A message from the CEO of FSI.

There are many of us that remember life without computers, and as many who have never known a life without them. Now, in the 21st Century, it still amazes me how deeply computers and automation are woven into the fabric of every industry, including banking. There is virtually no process in any bank now that is untouched, from ATM machines to spreadsheets.

Indeed, looking back, I am proud that FSI has been a key partner for so many banks in their integration of both computers and our data processing services into their organizations. Working with FSI, clients have leveraged automation to expand their operations, achieve efficiencies, gain market share, and improve internal processes. And it has truly been a partnership, with FSI and its clients working jointly on the development of new products and services that satisfied their requirements and met their expectations. In the 70's, our clients helped us introduce time account processing; in the 80's, checking and retirement accounts; the 90's saw us jointly develop Teller2000 and Spectrum, our highly flexible front-line and platform systems. In that decade, responding to customer demand for additional services from a company they knew and trusted, FSI expanded into item processing and Internet and Web services.

Now, well into the new century, we are bringing more services to the table in an effort to better serve our clients. For our data processing customers, we added BankWatch, FSI's OFAC screening solution PATRIOT Officer for anti-money laundering and biometric solutions for tighter internal security control. For our item processing clients, imaging continues to be a technology that brings new developments almost every month. Research is moving to eDesk, our browser-based image retrieval system. This system allows our customers to pull up images on-line in a fast, secure and cost effective environment. In addition, check imaging has been made available in home banking and fraud protection adds a new layer of protection for our clients' customers. But that is not where the cutting-edge technology and innovations stop. FSI also provides its customers with the ability to provide branch and corporate capture to keep you at least on step ahead of your competition.

In all of these endeavors, FSI has worked to integrate the technology at our service bureau instead of forcing our clients to find and implement their own solutions. And this is where we differ from our competitors, who talk the talk about “enabling technology” and “open architecture,” but who can't deliver on their promises.

BankWatch, Patriot Officer, eDesk: all of these advances come ready to use out of the box. To utilize them, a bank doesn’t have to invest in new computers, servers, or software, and it’s not left on its own to create the interfaces required to use the services. Other servicers may have these products in some form, but when it comes down to getting them up and running, it's the individual bank that’s left to do the lion's share of the work.

That's not how FSI operates. We believe that you should do what you do best — banking — and delegate the systems integration to your service bureau FSI. By shifting the burden of meshing new technologies into your bank's operations, FSI enables you -- as other service providers do not -- to focus your core competencies where they’re most profitable.

This is how FSI has succeeded over the past half-century, and this is how we will continue to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, by the delivery of complete, fully integrated services that meet the needs and expectations of our clients.

Sincerely,
Jack Schunke, CEO