New Core Banking Systems
Announces Strategic Partnership
and a Plan of Merger with RDSI
BIRMINGHAM, AL, April 27, 2009 – New Core Banking Systems, and RDSI, the data and item processing subsidiary of Rurban Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: RBNF), has announced an exclusive partnership as well as a plan of merger between New Core and RDSI.
Immediately, RDSI becomes the exclusive provider of New Core’s Single Source™. Single Source™ is the financial industry’s first Microsoft .Net based core solution and the first application to embed mission critical banking software into a single system.
John Aranowicz, President of New Core Banking Systems, stated, “RDSI is the perfect partner for New Core. We anticipate that Single Source™ will be extremely well received within the financial services community. RDSI has 40+ years of experience supporting and installing core applications into our market. This will allow us to ramp up quickly and avoid growth problems that have caused other fast paced companies to falter. We also share the same “core” values as well as similar and compatible cultures. This will make the partnership seamless.” Aranowicz added, “We believe we have an opportunity and a responsibility to re-architect the way that community financial institutions manage their business. Single Source™ is the platform that will underpin this paradigm shift. RDSI can help make this vision a reality.”
Kenneth A. Joyce, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rurban, said, “RDSI has been seeking strategic options and this is the beginning of the execution of those options. Our partnership with New Core to provide the Single Source™ banking application opens a new door of simplicity and lower data processing costs to banks.”
Joyce continued, “As part of this partnership, RDSI and New Core have also entered into a plan of merger that, if completed, would be consummated by the end of 2010. A prerequisite of this merger would be the spin-off of RDSI from Rurban, resulting in RDSI becoming a separate independent public company. This would be followed immediately by the merger of RDSI and New Core. The Board of Directors of Rurban will decide at a later date whether to spin off RDSI and the timing and terms of that spin-off.”
Single Source™ is the much anticipated “killer application” that the banking industry has desired. The Single Source™ banking application embodies the latest Microsoft .NET framework and operates using an Oracle® relational database providing a “real-time/right-time” banking system solution. This creative approach introduces to the financial marketplace a concept called “embedded systems”, where applications such as teller systems, imaging, platform, telephone banking and internet banking are part of one system. This concept will eliminate the need for separate ancillary systems thereby reducing overall cost and delivering a total holistic system that is easier to use, maintain and enhance.
RDSI and New Core will be launching a nationwide marketing campaign of the software. RDSI will provide hardware and software support, installation and conversion services, and New Core’s development group will continue to develop and enhance the software. New Core recently installed its first Single Source™ system into a $350 million commercial bank with 17 branches. Installation commitments are booked through the remainder of 2009.
The Single Source™ software will be available in three different offerings to suit the needs and structure of most financial institutions. The software can be installed In-house at a bank with server-based hardware having built-in redundancy. In this offering, disaster recovery can be either installed at the bank or provided by RDSI. The second offering form is an ASP (Application Service Provider) approach where RDSI houses and manages the hardware and software in a data center environment with the “operations” controlled by remote bank personnel. The third offering is a Data Center approach with the hardware and software at a central site that is run and operated by the data center. Various levels of network support are available under any installation structure.
About New Core Banking Systems
New Core Banking Systems designs and delivers mission critical software and hardware solutions for community financial institutions. The Company provides comprehensive installation, training and support services to ensure our solutions increase an institution’s efficiency, product offering, customer service level and profitability. For more information about the Company or Single Source™ visit www.thenewcore.com.
About Rurban Financial Corp.
Rurban Financial Corp. is a publicly-held financial services holding company based in Defiance, Ohio. Rurban’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are The State Bank and Trust Company, including Reliance Financial Services, and Rurbanc Data Services, Inc. d/b/a/ RDSI Banking Systems (RDSI), including DCM. The State Bank and Trust Company offers financial services through its 21 banking centers in Allen, Defiance, Fulton, Lucas, Paulding, Williams and Wood Counties, Ohio and Allen County, Indiana and a Loan Production Office in Franklin County, Ohio. Reliance Financial Services, a division of the Bank, offers a diversified array of trust and financial services to customers throughout the Midwest. RDSI and DCM provide data and item processing services to community banks in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Rurban’s common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol RBNF. The Company currently has 10,000,000 shares of stock authorized and 4,870,373 shares outstanding. The Company's website is http://www.rurbanfinancial.net.
Contacts
John Aranowicz, 717.945.7851, jaranowicz@thenewcore.com
Patrick Koster, 205.529.9932, pkoster@thenewcore.com
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