Merkle and Zoot Team to Support Financial Services Companies

Combined Services and Solutions Automate the Credit Decisioning Process and Provide Predictive Models to Measure Consumer Credit Risk

January 26, 2005

Lanham, Maryl – Merkle (www.merklenet.com), a leading information-based database marketing agency, today announced that it is working with Zoot Enterprises, Inc. (www.zootweb.com) to offer faster time-to-market and increased reliability for scoring applications for use by the financial services sector. Zoot provides process automation and automated credit decisioning, while Merkle provides advanced predictive models that help financial services companies minimize their credit risk by scoring customers based on their credit history.

The agreement benefits Merkle and Zoot’s joint customers in the banking and finance industries, where it is necessary to acquire and evaluate credit reports and other information for consumer and business lending. Now these joint customers will be able to rapidly deploy Sigma’s advanced predictive credit scoring models within Zoot’s Application Service Provider (ASP) decisioning environment.

In addition, Zoot is hosting the complete set of Sigma data modeling attributes that can support all types of credit product lines, including credit card offers, home mortgage loans, and automotive loans. All attributes are pre-tested and available through Zoot’s WebRules graphical interface to the SPOC Decision Engine. The data environment also supports “champion-versus-challenger” comparisons of the Sigma analytics models against existing production models.

Chris Nelson, Zoot Enterprises CEO, said, “The great thing about working with Merkle’s Sigma is that we can now offer a much shorter development cycle to our customers. Sigma's predictive scoring models, paired with our ASP decisioning environment, bring a new level of accuracy and speed to the market. Two customers have implemented a joint solution and others have already expressed an interest."

Merkle President and CEO David Williams said, “We are excited to be working with Zoot. The Merkle and Zoot product offerings are highly complementary, and through our collaboration we are providing companies in the financial services industry with a comprehensive solution to support the credit decisioning process. Merkle now serves as the single resource for companies that require customized credit scoring services and business analytics in order to make the best decisions in an accelerated timeframe.”

About Zoot Enterprises
Zoot Enterprises is the nation’s leader in providing advanced instant credit decisioning solutions and application processing systems. Their consulting expertise and flexible software environment have implemented the industry’s most sophisticated instant decisioning systems. These innovative solutions and their unparalleled performance have led to long-term partnerships with seven of the top ten banks in America. Zoot’s vendor network provides real time access to key decisioning resources, including fraud and identity verifications, OFAC and Patriot Act compliance, consumer and business credit bureaus, valuation and appraisal, title and flood certification, and demographics databases. A series of new products enable Zoot customers to adapt to market changes in real time. Visit www.zootweb.com or call 406-586-5050 for more information.

About Merkle
Merkle is a database marketing agency offering innovative quantitative strategies to improve new customer acquisition and customer retention to maximize results. Merkle serves clients spanning a variety of industries, including financial, insurance, catalog/retail, and fundraising. Services and solutions include strategic marketing and consulting, business intelligence and analytics, development and maintenance of Marketing Knowledge Centers, data products, and direct mail production and processing services. Founded in 1971, the privately held corporation has more than 700 employees and is based in Lanham, Maryland. For additional information, contact Merkle at 1-888-4-MERKLE (463-7553) or visit www.merklenet.com.

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