Five banks have installed Littlewood, Shain & Co.'s new check-clearing technology.
These institutions include Mercantile Bank, a $11.9 billion-asset bank in St. Louis; Meridian Bancorp, a $15.1 billion-asset bank in Reading, Pa.; and Comerica Bank-Detroit, which holds $25.4 billion in assets.
Citibank, a $199 billion-asset institution, and Comerica Bank-Dallas, with $3.4 billion in assets, have also purchased the software.
Twelve other banks have committed to installing the software by yearend.
Littlewood Shain, Exton, Pa., specializes in the development of check-clearing software and consulting services.
The firm's new check-clearing product is called Check Services Model Plus.
A PC-based system, CSM Plus is an analytical tool that allows bankers to pin-point the most cost-effective means of clearing checks. The product is offered in either an OS/2 or Windows environment.
CSM Plus comes with three data base modules. A deposit profile provides information on dollar and item counts associated with transit routing numbers.
An availability schedule offers 140 schedules from major correspondent banks, the Fed, and the National Clearinghouse Association. An operational file then serves as a repository of the bank's clearing data, including courier pricing, per-item and cash letter fees, and deadline time.
Ms. Sullivan is a freelance writer based in New York.
