CONTRACTS

For eight years, Midwest Payment Systems Inc. has provided core transaction switching services for Cash Station Inc. But late last year, the regional automated teller machine network announced that it would move the business from the unit of Fifth Third Bancorp to Electronic Data Systems Corp.

While the new contract is a big win for EDS, a former senior vice president at Fifth Third said it may not be as bad as its looks for the Cincinnati-based bank.

While conceding "The marquee value of Cash Station is certainly significant," Timothy D. Ballinger, now vice president at GE Evendale Credit Union in Cincinnati, noted that Cash Station represents a fraction of Midwest Payment's business. He added that none of the unit's customers - a group that includes a lot of other banks - represents more than 6% or 7% of total business.

Whatever the fate of any single contract, Mr. Ballinger said, "MPS is well positioned over the long haul."

Fifth Third - in no small part due to revenue from Midwest Payment - continues to rank among the most-efficient banking companies in the nation, as measured by noninterest expense per dollar of revenue. (See chart.)

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