Star Bank and World Trade Center Cleveland Team Up to Promote International Trade

Business Wire, Oct 5, 1998

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 5, 1998--Star Bank (NYSE:STB) and the World Trade Center (WTC) Cleveland are collaborating to help Northern Ohio companies expand their international business efforts.

Russell A. Leach, executive director of the WTC Cleveland, commented, "We plan to work together as a team with Star Bank to help Northern Ohio small to medium sized companies enhance their international business opportunities. The WTC Cleveland has outstanding resources and international connections and now we have the added value of a high quality financial services alliance with Star Bank to expand assistance to local companies."

The WTC Cleveland helps Northern Ohio companies generate income internationally by providing members exclusive access to daily trade leads, up-to-the-minute foreign market research and the most current trade statistics to locate overseas growth potential.

Christopher R. Jones, manager of Star Bank's Global Services division in Northern Ohio, outlined the nature of the alliance, "Star Bank and the WTC Cleveland will jointly sponsor international business seminars and matchmaking meetings between visiting foreign businesses, government officials and local companies. Additionally, Star Bank customers will receive discounts on new memberships in the WTC Cleveland."

The WTC Cleveland also assists members through counseling from experienced regional experts to identify opportunities in foreign markets and locate contacts and resources that can result in opportunities for local companies to produce additional revenue.

Andrew E. Randall, regional chairman of Northeast Ohio for Star Bank, noted, "We are very fortunate to be able to team with such a highly respected organization as the World Trade Center Cleveland whom we view as the pre-eminent international trade entity in Northern Ohio. Our current and future customers can only benefit from the combination of international marketing assistance from the World Trade Center Cleveland and the financing services of our high-powered Trade Finance Group and Global Services division. We believe this close relationship will substantially enhance our efforts to establish Star Bank as the premier international banking resource in the area."

The WTC Cleveland was established in 1994 through an alliance of The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, The Greater Cleveland Growth Association and Cleveland Tomorrow. The WTC Cleveland is part of the global network of more than 330 World Trade Centers in more than 90 countries.

Star Bank, is the primary subsidiary of Star Banc Corporation, a $17 billion bank holding company with 452 full service banking offices in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee. Also, Star offers customers its unique Canadian treasury management services which includes lock box services. In 1996 Star formed a trade alliance with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Hong Kong to give its customers the in-country expertise of one of the oldest, largest and most respected financial institutions in the world. Star Bank is also the recipient of both the President's "E Star Award," presented each year by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the State of Ohio Governor's "E Award" for excellence in export services. Star Bank guarantees its level of high quality international banking services in five specific areas or it will compensate its customers for the inconvenience. Star Bank was founded in 1863.