FirstCaribbean Bank Automates its Consumer Loan Decisioning with Cypress Software's Mark IV Platform

Business Wire, March 26, 2007

Installation to cover 100 branches in 16 countries across the Caribbean

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas -- FirstCaribbean International Bank has selected Cypress Software Systems LP's Mark IV International Version software to automate the bank's consumer credit decisioning process. FirstCaribbean is Cypress' largest international client.

The Barbados-based bank began a six-branch pilot of Mark IV in February, and a complete rollout will begin in April. The phased installation will create a centralized, automated loan application processing and decisioning system for FirstCaribbean's 100 branches dotted across 16 Caribbean nations.

Rolf Phillips, managing director of retail banking at FirstCaribbean, says his bank needed an automated lending environment to improve its customer service and bring consistency to the bank's underwriting and decisioning.

"All of our branches are geographically scattered and separated by ocean, so our old, manual lending system proved too antiquated and slow to keep our customers satisfied and our lending operations efficient," said Phillips. "Cypress' Mark IV software creates an easier lending environment and helps us process more applications in a shorter timeframe. Once fully operating, we expect the system to improve our customer service by providing faster loan decisions, while increasing our lending efficiency with improved delinquency rates and better information management and workflow."

The international version of Cypress' Mark IV platform allows lenders to take consumer loan applications electronically, in one or more currencies, while interviewing applicants, efficiently review sources of repayment, and deploy their loan policies. Cypress provides these tools to financial institutions with the goal of speeding a quality loan decision back to the applicant.

"We are very pleased to have an institution with the stature of FirstCaribbean as an international client," said Stephen G. Sargent, president and chief executive officer of Cypress Software Systems. "As we continue expanding throughout the United States and globally, we look forward to providing best-in-class automated decisioning products, like Mark IV, that help financial institutions improve their lending operations and customer satisfaction."

The Mark IV International Version includes several modifications from its U.S. counterpart, helping adapt the software to international formats and procedures. The upgrades allow Mark IV to house and manage international custom scorecards, as well as search a bank's core data and substitute the institution's lending history for credit reports in areas where credit bureaus are not available. The software also supports multiple currency exchange capabilities, allowing banks to deploy and manage credit policies and scorecards across branches or regions which span more than one country.

FirstCaribbean is the largest regionally-listed bank in the Caribbean with assets exceeding US$12 billion and a market capitalization of US$2.8 billion. The bank has more than 3,500 employees and serves more than 800,000 accounts.

About Cypress Software Systems

Headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA, Cypress Software Systems, LP is a leading developer of automated credit application decision support technology. Cypress provides community and regional banks, finance companies and credit unions with loan application decision and tracking tools equivalent to those used by the largest national lending institutions. Clients, nationwide and in 16 countries, use the company's flagship products, Mark IV and BizMark, to quickly and consistently process consumer and small commercial loan applications. Cypress Mark IV offers a flexible, risk-based processing approach that includes tracking consumer loan applications from point of entry to point of decision. Cypress' BizMark loan automation software processes commercial loan requests within a customer relationship management environment. Both products may be licensed in the bundled Cypress Suite and are offered in either an application service provider (ASP) or traditional business model. The company's product line also includes AppMark, an ASP-only consumer lending solution for community banks with assets of $200 million or less. Web Site: www.go-cypress.com.