Clearing House Exec Goes to Software Firm

A Chicago Clearing House Association executive who was a leading advocate for the organization's nascent electronic data interchange network has taken a position with bank software firm American Management Systems Inc.

The clearing house executive, JoAnn Becker, was most recently a senior vice president and business manager with the clearing house group's EDI Bank Alliance Network Exchange, or Edibanx, a net settlement system exclusively handling interbank financial EDI transactions.

Edibanx, which has been up and running for about a year, is operated by the clearing house group and 13 founding banks, including BankAmerica Corp, First Chicago Corp., and NationsBank Corp.,

American Management Systems, a software and systems integrator based in Fairfax, Va., has 50 of the top 200 banks as customers. Ms. Becker's newly created position will be senior principal and program manager, taking part in expanding the company's wholesale banking business.

As a part of that role, Ms. Becker will promote American Management's Access Gateway, a new data interchange product that banks can offer rather than developing similar in-house systems.

AMS Access gateway can provide a corporation with scores of pertinent information, such as trade finance details and transaction and balance reporting data. It can be used as a single point of access to several payment systems, such as the automated clearing house network and Fed Wire, and can also allow desktop applications for letters of credit and amendment requests.

"I'm very excited about this new career opportunity and the magnitude of these products in the financial industry," Ms. Becker said.

In a nod to her work promoting Edibanx, Ms. Becker said Access Gateway can help the clearing house network increase its membership rolls with its ability to interface with a host of back-office bank systems "quickly and cheaply."

"It's sort of my way of saying that although I'm moving on from Edibanx, I'm still helping it grow," she said.

Theresa Falconer, a vice president and senior EDI product manager with Harris Bank, worked with Ms. Becker to help promote Edibanx in the face of competition from the National Automated Clearing House Association.

The vast majority of financial EDI transactions still occur over the ACH, although bank and corporate membership rolls of Edibanx have grown since Chase Manhattan Corp, PNC Bancorp., and Bank of Boston Corp. joined earlier this year.

Ms. Falconer described Ms. Becker as "very ambitious and dedicated," and as someone who worked diligently in developing the "business and seeing it grow as a successful product and service."

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