ATLANTA, May 2, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Harland Financial Solutions, a subsidiary of John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH), announced today that GB&T Bancshares, (Nasdaq:GBTB) has licensed comprehensive elements of its Touche(r) Customer Relationship Management Solution.
The Touche Customer Relationship Management Solution consists of three separate but fully integrated turnkey software deliverables. The Touche solution encompasses the analytical, interactive, and sales and service components of comprehensive CRM to become the technology foundation that supports financial institutions' CRM strategies. Additionally, Touche Advisor(tm), Harland Financial Solutions' consultative, support and training component of the solution, guides financial institutions through the initial implementation and ongoing operation of the solution throughout the entire enterprise.
GB&T Bancshares is a $740 million bank holding company that includes four Georgia banks: Gainesville Bank & Trust, Hall County; United Bank & Trust, Polk County; Community Bank & Trust, Cobb and Paulding Counties; and HomeTown Bank, Carroll County. The company's lead bank, Gainesville Bank & Trust, has used Touche Analyzer(tm) since 1996. GB&T's decision to implement the entire Touche' Customer Relationship Management Solution will enable them to remain a leader in customer satisfaction. Additionally, the banks will employ the consultative services of Touche Advisor to help refine program profitability analysis and identify the bank's best opportunities for strengthening relationships and profitability.
Richard Hunt, president and chief executive officer of GB&T Bancshares, explains his expectations for the solution's role in the company's strategy, "We're very excited to begin the implementation of the Touche CRM Solution. We sincerely believe that the CRM solution offered by Harland Financial Solutions can play a critical role in elevating our sales and service culture to the next level. We also believe that Touche Messenger(tm) will become one of the most important pieces of our CRM framework by allowing us to deliver individually customized communications to our current and potential highest-value customer segments. We anticipate this being a much more efficient, effective and less costly method of reaching this group."
GB&T Bancshares has had significant growth in market share over the last few years due in large part to its excellent customer service. GB&T Bancshares is continually seeking ways to provide higher levels of service in order to hold on to its leadership position in the markets its banks serve. The company's search led to the Touche Customer Relationship Management Solution. GB&T plans to use the Touche Solution to help its officers become better at consultative, needs-based selling. Upon implementation, GB&T Bancshares' staff will have access to a complete, 360-degree view of each customer's relationship and access to intelligence-driven recommendations so they may offer the best product or service to meet their customers' needs.
"Our lead bank, Gainesville Bank & Trust, has been a Jack Henry client for years, and in 2002 we converted all of our banks to their Silverlake(r) system," said Mike Banks, senior vice president of GB&T. "Because we have been using Harland Financial Solutions' Max$ell (Touche Analyzer) system at GB&T successfully for so many years in conjunction with Jack Henry, it seemed natural that the rest of Harland Financial Solutions' CRM system would also work well with our Jack Henry system. Additionally, Harland Financial Solutions representatives were well-versed in CRM. The Touche Solutions' appearance, apparent ease-of-use, and our long history with Harland Financial Solutions' high level of service were also significant factors."
Henry Bond, senior vice president of Harland Financial Solutions, Retail Solutions business is also enthusiastic for GB&T to implement all of the major components of the solution. "We are excited about the opportunity to expand our relationship with GB&T as they lead the way in executing all of the components of the Touche CRM Solution. As a Jack Henry Silverlake client running on IBM's iSeries(tm) platform, GB&T is a great opportunity to demonstrate our ability to integrate with other third party technology providers. We will work closely with them along the way and will be eager to share their successes as we strive to bring more institutions onboard with the entire solution."
Touche is a registered trademark and Touche Analyzer, Touche Sales & Service, Touche Messenger and Touche Advisor are trademarks of Harland Financial Solutions, Inc. All other brands and products or services are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners, may be registered, and should be treated appropriately.
About GB&T Bancshares, Inc.
GB&T Bancshares is the parent company of Gainesville Bank & Trust, United Bank & Trust, Community Trust Bank, Community Loan Company, and Home Town Bank. The $740-million dollar community bank holding company is headquartered in Gainesville, Georgia and is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the trading symbol GBTB. The affiliate banks are all located in the growing communities bordering the northern suburbs of metropolitan Atlanta. GB&T Bancshares banks maintain their local identity, including name and local management and board, with expanded services being provided their clients through the affiliation with the holding company. High touch and high tech are combined in GB&T Bancshares banks to provide a level of customer service clients expect from their community banks.
About Harland Financial Solutions
Harland Financial Solutions (http://www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com) supplies software and services to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes. Harland Financial Solutions is a leader in deposit & loan origination, platform, teller, call-center, mortgage, business intelligence, core systems, and customer relationship management systems.
About Harland
Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH) (www.harland.net) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "JH." Harland is a leading provider of software and printed products to the financial institution market. Harland's software solutions include, deposit & loan origination, platform, teller, call-center, mortgage, business intelligence, core systems, and customer relationship management systems. Harland's printed products offerings include checks, direct marketing and financial forms. Scantron Corporation (www.scantron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary, is a leading provider of software services and systems for the collection, management and interpretation of data to the financial, commercial and educational markets.
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements." These statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of John H. Harland Company and members of its respective management, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Reference is made to the Risk Factors and Cautionary Statements in Harland's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filed under the Securities Exchange Act.