Latin America's Largest Retail Bank To EmbraceIBM Network Computing Technologies.

BRASILIA, Brazil--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 1997--IBM(a) today announced that Banco do Brasil, Latin America's largest retail bank, will invest in numerous IBM network computing technologies as part of its (U.S.) $1.8 billion technology rollout which will take place between now and the year

2000. Banco do Brasil officials believe using IBM software to conduct e-business will lower its cost per transaction, expand its market reach, decrease its time to market and lower its overall cost of ownership, establishing the bank as an innovator in the use of technology for commercial banking.

Banco do Brasil is making significant investments in IBM solutions. The bank will introduce Banco do Brasil Shopping which uses IBM's SET technology for secure electronic transactions over the Internet, establishing IBM as the first vendor to have SET technology in Latin America. The bank will make an extensive commitment to Java(b) by implementing Banco do Brasil Personal Banking, which includes moving its three current home banking applications to one Java-based application. The bank will also train half of its IT programming staff, 900 professionals, in Java defining Banco do Brasil's training as one of the largest Java training initiatives worldwide.

"IBM was the only vendor that could provide us with a complete, end-to-end solution to fit our needs," said Hugo Dantas Pereira, Banco do Brasil's director of retail banking and services, technology and infrastructure. "We look to IBM as a strong partner that will help drive our IT investment, make us more competitive and lead us into a new era of network computing."

Lower Cost Per Transaction

A recent study by Booz-Allen and Hamilton concluded a bank that conducts Internet transactions, versus face-to-face, call center, or PC transactions, can lower its overall cost per transaction. The study revealed a transaction cost on average of $1.08 when a customer walks into a branch office, $0.54 when the customer uses a call center, $0.28 when using a PC, and $0.13 when it is made over the Internet. Banco do Brasil officials said they believe offering Internet banking as an option to its customers will prove to lower its overall cost per transaction, potentially saving the bank millions of dollars.

Expanded Market Reach

With 4,300 branches worldwide, including offices in New York, London and Tokyo, Banco do Brasil is looking to the Internet and Java to help it reach its geographically diverse customer base. The bank will work with IBM to port its current platform-specific banking applications to Java, allowing the applications to be accessed by anyone, anywhere, no matter what operating system they are using. Banco do Brasil Electronic Commerce will allow the banks customers the convenience of banking 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In addition, through the use of IBM's SET technology, the bank will be able to establish secure and private transactions with its clients worldwide. The bank is currently piloting the SET solution called Banco do Brasil Shopping with five companies in Latin America. The SET solution will allow these companies to offer online shoppers security when making credit and debit card purchases over the Internet. IBM has been instrumental in the development of the SET specification and software solution and was the first company to enable SET transactions on five continents.

Decreased Time to Market

The bank believes that standardizing on Java will decrease its time to market with new applications. The bank currently has three home banking applications, and must make changes to all three when upgrading its service offerings. With both its commercial banking application and personal banking application written in 100% Pure Java, the process is streamlined. Banco do Brasil can spend less time updating and distributing applications and can bring new banking services to market quicker.

Lowered Cost of Ownership

Banco do Brasil is adopting a network computing model and is investing in Java and OS/2 Warp Server technology to get it there. When choosing an operating system, an IT administrators biggest concern can be the total cost of ownership. Ease-of-use and time required to perform specific tasks are critical factors that can greatly affect the long-term cost for an operating system. In addition to its network computing features, like a built-in Java capabilities, OS/2 Warp Server also gives IT administrators true value with strong performance at a low price, which can result in lower long-term cost of ownership.

About Banco do Brasil

Banco do Brasil, Latin America's largest retail bank, serves approximately 15 million customers and has assets of more than (U.S.) $104 billion. It has 79,500 employees located both in the banks headquarters in Brasilia, Brazil and in 4,300 branches around the world. Banco do Brasil was the first Brazilian bank to operate abroad and ranks second on the list of the world's largest agricultural banks. More information on Banco do Brasil is available at http://www.bancobrasil.com .

About IBM

IBM, the world's largest software provider, creates, develops and manufactures some of the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. IBM offers information about the company, its products, services, and technology through the World Wide Web. The fastest and easiest way to get information about IBM software is to go to the IBM Software home page at http://www.software.ibm.com . -0-

--IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

(b) Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.

CONTACT: IBM Media Relations

Joseph Stunkard, 512/838-9642

stunkard@us.ibm.com