As the economy is rebounding back and the banking industry is continuing to refine processes and programs, credit risk management tops the list. Moving away from the manual and judgmental processes in loan origination is paramount in ensuring that the loan approval systems in place do not produce unacceptable performance.
In a recent speach by Ben Bernanke to the Stonier Graduate School of Banking in Washington, D.C. he expressed the direction that is needed going forward for all banks, including programs, processes and technology.
"The banking industry has made strides in managing credit risk. Until the early 1990s, the analysis of credit risk was generally limited to reviews of individual loans, and banks kept most loans on their books to maturity. Today, credit-risk management encompasses both loan reviews and portfolio analysis. Moreover, the development of new technologies for buying and selling risks has allowed many banks to move away from the traditional book-and-hold lending practice in favor of a more active strategy that seeks the best mix of assets in light of the prevailing credit environment, market conditions, and business opportunities. Much more so than in the past, banks today are able to manage and control obligor and portfolio concentrations, maturities, and loan sizes, and to address and even eliminate problem assets before they create losses. Many banks also stress-test their portfolios on a business-line basis to help inform their overall risk management."
"To an important degree, banks can be more active in their management of credit risks and other portfolio risks because of the increased availability of financial instruments and activities such as loan syndications, loan trading, credit derivatives, and securitization. For example, trading in credit derivatives has grown rapidly over the last decade, reaching $18 trillion (in notional terms) in 2005. The notional value of trading in credit default swaps on many well-known corporate names now exceeds the value of trading in the primary debt securities of the same obligors. Similarly, between 1990 and 2005, the market for loan syndications grew from $700 billion to more than $2.5 trillion, and loan trading grew from less than $10 billion to more than $160 billion. Asset-backed securitization has also provided a vehicle for decreasing concentrations and credit risk in bank portfolios by permitting the sale of loans in the capital markets, particularly loans on homes and commercial real estate."
"Risk-management principles are now ingrained in banks' day-to-day credit allocation activities. The most sophisticated banking organizations use risk-rating systems that characterize credits by both the probability of default and the expected loss given default. Consistent with the principles of the Basel II accord, the largest banks evaluate credit decisions by augmenting expert judgment with quantitative, model-based techniques. For instance, lending to individuals once relied mainly on the personal judgments of loan officers and was thus highly labor-intensive and subjective. Today, retail lending has become more routinized as banks have become increasingly adept at predicting default risk by applying statistical models to data, such as credit scores."
"Similarly, new analytical tools and techniques have made lending to corporate borrowers highly quantitative. Among these tools are models that estimate the risk-adjusted return on capital and thus allow lenders to price relevant risks before loan origination. Other tools include proprietary internal debt-rating models and third-party programs that use market data to analyze the risk of exposures to corporate borrowers that issue stock."
"Banks have also come to appreciate the importance of independent controls within the credit review and rating process. Innovations in technology have facilitated significant improvements in bank information systems, a development that the Basel II proposal also has encouraged. These systems increase the ability of bank management to identify, measure, and control key characteristics of portfolio risk."
Mark IV and BizMark provide the tools and processes needed to enhance the overall risk management and portfolio performance needed to not just compete in the financial market place, but to also have a foundation of consistant loan decsions.
Status of Lending Industry Prompts
Trend Commentaries
from Cypress Software Systems
Articles to Address Business Issues
Affecting Banks, Credit Unions and Other Financial Institutions
As the economy begins to recover this year, the financial industry faces more of the same - demand for better risk management, the need for lending compliance, and increased scrutiny from the government and public.
To address the issues affecting banks, credit unions and other finance organizations, Cypress Software Systems is launching a series of commentaries this year that will analyze important problems and explore potential solutions.
Cypress will release the commentaries on a monthly basis for the next six months, discussing timely lending matters, including:
- Risk management trends
- How to get your lending operations ready for examiners
- Preparing for the new HELOC requirements
- How to ensure consistent underwriting and decisioning
- and more
"Financial institutions face numerous operational challenges each day as they strive to run their lending operations," said Steven Croft, senior vice president at Cypress Software Systems. "From the recent lending crises to the onslaught of federal examiners, the industry has been battered from many sides. At Cypress, we want to provide the industry with fresh insight into methods and techniques that can help banks, credit unions and other organizations manage their operations more profitably."
The commentaries will appear on Cypress' Web site at www.go-cypress.com, as well as on the company's blog http://info.go-cypress.com and in leading industry trade journals. These articles are designed to be stand-alone trend reports that provide the kind of business insight and intelligence that financial institutions need to be successful in today's challenging business climate.
About Cypress Software Systems
Headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA, Cypress Software Systems LP is a leading developer of automated credit application decision support technology. Cypress provides community and regional banks, finance companies and credit unions with loan application decision and tracking tools equivalent to those used by the largest national lending institutions. Clients, nationwide and in 16 countries, use the company's flagship products, Mark IV and BizMark, to quickly and consistently process consumer and small commercial loan applications. Cypress Mark IV offers a flexible, risk-based processing approach that includes tracking consumer loan applications from point of entry to point of decision. Cypress' BizMark loan automation software processes commercial loan requests within a customer relationship management environment. Both products may be licensed in the bundled Cypress Suite and are offered in either an application service provider (ASP) or traditional business model. The company's product line also includes AppMark, an ASP-only consumer lending solution for community banks with assets of $250 million or less.
Tech Demands of a New Generation of Consumers to Reshape Retail Banking
Ongoing investment in technology by the retail banking sector is essential if the industry is to win the business of a maturing generation of tech-literate consumers who are forsaking traditional physical channels in favour of online consumption of financial products.
Industry studies of Gen Y consumers (those aged between 21 and 29 years of age) reveal an up-and-coming generation of fiscally responsible young adults who are more comfortable operating in a digitally-connected environment than preceding generations. This brings about many new and innovative opportunties for banks.
Members of Gen Y are frequent users of online and mobile financial services. The research finds that they are more likely to have debit cards and savings accounts than any other generation and rely heavily on other people and online information when making financial product decisions.
According to research by Accelerant, 48% of Gen Y with a credit card signed up for the card online, and 36% of those with personal loans applied for the loan online. 80% of the sample had also used online banking within the past month, a higher percentage than any other generation.
As banks are seeking avenues for establishing both new and strong relationships, the Gen Y generation of consumers along with so many others that have adopted an online approach to their financial needs presents an environment that demands attention by the financial marketplace. It is extremely important for an institutions to deliver accessible banking services that will satisfy these consumers' comprehensive needs.
Additional research has uncovered that 40% of Gen Y customers use Web-based personal financial management (PFM) tools (primarily those offered by their banks) to manage expenses, reduce debt, and maximize long-term savings.
A study by Cisco, which surveyed 1055 US consumers aged 18 and older, found that young consumers are embracing new communications technologies such as mobile and video, and adopting online behaviors at an "astonishing rate".
Philip Farah, director, Cisco Internet business solutions group, financial services practice, says: "The recent economic crisis has accelerated the rise of Gen Y as a major segment for the U.S. economy while the decline of boomers' influence is happening faster than anticipated. This will have a profound impact on retail banking, as banks' current value propositions are mainly designed around the needs of older generations. Banks now have a window of opportunity to embrace Gen Y through the appropriate utilization of technology and a shift in current business approaches."
Many young consumers are extending electronic financial activities from their computer to their mobile phones, with one-third of the Accelerant sample conducting mobile banking activities in the last month, compared to only 11% of baby boomers.
These findings indicate a growing importance for financial institutions to stake out a presence in Internet-based communities. To discover more about these internet-based solutions as well as other "Best Practices" within the financial industry, visit us at http://www.go-cypress.com/.
Cypress Software Systems Launches Cypress University for Financial Institutions
Monthly Training Seminars and Professional Services Help Cypress Clients and Non-Clients Confront Industry Issues and Enhance Lending Processes
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas - Jan. 28, 2010 - Cypress Software Systems today launched Cypress University, a monthly series of seminars, webinars and Professional Services designed to help Cypress clients and other financial institutions tackle industry issues, enhance lending processes and learn best practices for Cypress' automated loan software.
Cypress University will be organized and conducted by the Cypress Professional Services (CPS) Division. The two-day seminars cover a variety of topics ranging from the RESPA Act to risk management, compliance and portfolio performance, along with additional training for the company's Mark IV and BizMark lending solutions.
"As the banking and finance industries undergo unprecedented change, it's important that institutions stay on top of the latest regulations and technology trends," said Steven Croft, senior vice president of Cypress. "We created Cypress University as a resource for our clients and non-clients alike to learn how to efficiently and effectively navigate through the confusing and continuously evolving industry issues. The classes will also assist our clients to gain additional training and enhanced insight into our products, as well as being fully prepared for the numerous industry regulations and changes that are being implemented."
Cypress' Professional Services Division helps banks, credit unions and other financial institutions optimize their lending processes and deploy technology best practices. In addition to Cypress University, CPS provides five primary services, including Strategic Configuration Assessment, Technology Assessment, Process Improvement Gap Analysis, Decision Process Optimization and Integration and Customization.
Cypress' Mark IV is a software platform that automates the consumer loan application and decisioning process, and helps institutions with risk management issues. With Mark IV, service associates electronically input application information while interviewing customers. The software then quickly retrieves credit reports, efficiently analyzes the capacity for repayment, and deploys the institution's loan policies. The result is a quality loan decision that meets all federal requirements, provides the highest levels of risk management available in the industry and ensures consistency within the loan portfolio.
Similarly, the company's BizMark software processes small business loan applications, enabling lenders to efficiently handle small business commercial credit requests for lines of credit, term loans, corporate leases and corporate credit cards. The software gathers principal and financial statement data; retrieves and interprets consumer and business credit reports; performs ratio analysis; and scores the results.
About Cypress Software Systems
Headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA, Cypress Software Systems LP is a leading developer of automated credit application decision support technology. Cypress provides community and regional banks, finance companies and credit unions with loan application decision and tracking tools equivalent to those used by the largest national lending institutions. Clients, nationwide and in 16 countries, use the company's flagship products, Mark IV and BizMark, to quickly and consistently process consumer and small commercial loan applications. Cypress Mark IV offers a flexible, risk-based processing approach that includes tracking consumer loan applications from point of entry to point of decision. Cypress' BizMark loan automation software processes commercial loan requests within a customer relationship management environment. Both products may be licensed in the bundled Cypress Suite and are offered in either an application service provider (ASP) or traditional business model. The company's product line also includes AppMark, an ASP-only consumer lending solution for community banks with assets of $250 million or less.
Web site: http://www.go-cypress.com/.
Cypress Software Offers Consulting and Technology
to Help Financial Institutions Quickly Gain RESPA Compliance
Cypress Software Systems today announced that it is offering consulting services, as well as enhanced versions of its Mark IV automated loan software and Mark IV Mortgage Module, to help financial institutions quickly achieve compliance for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
The RESPA rule requires lenders to use a new standardized good-faith estimate (GFE) disclosure and a revised HUD-1 settlement sheet that is designed to provide clearer disclosure of closing costs and how much a consumer will pay.
Janette VanMeter, vice president of Stillwater National Bank in Tulsa, Okla., says that with all the current and upcoming regulations around mortgages and consumer protection, compliance will be a hot issue among financial institutions in 2010.
"Consumer protection is a big deal throughout the industry and among government regulators, and the Regulation Z and RESPA acts are likely only the first steps in what is expected to be sweeping reform," VanMeter said. "Among the partners who have helped us gain compliance, Cypress and its Mark IV consumer loan processing software has been among the most beneficial. They have put safeguards in place that will guarantee our compliance, so we don't have to necessarily know and understand every aspect of each new rule and regulation.
"We've been a user since 2002, and think they've done an ‘over-the-top' job with their RESPA compliance updates and training. Any bank who is not compliant should strongly consider automated lending solutions like Cypress' Mark IV."
Lenders must now reveal their fees upfront on a new four-page GFE form that is given to the borrower three days after they sign a mortgage application, and the originator's fee cannot be increased before closing. Comparatively, the old form was only one page.
John Misiora, vice president and manager of installment loan production at Centier Bank of Merrillville, Ind., says that while the information and tools provided by the federal government have helped some, they do not address the "gray areas" associated with the new rules. Providers like Cypress have had to step in to fill that void.
"Despite the information provided by federal agencies, we were still struggling with some gray areas. For example, if the government provided sample GFEs addressing various scenarios, it would have saved a lot of headaches," Misiora said. "Cypress has addressed these lapses and has handled the regulatory changes very well in its latest version of Mark IV and the Mark IV Mortgage Module. Any institution processing home equity or mortgage loans is missing the boat if they are not using these solutions."
Updates to Cypress' Mark IV consumer lending platform and the Mark IV Mortgage Module navigates the regulatory changes in a user-friendly, intuitive interface that helps loan officers easily and automatically manage loans from application entry, through underwriting and decisioning.
"In light of the recent credit crisis, the finance industry will expectedly be hit with new rounds of federal regulations in the months and years ahead, especially in the mortgage sector," said Stephen G. Sargent, president and CEO of Cypress Software Systems. "At Cypress, our people and our technology help financial institutions mitigate the impact of these regulations by working in tandem with the institution to create a lending process that is quickly adaptable to changes, while boosting overall efficiency and competitiveness."
Cypress' Mark IV is a software platform that automates the consumer loan application and decisioning process, and helps institutions with risk management issues. With Mark IV, service associates electronically input application information while interviewing customers. The software then quickly retrieves credit reports, efficiently analyzes the capacity for repayment, and deploys the institution's loan policies. The result is a quality loan decision that meets all federal requirements, provides the highest levels of risk management available in the industry and ensures consistency within the loan portfolio.
Final Part of a 3 part article written by Cypress President and CEO Stephen Sargent
Demand Better Loan Decisions
While reporting and underwriting consistency are important for all institutions, another vital factor that will keep examiners satisfied is the ability to quickly and prudently adapt or modify credit risk policies when warranted.
The first step toward this goal is to reassess lending policy to ensure a fit with current market conditions. During times of financial crisis, it's natural for institutions to take a more conservative approach to lending.
This trend is currently illustrated in a recent report by The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which confirms that banks are continuing to tighten credit standards for the second year in a row. In fact, of the banks surveyed, nearly 70 percent indicated that they had tightened credit in an effort to reduce risk.
This said, taking a more conservative approach is not necessarily the correct path if bank policy is already predicated on conservative strategies. The answer may be ensuring more effective internal controls around your existing strategies. Effective control requires an automated, credit risk-based, loan origination system - like those mentioned above - that can enforce a bank's lending policies in an efficient and intuitive manner.
Also important to managing risk is the deployment and proper understanding of scoring models and credit scorecards. Many loan origination systems rely on scorecards during the underwriting process to rate an applicant's risk. When choosing a technology provider, it's important they are knowledgeable and therefore able to aid in developing a scoring strategy that fits your bank's goals.
It's not enough to simply have a scoring strategy; it is also essential to regularly validate the underlying scorecards, particularly in the case of a material economic event, to determine their continued effectiveness. This process ensures that the scorecards continue to effectively rank-order credit risk in your portfolio. Even if you confirm that higher-scoring loans perform better than lower scoring credit transactions, you may find that the characteristics of your applicant population have materially changed. In such a case, your score cut-off strategy may need to change to compensate for the new risk environment.
Institutions can obtain online score benchmarks, known as odds of loss charts, from the credit bureaus to aid their validation efforts, but they should ensure all benchmarks are corroborated against their own business to ensure accuracy.
Lending technology can help institutions securely establish and manage their scorecards, while monitoring the status and success of any specific change or initiative. These systems - and quality technology providers - can also help banks manage other important credit risk factors, such as the institution's risk-based pricing strategy and policy exceptions.
With bank examiners and new regulations looming, now is the time for institutions to make the necessary investments to change and enhance their lending operations.
Beyond the regulatory aspect, investing now is also ideal because we all know that loan volume won't stay low forever. Changes should be made before activity picks up again, because in today's banking environment there is nowhere to go but up.
For more information:
Steve Croft, Senior Vice President, Cypress Software Systems LP
9001 Airport Freeway, Suite 800 | North Richland Hills, TX 75180
800.394.5777 | scroft@go-cypress.com | www.go-cypress.com
Part 2 of a 3 part article written by Cypress President and CEO Stephen Sargent
Become Proactive, Not Reactive
To avoid problems with examiners, banks must develop a definitive and proactive understanding and control over their loan portfolios. Institutions can't simply react to local competition in their lending practices without having a defensible policy in place. Such situations raise red flags for examiners.
Banks must create more thought-out policies and procedures for their lending operations -plans that focus on enhanced risk management, increased consistency and improved efficiency.
The key area of focus is, of course, underwriting. Underwriting consistency and quality, as it manifests in credit scoring strategy, is now, more than ever, becoming a focal point for examiners.
Best practices include ensuring the correct form of preparation for examiners before they arrive. This may sound obvious, but it often proves complex when one considers the new, more in-depth types of information regulators are now beginning to seek. Institutions should show initiative by putting processes in place that not only easily and quickly prepare the documentation; but, more importantly, provide relevant justification to defend lending practices and decisions, no matter when regulators pay a visit.
Reporting and underwriting methods have long been hindered by traditional, manual processes - like spreadsheets - to analyze and score credit applications. This cumbersome, paper-filled system is no longer effective and can present an administrative nightmare for both banks and regulators.
Automated credit risk management systems like loan origination software provide superior tools for application entry, underwriting and reporting that banks can use to track and manage their institution's current lending trends. These systems can quickly provide proof to regulators that your lending practices are indeed fair, safe and sound.
With an automated system, banks can create a consistent lending platform that helps loan officers easily manage credit requests while ensuring they don't forget or omit any important procedures or rules.
An effective system should also provide proactive management of employee proficiency, which includes underwriter performance monitoring. With these features, banks can capably control credit risk by developing a reporting system that ensures an institution's lending personnel efficiently provide quality loan decisions.
The use of technology, though, does not mean your lending must be devoid of all personal, human touch. Automated tools bring science to the relationship by providing fast, consistent loan decisions, but in the end, applying for a loan still involves one-on-one interaction between the applicant and the bank's lending staff.
Stay tuned for the 3rd and final part of this series.
Part 1 of a 3 part article written by Cypress President and CEO Stephen Sargent
It's happening. It's real. And it's serious.
Over the coming months, the banking industry will continue to undergo fundamental changes - with or without the comprehensive regulatory reform that the Obama administration has proposed.
Every week we hear about more and more banks that have either been closed or are being investigated by federal regulators for unsafe and unsound banking practices. And that trend is expected to continue.
What remains to be seen is how much longer and how deep a cut this banking crisis will make on the U.S. and global economies. Although some leading indicators predict that the current recession may ease by the end of the year, we all know that answers to the crisis will be sought, regardless. Beyond the regulatory changes we are already experiencing in the mortgage and credit card arenas, additional reprimand and oversight is coming.
The combination of real property devaluation, suspect lending practices and regulators trying to save face in light of public and congressional outrage has already led to a situation that seems reminiscent of a witch hunt for offending financial institutions.
Granted, examiners have sufficient cause for many of their actions, but the side effects are that traditionally conservative, yet unprepared, banks are becoming entangled in the mire of new - or newly enforced - regulations.
If they haven't done so already, institutions must act now to shore up their current credit risk practices as well as their approach to compliance oversight, and enact meaningful changes before examiners come knocking.
And for those institutions already in hot water, it's not too late to make needed improvements to their lending operations to positively impact credit risk management.
But the questions remain:
- What methods and solutions are available to meet the demands of current or future regulations? and:
- How do institutions manage risk in a way that not only protects their capital base but helps them competitively serve their communities?
Stay tuned for the 2nd part of this series.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that for the first four months of 2010, the staff of the Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) will exercise restraint in enforcing new regulatory requirements under RESPA, due to take full effect on Jan. 1. The MRB instructed its staff to exercise such restraint in considering an action against FHA-approved lenders who have demonstrated that they are making a good faith effort to comply with RESPA's new requirements.
In addition, HUD is asking other federal and relevant state enforcement agencies to exercise the same 120-day restraint in enforcement for non-FHA originators and other settlement service providers who demonstrate the good faith effort to implement RESPA's new rules. In determining whether a mortgagee has made a good faith effort, MRB staff will consider whether the mortgagee has relied on the new RESPA rule and other written guidance issued by HUD, and the extent to which the mortgagee has made sufficient investment and commitment in technology, training and quality control designed to comply with the new rule.
"We will work with those who are making an honest effort to work with us as we implement these important new consumer protections," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "While we will not delay implementation of RESPA's new requirements, we are sensitive to the concerns of the industry as it integrates these new rules into their day-to-day business practices."
On Jan. 1, 2010, HUD will require that lenders and mortgage brokers provide consumers with a standard Good Faith Estimate that clearly discloses key loan terms and closing costs. Closing agents will also be required to provide borrowers a new HUD-1 Settlement Statement that clearly compares consumers' final and estimated costs. The new RESPA rule became effective on Jan. 16, 2009, but provided a one-year transition period for the mortgage industry to incorporate these changes. HUD has indicated it will continue to work with the mortgage industry during the transition period, including providing a comprehensive set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on its Web site.
By improving the disclosures borrowers receive when applying for a mortgage, and by promoting comparison shopping, HUD believes its new RESPA regulation will save consumers an average of nearly $700 in mortgage costs.
RESPA News broke a story on Oct. 29 indicating that conversations were going on inside HUD concerning a possible delay of the rule or of the enforcement provision (see: HUD addresses ‘rumors' regarding six-month RESPA rule delay).
To find out more about how to address these issues within your financial institution, go to www.go-cypress.com.
FICO Partners with Cypress Software to
Streamline Small Business Lending
"One-stop shop" for loan origination analytics and scores gives
small business lenders a competitive advantage
MINNEAPOLIS-November 12,2009-FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced an agreement with Cypress Software Systems to resell the FICO® LiquidCredit® small business scoring models through Cypress's BizMark® origination application. The integration of powerful FICO analytics into a leading origination platform is intended to streamline the small business lending process while bringing unparalleled consistency to small business loan decisions.
Cypress Software Systems is a leading provider of loan origination and processing software for banks, credit unions, CUSO's and leasing companies. Its BizMark platform is designed to automate most small business loan decisions, freeing underwriters to focus on "gray area" cases and exceptions. FICO's LiquidCredit® service is a Web-based decisioning solution developed to enable institutions to utilize FICO's small business scoring models (SBSS). The combination of BizMark® and LiquidCredit® gives institutions a single platform for all small business lending or leasing decision criteria while improving risk management. It brings a higher level of consistency in processing applications and provides a model that can be easily validated for regulatory compliance.
"Besides being a vital economic engine, small businesses can be highly profitable to the lenders who serve them," said Steven Croft, senior vice-president at Cypress Software Systems. "Our partnership with FICO will enable our mutual clients to make more profitable, higher-quality small business loans and improve customer satisfaction in this important segment."
"Today more than ever, profitability is a competitive advantage for financial institutions," said Robin Wadsworth, vice president at FICO. "With FICO scoring models now available directly through the BizMark® platform, lenders can process more applications in less time, without higher labor costs, while reducing their risks and improving their decisions - all of which yields improved profitability."
About FICO FICO (NYSE:FICO) transforms business by making every decision count. FICO's Decision Management solutions combine trusted advice, world-class analytics and innovative applications to give organizations the power to automate, improve and connect decisions across their business. Clients in 80 countries work with FICO to increase customer loyalty and profitability, cut fraud losses, manage credit risk, meet regulatory and competitive demands, and rapidly build market share. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their credit health through the www.myFICO.com website. Learn more about FICO at www.fico.com.
About Cypress Software Systems Cypress Software Systems LP was founded in 2000 by former banking and risk management executives, with more than 50 years of combined experience. Headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, USA, Cypress is a leading developer of automated credit application decision support technology. Cypress provides community and regional banks, finance companies and credit unions with loan application decision and tracking tools equivalent to those used by the largest national lending institutions. Clients, nationwide and in 16 countries, use the company's flagship products, Mark IV® and BizMark®, to quickly and consistently process consumer and small commercial loan applications. Cypress' Mark IV offers a flexible, risk-based processing approach that includes tracking consumer loan applications from point of entry to point of decision. Cypress' BizMark loan automation software processes commercial loan requests within a customer relationship management environment. Both products may be licensed in the bundled Cypress Suite and are offered in either an application service provider (ASP) or traditional business model. The company's product line also includes AppMark®, an ASP-only consumer lending solution for community banks with assets of $250 million or less. Web site: www.go-cypress.com.
FICO Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2008, and its last quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended July 31, 2009. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. FICO and LiquidCredit are registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation in the United States and in other countries.