Perceptant Names Industry Advisory Board; Prominent Banking and Consumer Finance Executives Bring Practical Experience and Visionary Guidance to Perceptant's Software Team

    AUSTIN, Texas--March 11, 2002--Perceptant(tm), provider of real-time business intelligence software to the banking industry, announced today the formation of its Industry Advisory Board comprised of three prominent banking executives -- Martin Stein, Jim DeFrancesco and Guy Veni.
    Having held senior management positions at Bank of America, Fleet, Paine Webber, The CIT Group, Chase and CMSI, the addition of these industry leaders highlights Perceptant's commitment to bring new levels of innovation to the banking and consumer finance industry.
    "From the front lines to the board room, leading financial institutions need comprehensive and up-to-date information to make sound event-driven business decisions," said Martin Stein, who formerly served as the Vice Chair of Bank of America and as the Executive Vice President and CIO of Fleet Financial. "Perceptant's software fills a strong need in the banking industry for real-time management information that spans the enterprise."
    The Perceptant Industry Advisory Board was formed to include the experience of seasoned banking industry executives in the design of Perceptant's software applications. "To create software that solves real business problems, you need experts who have lived the problems first hand," said Miles Grody, President and C.E.O. of Perceptant. "The addition of Marty, Jim, and Guy continues to expand Perceptant's strong team of industry veterans. Each of these visionary executives brings a deep understanding of the banking and consumer finance industry that will be invaluable as Perceptant creates innovative solutions to address the industry's most pressing needs."
    Veni and DeFrancesco have spent a combined fifty years in the banking industry. Veni served as Executive Vice President for The CIT Group with responsibility for consumer finance operations. DeFrancesco was the founder of Credit Management Solutions Inc., a leading provider of credit decisioning software to financial institutions.
    "Perceptant software is backed by a team with a deep understanding of banking strategy and operations, leading-edge technology, and the processes necessary to successfully deliver software systems that solve complex banking information delivery problems," said Grody. "The addition of these well-respected industry leaders to the Perceptant Industry Advisory Board will help us fulfill our vision of real-time banking information that spans from sales and credit to collections."
    Perceptant's first software release is a complete solution for the management of complex sales, credit risk, operations, and portfolio information designed for the automobile lending industry.

    The Perceptant Industry Advisory Board includes:

    Martin Stein

    Martin A. Stein was formerly Vice Chairman for technology and operations at BankAmerica Corporation, one of the nation's largest financial institutions. Prior to joining BankAmerica, Stein served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Paine Webber in New York and as the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Fleet Financial Group in Providence, RI.
    Stein has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry managing technology and operations as well as strategic and tactical planning. He is currently President of Sonoma Mountain Ventures, a company he founded that provides strategic and technology consulting.

    Jim DeFrancesco

    Jim DeFrancesco is the founder and former President, Chief Executive, and Chairman of Credit Management Solutions, Inc ("CMSI"), a provider of credit automation technology, services and software which enables business-to-business and business-to-consumer credit transactions. CMSI went public in December, 1996 and was sold to First American Financial Corp. in June, 2001.
    Prior to founding CMSI, DeFrancesco founded and served as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Financial Corporation ("AFC"), a private automobile finance/leasing company providing services to over 400 automobile dealers in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 1987, AFC was sold to Perpetual Savings Bank, FSB.

    Guy Veni

    Guy Veni was formerly Executive Vice President of Consumer and Commercial Lending for The CIT Group/Sales Financing where he was responsible for national sales, marketing and operations. During his tenure, Veni managed CIT's mortgage, automobile, marine, and recreational vehicle lending originated through retail, leasing, direct and wholesale financing programs. Prior to his role as Executive Vice President, Veni served as Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for the sales financing division.

    About Perceptant

    Perceptant provides real-time business intelligence software to the banking industry. The company's initial product, Perceptant Consumer Finance, is a complete solution for the management of complex consumer lending sales, credit, operations, portfolio, collections, risk and profitability information.
    Perceptant is recognized as one of the first providers of Web services-based business intelligence solutions for the banking industry. The use of Web services allows Perceptant technology to operate in direct conjunction with a wide variety of disparate mission-critical banking systems without requiring legacy system replacement or downtime.
    The Perceptant team brings extensive banking, consumer finance, and software development experience to the creation of all of its products. The company is based in Austin, Texas. Additional information regarding Perceptant can be found at www.perceptant.com.