In all, more than 55,000 SunTrust trust accounts with $177 billion in assets were converted to SEI's portfolio processing and accounting system effective May 1, 2005. It is one of the largest and most complex trust conversion and systems integrations to date. The 15-month conversion was completed on time and under budget.

SEI's portfolio processing and accounting system is the long-standing industry leader in the large bank market, and is used by seven of the top ten largest U.S. banks.

"This is a major accomplishment, and to achieve a conversion of this magnitude in 15 months is remarkable," said William H. Rogers, Jr., Executive Vice President, SunTrust Banks. "We chose SEI in part because of their excellent conversion process and track record. SEI and our project team have navigated us through a smooth transition. We are now able to offer our clients the added value and enhancements made possible by changes we have implemented to our system, complimented by SEI's solutions."

"We are very pleased that this conversion has gone so smoothly. The success and efficiency of this conversion is a tribute to the strong partnership between our organizations and strength of our conversion teams," said Robert F. Crudup, Executive Vice President and head of SEI's Private Banking and Trust business. "We look forward to a long term relationship with SunTrust and the opportunity to assist them in fulfilling their strategic goals."

"In addition to the successful conversion, we were able to implement a number of operating improvements in our front and back office as well as reduce the number of our related ancillary system applications," said Bill Wohlford, Executive Vice President and Director of Wealth and Investment Operations for SunTrust. "We believe we will be able to find additional improvements as we continue to expand our relationship with SEI."

SEI's conversion expertise continues to be unparalleled in the industry. The company has invested in its Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure a thorough process for conversions. As a permanent cross-functional team, the PMO provides direct leadership for strategic conversion projects and manages the intellectual capital obtained from SEI's conversion experience. The PMO establishes and deploys a common set of reusable conversion management processes and templates, and ensures adherence to process best-practices during each implementation.

"It is gratifying to be able to deliver such a smooth conversion for SunTrust," said Mike Morgart, head of SEI Private Banking and Trust's Project Management Office team. "Our PMO deploys a conversion process that allows our customers to leverage SEI's project expertise and resources to execute a flawless transition."