Fifth Third Bancorp Enters ECP Marketplace by Choosing Sterling Commerce's Vector ECP Solution.

Business Editors

ADDISON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2002

Bank Joins Other Leading Institutions Using VECTOR ECP Solution,

Nation's Largest Volume Originator of ECP items

Sterling Commerce's Banking Systems Division, a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) and a worldwide leading provider of banking transaction applications, has announced that Fifth Third Bancorp has licensed its VECTOR ECP Solution as the bank's entree into the ECP (electronic check presentment) arena.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati. The company has $75 billion in assets, and operates 16 affiliates with 917 full-service banking centers and 1,856 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida and West Virginia.

The VECTOR ECP Solution allows MICR (the numbers at the bottom of checks) information files to be transmitted and received with transactions posted in that day's checking account processing. Matching paper items are transported later, and are reconciled with the prior night's ECP file. The solution is also totally image-ready, allowing banks to send and receive image cash letters, as well as view images of an item during ECP reconcilement.

"This Sterling Commerce product is the ECP solution of choice for leading banking institutions -- more than 45 percent of ECP items presented through the nation's primary exchange channel are originated by VECTOR," said Rian Maloney, Vice President of Emerging Image Products for the Sterling Commerce Banking Systems Division. "We believe by adopting the VECTOR ECP Solution, Fifth Third is entering the ECP marketplace with the tools necessary to succeed immediately -- and in the years to come."

"We chose the VECTOR ECP Solution for several reasons," said Tom Jordan, Fifth Third vice president/Item Processing Technical Manager. "First, after evaluating competitive products, we determined that it was truly best-of- breed. And we wanted to leverage our investment in Capture for VECTOR:Sort, a Sterling product which we have already implemented. We believe the two will integrate flawlessly."

Capture for VECTOR:Sort(TM) provides for the capture of images and MICR data which then populate an archive. It can also be used to manage and vault truncated paper items, in support of image cash letter exchange. By integrating this product with the VECTOR ECP Solution, Fifth Third will be able to image-enable ECP items upon the receipt of physical items. They will also be able to reconcile those items and flag DNP (do-not-pay) items - all in one pass. Another important factor in our decision is the Solution's ability to prevent double posting of ECP and physical items."

"Overall, we expect the ECP Solution to create new opportunities for fee income, create a more advantageous float situation for the bank, and make our workflow more efficient, especially for Day Two operations," said Jordan. "In fact, it will cut our sorter needs in half compared to two-pass offerings."

"We expect to achieve significant cost benefits as well as operational efficiencies," added Don Andres, Fifth Third vice president/Business Applications. "And the fact we're using a single-source vendor for our imaging and ECP systems certainly made perfect sense to our IT staff."

The VECTOR ECP Solution supports the evolution of check imaging whether the conventional 'paper to follow' model or the 'image to follow' end game is implemented. Sterling Commerce's solution supports both today.

"We know the market is moving to image-ECP. With the VECTOR ECP Solution in place, we're positioning ourselves for the future of check imaging. We're ready to be an ECP player," stated Andres.

Sterling Commerce is one of the world's largest providers of business-to-business commerce solutions. For Global 5000 companies and their customers, suppliers and partners, Sterling Commerce software and services help maximize business performance and improve business metrics through integration of applications, external partner systems and people. With more than 30 years of experience serving tens of thousands of customers in a vast range of industries, Sterling Commerce is a recognized pioneer in business-to-business commerce through its longstanding expertise in EDI. The company's Banking Systems Division provides financial transaction processing, currency control, reconciliation, and e-commerce solutions for financial institutions and their customers, around the world. Today, as customers explore new ways to improve business performance via the Internet, Sterling Commerce continues to innovate its software and services to further the global adoption of e-commerce while offering its customers strategic solutions that leverage existing technology. For more information, visit www.sterlingcommerce.com.

SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is one of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers. Through its world-class network and its subsidiaries' trusted brands - SBC Southwestern Bell, SBC Ameritech, SBC Pacific Bell, SBC Nevada Bell, SBC SNET and Sterling Commerce - SBC companies provide a full range of voice, data, networking and e-business services, as well as directory advertising and publishing. A Fortune 27 company, America's leading provider of high-speed DSL Internet Access services, and one of the nation's leading Internet Service Providers, SBC companies currently serve nearly 60 million access lines nationwide. In addition, SBC owns 60 percent of America's second largest wireless company -- Cingular Wireless -- which serves more than 21 million wireless customers. Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in 28 countries.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati. The Company has $75 billion in assets, operates 16 affiliates with 917 full-service Banking Centers, including 133 Bank Mart(R) locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 1,856 Jeanie(R) ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida and West Virginia. The financial strength of Fifth Third's affiliate banks continues to be recognized by rating agencies with deposit ratings of AA- and Aa1 from Standard & Poor's and Moody's, respectively. Additionally, Fifth Third Bancorp continues to maintain the highest short-term ratings available at A-1+ and Prime-1, and was recently recognized by Moody's with one of the highest senior debt ratings for any U.S. bank holding company of Aa2. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Retail, Commercial, Investment Advisors and Midwest Payment Systems, the Bank's electronic payment processing subsidiary. The company's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol "FITB."

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