ATLANTA, April 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Amid increased competition for deposit dollars and an uncertain deposit environment, many financial institutions are struggling to execute sound strategies for growing and retaining deposits. To address this need for sufficient funding for financial institutions, Harland Financial Solutions has introduced a new Deposit Benchmarking service. Harland Financial Solutions, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH).
Unique in the industry, Deposit Benchmarking narrows its focus on three areas: acquisition, organic growth and retention. The service is based on a national proprietary database that is updated quarterly with millions of households from financial institutions. Harland Financial Solutions' analysis does not concentrate solely on publicly reported account level data, but instead analyzes overall household relationship information which provides insight into a financial institution's marketing, pricing, positioning and product strategies.
"Deposit Benchmarking reveals the dynamics -- the trade-offs -- of a deposit strategy in ways that publicly available data cannot," said Tom Gerry, vice president and practice manager for the Business Intelligence advisory group at Harland Financial Solutions. "It's a solid baseline for measuring the impact of a deposit gathering strategy."
Analyzing data at this level enables Harland Financial Solutions to work directly with the institutions to help them better understand their performance compared to their peers' and the market, as well as make specific recommendations for performance improvement based on its observations. Additionally, Harland Financial Solutions can help identify opportunities and design strategies to improve targeting for organic growth, acquisition and/or retention of deposits based on that institution's unique profile.
Initial Deposit Benchmarking findings indicate financial institutions continue to focus their deposit growth strategies almost exclusively on new client acquisition rather than existing client relationships. Further research reveals nearly 30 percent of new relationships leave within the first year. Given this attrition risk, these financial institutions have unknowingly implemented a precarious deposit strategy.
"Acquisition is often the preferred approach for deposit growth because it is so familiar," explained Gerry. "But for every 10,000 households acquired, a third will leave in the first year, taking with them an average of nearly $1.5 million in interest income potential and absorbing $750 thousand in marketing and other acquisition expenses."
With its Deposit Benchmarking offering, Harland Financial Solutions' goal is to better educate its customers about where their strengths and weaknesses in deposit growth lie and further support their overall growth objectives.
"Deposit Benchmarking is another way Harland Financial Solutions continues to transcend the traditional client-vendor relationship," said John O'Malley, president of Harland Financial Solutions. "This offering reinforces our position as a true strategic resource directly involved in the success and well-being of our financial institution partners."
About Harland Financial Solutions
Harland Financial Solutions (www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com) supplies software and services to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes, offering its solutions in both an in-house and service bureau environment. The company is a leader in core systems, item processing, enterprise content management, branch automation, customer relationship management, business intelligence, origination and document solutions, risk management, compliance training, financial accounting, open documents, mortgage solutions, electronic funds transfer (EFT), self service solutions and performance advisory services.
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 and 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.