Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF), a Fortune 500 provider of products and outsourced services and solutions to financial institutions and the real estate industry, and its Fidelity Information Services ("Fidelity") division announced today that Franklin, TN-based Cumberland Bank, a subsidiary of CIVITAS BankGroup, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CVBG), has selected Fidelity's BancPac core processing solution to support their ambitious growth plans.
Richard Herrington, the holding company's president, has been an advocate of the BancPac solution since 1982 when he founded a service bureau and used BancPac to perform processing for banks in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. In 1989, he founded Franklin, TN-based Franklin National Bank, an institution that grew to almost $900 million in assets under his leadership before its sale last year to Fifth Third Bank. Although Franklin National outsourced its processing in the beginning, Herrington's intention was to convert to the in- house version of BancPac as soon as the bank had grown sufficiently to handle the operations. The conversion occurred in the mid-90s.
"Because our bank was growing so fast, we were continually challenging the limits of the system," said Herrington. "We had a great working relationship with InterCept, which was acquired by Fidelity Information Services last year. We relied on them to keep up with our needs as our volume exploded, and they relied on us for input into the product's enhancements. We worked hand in hand, with both sides of the partnership putting tremendous time and effort into the continuous improvement of the system."
Following the acquisition of Franklin National by Fifth Third, Herrington assumed the position of president of CIVITAS BankGroup, a multi-bank holding company that operates 13 retail offices in middle Tennessee, including those operated by Cumberland Bank. Lisa Musgrove, Franklin National's chief financial officer, made the move with Herrington, taking on the role of chief financial officer and chief operating officer. The bank had been outsourcing its processing to a service bureau, but Herrington and Musgrove quickly made the decision to once again convert to BancPac on an in-house basis.
"We wanted to re-establish the same kind of working synergy we had enjoyed in the past with the BancPac team," said Musgrove. "But it goes beyond the relationship. The product is very cost-effective; we're able to run on PCs, so there's no need to upgrade to an expensive mainframe. The processing is amazingly fast, and it's very user-friendly for our employees because of the familiar Windows environment."
Herrington and Musgrove also pointed out BancPac's advantage as a fully integrated system. The bank also uses Fidelity's TellerPlus, its deposit platform system and AccountFolio, a loan and collateral management system. In addition, Cumberland Bank uses Fidelity's Check Imaging solutions, which allows the bank's representatives to view a customer's entire relationship down to the finest details, including the front and back of a check. "It helps us differentiate ourselves based on service, because when a question arises from a customer, the answer is readily accessible," added Musgrove.
"Cumberland Bank ended the year 2002 with assets of $470 million," said Jim Susoreny, executive vice president, client relations for Fidelity's Integrated Financial Solutions division. "Today, just over two years later, they have grown to $725 million - and they are aiming for continued double-digit growth. By choosing BancPac, they are putting their money on a known quantity. We are committed to listening to their needs and helping them grow profitably because they help us keep our products on the leading edge."