Prophets Without Honor: Those Saying Revolution In Banking Is Far Off

To the Editor:

When I was a young consultant at Booz-Allen 30 years ago, the partner in charge reviewed my work upon the completion of a project and said something like, "You're cocky with an air of overconfidence, and always think you're right. We're promoting you to project manager."

Since I haven't changed my spots in all these years, I offer these observations in the spirit of fair play:

*You reported in a page 1 story on Sept. 20 ("Reed: Tech Revolution Won't Occur Overnight") that Citicorp's John Reed, the top man at one of our leading technology-sensitive banks, says electronic banking is a long way off.

*Six months earlier, Coley Clark of Electronic Data Systems, the top financial services executive at one of our top technology companies, said essentially the same thing. ("An Opposing View: Electronic Money System Not So Close," March 14, page 17.)

*A top technology consultant, yours truly, was preaching these thoughts long before Mr. Reed's and Mr. Clark's recent pronouncements.

When such minds come together, yet still represent a minority position, there must be a story there somewhere.

M. Arthur Gillis

Computer Based Solutions Inc.

Dallas

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