Center for Financial Services Innovation Innovators Roundtable

Each company has made a two-year commitment, including a financial contribution, to participate in the roundtable, which will be an active working group. Its goal is to fuel industry-wide improvements by providing leading companies with a platform to learn from each other and to work together to identify and optimize the business models, products, channels and processes to take the underbanked market segment from promising to truly profitable.

The first roundtable meeting addressed the issue of developing alternative credit data and assessment tools, a critical building block for enabling financial services providers to offer underbanked customers credit products, and starting them on the road to asset building. Additional subjects will be determined as the members move forward together. Five to seven additional companies will be added to the roundtable by early in 2007.

"Citigroup has been on the forefront of underbanked strategy from early on," said Natalie Abatemarco, Citigroup's director of global community programs. "Having worked with Jennifer Tescher and her team since 2004, we believe that participation in the Innovators Roundtable will forge a path that will enable underserved customers to build assets and develop more productive relationships with Citigroup and the financial services industry as a whole."

Marty Romain, eFunds' vice president of product development, observed, "eFunds creates value by providing our customers insight to acquire and maintain valuable consumer relationships. Partnering with CFSI allows us to find new ways to bring value to our customers through the underbanked market, and provide access to financial services for millions of Americans. We are honored to be a part of this innovative group."

"We are delighted to support CFSI in this important work," said Zaydoon Munir, Experian's senior vice president for marketing, product and data development. "We continue to believe that the winning solution for reaching and unlocking this important market is best achieved through collaboration and innovation. Bringing a variety of industry voices and expertise areas together is an important step to developing ground-breaking solutions that accomplish the goals of all the parties involved."

"The majority of H&R Block's core customers are the lower and middle income families and individuals most likely to be underbanked. We believe in them, and believe they deserve the same high quality financial services as other Americans," commented H&R Block's vice president of outreach & business development, Bernie Wilson. "We appreciate the work CFSI has already done in this area, and are confident that Innovators Roundtable will play a significant role in improving underbanked strategy and service. H&R Block is proud to be a founding member."

"Everyone should have access to secure financial products and services, but we understand that the U.S. banking system is intimidating to someone just getting started," said Michelle Scales, Director of Diverse Growth Segments for Wells Fargo & Company. "We're committed to helping the underbanked and underserved enter the banking mainstream and believe that by working together, we can achieve a common goal none of us could achieve individually."

Jennifer Tescher added, "CFSI considers this roundtable crucial to fulfilling its long-term mission to bring the underbanked into the financial mainstream so that both customers and companies can profit together. These five companies are true industry leaders and innovators. We believe that by sharing information and working together, each will increase the speed and effectiveness of its product and strategy development, gaining a competitive edge in an increasingly attractive market. As with everything we do at the Center, the goal is win/win for all sides - moving the industry forward, benefiting the individual companies involved, and ultimately empowering consumers to build financial prosperity."