The agreement runs for 5 years, and represents total contract value of approximately NOK 3.8 billion.

"This is a very important agreement for EDB. We look forward to a renewed partnership with DnB NOR to provide operating services and solutions that will ensure high levels of customer service and quality for services used by the bank's customers and employees. At the same time, DnB NOR will strengthen its competitive position by using uniform and cost-effective IT services," comments Endre Rangnes, CEO of EDB.

The agreement includes the entire DnB NOR group including subsidiaries, and covers the following main areas:

• Central operating services and infrastructure for areas such as operating services for internet banking, core banking systems, payment service solutions and other central banking systems and applications.
• Decentralised operating services and infrastructure such as solutions for around 10,000 local workstations.
• Services delivery for areas such as distribution and printing, as well as delivery to Nordlandsbanken of a Basle II-compliant credit management solution.

The new contract includes agreement between the parties to make greater use of standard solutions. DnB NOR will use Skala, which is EDB's standard solution for decentralised platforms, and EDB's standard network, PowerNet.

"This contract will improve the quality of our operating services and deliver better operational reliability for our customers and employees. The decision to enter into one contract for the entire group will give us significant reductions in costs, and this will be beneficial for our customers", comments Cathrine Klouman, Group Executive Vice President - IT at DnB NOR.

The parties will establish a joint conversion project to run over 12 months, which will focus in particular on rationalising and standardising the IT platforms used. This will ensure that the cost savings identified are realised, and the parties expect these cost savings to come into effect from 2010.

The agreement runs from 1 April 2009 to and including 31 March 2014, and represents total contract value of NOK 3.8 billion of which approximately NOK 2.8 billion will be new operating revenue for EDB due to the new contract length. The new agreement is based on a more strategic interaction between the parties than has been the case so far. This is reflected in the manner in which the parties will interact, and is intended to ensure expanded and balanced collaboration between the parties.

EDB has established a separate organisational unit for its deliveries to DnB NOR. This concentration of resources ensures stable and reliable operating services for DnB NOR and fully co-ordinated deliveries from EDB. The unit's focus over the second half of 2008 and the start of 2009 has been on agreeing this contract and making preparations for the imminent conversion project. This represents somewhat higher costs for the IT Operations business area of EDB at the beginning of 2009, but in overall terms EDB expects that this contract and delivery structure will lead to more efficient resource utilisation.