BROOKFIELD, Wis., Feb 21, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Fiserv Lending Solutions, a business unit of Fiserv, Inc. (Nasdaq:FISV), announced today that 100 percent of its MortgageServ loan servicing system clients slated for renewals in 2005 recommitted to use of the platform. The renewals include multiyear agreements to either license MortgageServ or leverage the system via Fiserv Lending Solution's Philadelphia-based service bureau.

As the production market declines, loan servicing becomes a critical source of revenue for lenders. In addition to cash flow generated from transactions, the ongoing servicing relationship affords the opportunity to forge strong bonds with customers that encourage not only loyalty, but increased cross sales for other financial products.

"MortgageServ supports all types of mortgages and home equity lines of credit on a single platform," said Thomas Gorman, president of MortgageServ for Fiserv Lending Solutions. "This positions our clients for continued success in the lending marketplace with prime, nonprime and nontraditional products."

The 10 client renewals for MortgageServ span the continental United States and Hawaii, and involve prime, nonprime and home equity lenders. BancorpSouth, Bank of the West and FirstMerit Mortgage Corp. have indicated contract renewal business drivers including: cost-to-service, product support diversification and the need to provide responsive customer service. These rationales for remaining with MortgageServ are common among the client group.

Bank of the West, which acquired Omaha-based Commercial Federal Corporation last year, renewed a contract for continued use of MortgageServ at their centralized mortgage servicing center in Omaha after the acquisition was final, citing efficient and cost-effective processing.

"We looked at the loan servicing success of Commercial Federal and saw opportunity that could be applied across our organization," said Don Ward, senior executive vice president at Bank of the West. "In an acquisition you leverage strengths when you blend organizations. MortgageServ creates operational advantages in terms of a low cost-to-service and will remain in place to provide continuity in customer care."

In the Midwest, FirstMerit Mortgage Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstMerit Corp. (Nasdaq:FMER), noted that MortgageServ flexibility was a key business driver for contract renewal.

"FirstMerit services the products it originates as a component of our ongoing commitment to customer service," said Jerry Rudisill, senior vice president, FirstMerit Mortgage Corp. "MortgageServ gives us the tools to define and automate servicing for virtually every loan product. This enables our loan production group to be very opportunistic and focused on providing our customers with the most in-demand products."

BancorpSouth, with its footprint in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, has been using MortgageServ since 1998 and will continue to use the system to deliver accurate and responsive loan servicing into the future.

"Our institution prides itself on providing immediate answers to our customers. Because MortgageServ operates in real time we can accelerate information exchanges," said BancorpSouth executive vice president Cathy Robertson. "Real-time processing means the difference between providing instant answers and requiring multiple contacts to satisfy a customer's request."

The terms of technology contracts typically average five years. Since these MortgageServ client institutions last signed contracts, the system has undergone unrivaled growth in terms of both functionality and new client adoption. In the last five years, the browser-based system has been enhanced to provide 24 hour, seven days a week real-time system access, business process management tools, subservicing expansion and support for revolving lines of credit.

The addition of home equity line of credit support established MortgageServ as the single platform solution for real estate-secured loans. Many mortgage servicing clients have added revolving home equity lines to their servicing portfolios, which they are now servicing on MortgageServ. Building on the acceptance of multiproduct servicing, Fiserv Lending Solutions is in the process of adding consumer loan and automotive lease support to MortgageServ.

Headquartered in Tupelo, Miss., BancorpSouth is an $11.5 billion asset financial services company that operates 271 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance, trust and broker/dealer locations in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, with 272 ATMs and a staff of approximately 4,000 full-time employees. BancorpSouth and its subsidiaries provide, in addition to traditional banking services, mortgage origination and servicing, student loans, leasing, credit card, trust and fiduciary services, brokerage, investment and insurance services.

BancWest Corporation (www.bancwestcorp.com) is a financial holding company with assets of more than $66 billion. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com), an international financial services group. BancWest is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, with administrative headquarters in San Francisco, Calif. Its principal subsidiaries are Bank of the West (681 banking locations in California, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington State, Wisconsin and Wyoming) and First Hawaiian Bank (61 branches in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan).

FirstMerit Mortgage Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstMerit Corp. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Akron, Ohio, with assets of $10.2 billion as of December 31, 2005, and 160 banking offices in 24 Ohio and Western Pennsylvania counties. FirstMerit provides a complete range of banking and financial services to consumers and businesses through its core operations. Principal wholly owned subsidiaries include: FirstMerit Bank, N.A., FirstMerit Mortgage Corp., FirstMerit Title Agency, Ltd., FirstMerit Credit Life Insurance Company and FirstMerit Community Development Corporation.

MortgageServ is an offering of Fiserv Lending Solutions, a suite of products and services provided by Fiserv to mortgage and consumer lenders. Fiserv's comprehensive lending solution set includes mortgage and auto lead generation management, loan origination technology, customer loyalty programs, industry-leading automated valuation model (AVM) products, auto leasing solutions, settlement services and default management.

Fiserv, Inc. provides information management systems and services to the financial and health benefits industries, including transaction processing, business process outsourcing and software and systems solutions. The company serves more than 17,000 clients worldwide, including banks, credit unions, financial planners and investment advisers, insurance companies and agents, self-funded employers, lenders and savings institutions. Headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., Fiserv reported $3.7 billion in processing and services revenues for 2005. Fiserv was ranked the largest provider of information technology services to the U.S. financial services industry in the 2004 and 2005 FinTech 100 surveys by the American Banker newspaper and the Financial Insights research firm. Fiserv can be found on the Internet at www.fiserv.com.

SOURCE: Fiserv Inc.

Fiserv Lending Solutions                              
Kathleen Mikula, 574-245-1562                        
or
Fiserv Inc.            
Mike Muckian, 262-879-5667

Copyright Business Wire 2006

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