Basic Agreement with Kanagawa Bank, Ltd., Tajima Bank, Ltd. Tokyo Tomin Bank, Ltd., Tohoku Bank, Ltd., Toyama Bank, Ltd. and Nagano Bank, Ltd. regarding Study for a New Shared Data Center

NTT DATA Corporation will enter into a basic agreement with Kanagawa Bank, Ltd., Tajima Bank, Ltd. Tokyo Tomin Bank, Ltd., Tohoku Bank, Ltd., Toyama Bank, Ltd. and Nagano Bank, Ltd. (hereinafter "six banks") to consider the merits of creating a new shared data center.

As the business environment of financial institutions undergoes great transformation, the provision of outstanding services in a timely manner through strategic and efficient utilization of information technology and the systems for achieving this have become vital themes for financial institutions. Recently, the six banks have formed a basic agreement for the study of a new shared data center to enable efficient and speedy implementation of products and services to meet their customer's needs into the future.

Since 1997, NTT DATA has provided the six banks with a shared outsourcing center, STAR-ACE, which constituted the first-ever online banking system. Since it has now been over ten years since the launching of center operations, there is a plan to build a new center that applies the NTT DATA standard banking system BeSTA (Banking application engine for STandard Architecture). BeSTA consists of core banking software that has earned an excellent reputation at such facilities as the Regional Bank Integrated Services Center. As a result, as many as twenty-one banks are expected to be utilizing BeSTA.

In the conduct of the study, NTT DATA will continue its existing policy of vendor neutrality and will retain in BeSTA the precise and detailed features and functions that it has offered through STAR-ACE. Thus NTT DATA will be devoted to bringing the new center to fruition and expanding it with the six banks as its core.

Overview

1. Scope of the shared data center
   The basic services will consist of deposits, foreign exchange, financing, and other operations processing capabilities, as well as a suite of enterprise systems handling connections with customer systems and external processing centers. Consideration will also be given to expanding the advantages of joint utilization of the services by increasing the scope of the sharing.
2. Schedule
   At present, the plan calls for the study to be conducted during this year. During fiscal 2011 and 2012, the banks will shift over to the new center as their preparations are completed. The specific schedule will be worked out going forward.