 4th
                       Qtr. Dividend; Adjusts Merger Price

New York,  NY,  September 22, 2000 -- Ameritrans  Capital  Corporation  (NASDAQ:
AMTC)  announced  today that it has amended its previously  announced  financial
results for the quarters ended December 31, 1999, and March 31, 2000.

The  amendment  reflects  a change in the  accounting  treatment  under  GAAP of
certain expenses incurred in connection with the restructuring of Elk Associates
Funding Corporation and the formation of its parent company,  Ameritrans Capital
Corporation.  The new  holding  company  was  formed and the  restructuring  was
approved by the company's shareholders in December,  1999, to enable the company
to diversify its business into non-government regulated investment/lending while
continuing the operations of Elk, its wholly-owned SBIC subsidiary.  The company
previously  completed a financing  for purposes  which  included  payment of the
anticipated  restructuring  expenses and subtracted the restructuring costs from
those  proceeds.  During the  preparation  of the  company's  audited  financial
statements  for the year ended June 30, 2000,  however,  the company's  auditors
advised  the  company  that the  costs  associated  with the  restructuring  and
previously subtracted from the company's capital,  which were $345,941 and taken
as a reduction  of capital  during the quarter  ended  December  31,  1999,  and
$77,104 for the quarter ended March 31, 2000,  should be charged to earnings for
those periods. As a result, the company has amended and increased its capital by
$345,941,  for the six months ended  December  31, 1999,  and by $77,104 for the
nine  months  ended  March  31,  2000.   The  company  has  also  charged  these
restructuring  costs to its earnings for the same  periods.  This  resulted in a
loss of $26,116  or $0.015 per share for the three  months  ended  December  31,
1999.  For the six month period ended  December 31, 1999, net income as adjusted
was  $310,608 or $0.1779 per share.  For the three  months ended March 31, 2000,
net income as  adjusted  was  $252,911  or $0.1449  per share,  and for the nine
months ended March 31, 2000,  net income as adjusted was $563,519 or $0.3228 per
share. These adjustments are non-recurring, and are not expenses incurred in the
company's  active  business  operations.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  the
adjustments  have no effect on the  company's  net worth,  as the  restructuring
expenses were previously subtracted from the company's capital in its previously
filed financial statements.





The company  further  announced today that it does not intend to pay a quarterly
dividend to  shareholders  for the three months ended June 30, 2000,  because it
will incur certain bad debt expenses and will take write-offs of certain prepaid
offering expenses  previously  incurred in connection with a proposed  secondary
public offering which the company  intended to complete prior to entering into a
merger agreement with Medallion Financial Corp (NASDAQ: TAXI) dated as of May 4,
2000. The company  anticipates  that the total  charge-off for bad debts for the
quarter ended June 30, 2000, will be  approximately  $445,000 and write-offs for
prepaid offering expenses will be $256,000.

The  Company  previously  filed a Form  8-K  with the  Securities  and  Exchange
Commission on September 6, 2000, to reflect an amendment to the merger agreement
with Medallion  Financial  Corp.  pursuant to which the parties  reduced the per
share  purchase  price by Medallion of the  company's  shares of common stock by
$0.46. For example, if Medallion's share price is $17.00 at the time of closing,
Ameritrans  stockholders  would  receive  $9.43 per  share or  0.5547  shares of
Medallion  for each  Ameritrans  share.  If  Medallion's  share price is $22.00,
Ameritrans  shareholders  would  receive  $10.68  per share or 0.4855  shares of
Medallion  for each share of  Ameritrans.  The merger is subject to  approval by
Ameritrans'  shareholders  and the  satisfaction of certain other conditions set
forth in the merger agreement.

Ameritrans Capital  Corporation is a specialty finance company engaged in making
loans  to  and  investments  in  small  businesses.   Ameritrans'   wholly-owned
subsidiary, Elk Associates Funding Corporation,  has been licensed by the United
States  Small  Business  Administration  (SBA)  as a Small  Business  Investment
Company since 1980. The company  maintains its offices at 747 Third Avenue,  4th
Floor, New York, New York 10017.

                                       ###

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995.  Such statements are
subject to certain risks and  uncertainties  that could cause actual  results to
differ  materially  from those  presently  anticipated or projected.  Ameritrans
Capital   Corporation   cautions  investors  not  to  place  undue  reliance  on
forward-looking statements,  which speak only as to management's expectations on
this date.

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