First Citizens Bank Develops Separately Managed Investment Accounts

January 13, 2003

RALEIGH, N.C. - First Citizens Bank has developed an innovative new approach for administering investment management services for trust clients, offering them added expertise, flexibility and choices in their investment decisions.

The program — called Paramount Trust Choice — allows First Citizens to select investment managers for client portfolios from a team of premier national managers. The choices allow the bank to offer trust clients fully integrated and customized portfolio management from proven money managers who offer a variety of investment strategies and disciplines.

First Citizens developed the program in a collaborative effort with BNY Clearing Services LLC, a subsidiary of the Bank of New York within the BNY Securities Group, and Metavante Corporation, a leading financial services technology provider. Individually managed accounts are a popular investment vehicle, but until now have been largely unavailable to bank trust customers because of the challenges of administering account activity, according to Allen Smith, executive vice president for First Citizens Bank Wealth Management Services.

Under the new program, First Citizens offers trust clients their choice of investment professionals, who manage individual portfolios of equities and fixed income securities. The three companies developed the process for fully integrating the previously unconnected functions of investment management, trust accounting and custody.

"Our Paramount Trust Choice service provides First Citizens' clients access to a variety of high quality investment managers who offer a breadth of disciplines," Smith said. "The advantage of this new system is that we can offer these choices within the structure of their trust relationship. This significantly expands the scope of services available."

BNY Clearing CEO C. Michael Viviano added: "This program addresses a distinct need in the market and has tremendous potential. Our work with First Citizens is a great example of how a forward-looking financial institution can team with its service providers to solve a problem that affects the entire industry. BNY and Metavante helped First Citizens develop an innovative response to this challenge, and we are excited about the opportunities it creates for our clients."

First Citizens Bank is a full-service financial institution with 342 branches in more than 200 communities in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Headquartered in Raleigh, the bank has $12 billion in assets. First Citizens is committed to providing superior financial services to individual customers and small and mid-sized businesses. For more information on the bank, visit its Web site at firstcitizens.com.

BNY Clearing provides securities clearing, execution and settlement to broker/dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries throughout the world. Correspondent clients also have access to specialized services and consultative resources designed to enhance client productivity and profitability. BNY Clearings is a member of the New York Stock Exchange and other principal exchanges, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

Metavante Financial Technology Services offers financial services providers integrated products and services centered on customer and account management and specializing in deposit, loan and investment accounts. Solutions include core accounting services, retail delivery systems, card solutions, productivity tools, and trust and professional services.

For more information, contact:
Barbara Thompson
(919) 716-2716
First Citizens Bank