First Interstate Offering Trust Customers More Detailed Account Data in

First Interstate Bancorp is planning to give trust clients access to real-time account information with Windows-based software.

The program, due to be launched in November, differs from existing on- line data services because the client can access more detailed information and generate customized reports instantaneously.

Many clients wind up having to reenter information to generate a report or get stuck with preprocessed information.

"It'll be more encouraging for the department heads to use this system because of the Windows environment - it's a point-and-click technology," Amru Khan, senior vice president of the Los Angeles-based banking company.

"We wanted to get the data that resides in the guts of the system to clients," he added.

Client demand led to the program, said Mr. Khan, adding that his bank hopes to offer video conferencing with trust officers in the future.

A pilot program involving two of the bank's major institutional trust clients is now under way. The software should be introduced to all of their trust clients early next year.

First Interstate has $150 billion in trust assets under administration among 50,000 institutional and personal trust clients.

Although the institutional clients are using the workstation first, the bank hopes the software's accessibility will pique the interest of personal trust clients too.

The setup fees will range from $700 to $1,500, and the annual fee is based on the size of the client's account. Fees could be waived for a substantial trust client.

After determining that trust clients wanted real-time accounting information, the bank contacted Open Information Systems, Greenwich, Conn., to develop the software.

They in turn called on SEI Corp. in Wayne, Pa. Bank trust departments outsource to SEI, which sells accounting systems for investment management tracking. The three parties negotiated to develop the software together.

The trust departments of 160 banks currently use SEI's accounting software, Trust 3000. The real-time software is designed to augment Trust 3000, with which it is compatible.

Popping the software into their own systems, clients can download information directly from First Interstate regarding account holdings, transaction history, pending trades, cash projections, and net income.

Actual transactions can be conducted via the software, so customers can directly put in buy and sell orders.

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