04.16.01-CBA & Informa to Present Study

CONSUMER BANKERS ASSOCIATION AND INFORMA RESEARCH SERVICES TEAM TO PRESENT A STUDY THAT ASKS THE RIGHT QUESTIONS


New Market Study to be presented at CBA's 2001 Small Business Conference

CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA (April 16, 2001) - The Consumer Banker Association has joined with Informa Research Services, Inc., to prepare a series of in-depth marketing analyses of the Financial Services' Small Business Market. This collaborative body of research, designed to meet the needs of CBA members, is a strategic series of research abstracts based on Informa Research Services' annual Syndicated Micro and Business Market Research Studies which cover business markets with annual revenues ranging from $50,000 to over $20 million.

The Small Business Market Quarterly prepared for CBA members will cover business markets with annual revenues ranging from $50,000 to over $10 million. It will consist of four specific topics: Small Business E-Commerce (Delivered June 2001), Sales Strategies for Small Business Customers (Delivered September 2001), Service Strategies for Small Business Customers (Delivered December 2001), and Lead Provider Positioning (Delivered March 2002).

"Our members asked us to provide cutting edge research that gets into the minds of small business owners," said Joe Belew, President of Consumer Bankers Association. "After reviewing what was available from several research companies, we concluded that Informa is best positioned to deliver fresh marketing data that will give bankers new insights into the financial needs of their customers. We're excited to offer this uniqu research series."

"The in-depth research conducted for CBA clients uncovers misconceptions that often occur when less meaningful survey questions miss the key issues," said Mike Marselli, Business Markets Analyst at Informa Research Services. "This study provides insight into the strategic issues necessary to develop accurate, informed, and actionable game-plans to grow an institution's business client base."

"The power of this report is the ability to drill down to the individual business level," said Marselli. "In our survey, we capture the primary bank for each type of financial service business. This allows us to measure the success of the top 20 banks in capturing 'share-of-wallet' against all other competitors. We can rank the service and cross-sales effectiveness of telephone centers targeting small businesses, and we even look at the market of affluent business owners and view their preferences when it comes to provider consolidation. It's great because this information is not available in detail anywhere else."

Mike Marselli, a certified cash manager, has over 13 years experience in the financial services industry, serving with Dun & Bradstreet Information Services and PSI Global prior to joining Informa Research Services last year. His background includes experience in business-to-business market strategies, industry trend forecasting, e-commerce trend analysis, and primary market research.

Marselli will present on the significant findings of this study and discuss issues of strategic importance to the industry at the CBA Small Business Conference in New Orleans, LA, April 29 through May 1, 2001. For information on this conference visit www.cbanet.org.

About Consumer Bankers Association- The Consumer Bankers Association is the recognized voice on retail banking issues in the nation's capital. Member institutions are the leaders in consumer finance (auto, home equity, credit cards and education), electronic retail delivery systems, bank sales of investment products, small business services, and community development.

CBA was founded in 1919 and provides leadership and representation on retail banking issues such as privacy, fair lending, and consumer protection legislation/regulation. CBA members include most of the nation's largest bank holding companies as well as regionals and hold two-thirds of the industry's total assets.


About Informa Research Services, Inc. Based in Calabasas, CA, Informa Research Services, Inc., provides the financial industry's most extensive array of market research and decision-support information.

Conducting daily surveys of the retail and business products offered by more than 5,000 financial organizations nationwide, Informa Research Services, Inc., currently supports the product pricing decisions of more than 2,100 clients, representing all 50 states and including the top 25 financial institutions. This electronically transmitted competitive pricing intelligence effectively generates profitable responses to continual market changes, enables clients to effectively position deposit and loan products within local markets, maximizes interest income, and manages interest expense. Informa is the premier provider of fee and feature studies used to determine the competitiveness of fee-based services. In-depth studies are also available on cash management services, trust products, mystery shops, and other specialized services.

Informa Research Services, Inc., is a division of London-based Informa Group plc (LONDON:INF). Informa Group offers "must have" business-to-business information through 3,500 conferences and seminars and nearly 1,500 print and electronic publications from offices in 19 countries.

Informa Contact: James Royal 26565 Agoura Road, Suite 300 Calabasas, CA 91302-1942 (818) 880-8877 Ext. 213 FAX (818) 880-2069 jroyal@informars.com www.informars.com

CBA Contact: Kathleen Moore 1000 Wilson Blvd., Suite 2500 Arlington, VA 22209 (703) 276-3880 FAX (703) 528-1290 kmoore@cbanet.org www.cbanet.org