FICO Partners With Blitz to Introduce Analytic Solutions to Banks in Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam, Feb. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today announced its entry into Vietnam in partnership with Blitz IT Consultants, one of Southeast Asia's fastest growing IT distribution and service providers. With an initial focus on the financial services market, the agreement encompasses FICO solutions for fraud detection, loan origination, credit scoring and collections.

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Vietnamese banks are under pressure from the central bank to reduce bad debt while simultaneously increasing lending to creditworthy borrowers so as to stimulate the economy. This balancing act will require stronger controls and mechanisms to improve adherence to responsible lending practices and minimize future debt problems. Backed by more than 50 years of experience in analytics-based credit risk management, FICO solutions are well suited to helping banks work through these issues.

"We see tremendous potential in Vietnam for FICO solutions," said Chia Han Meng, CEO of Blitz IT Consultants. "The banks are well aware of the need for predictive analytics in their credit operations, but they have not had the benefit of anything as powerful as FICO's offerings. We are keenly interested in helping banks address risk and compliance issues through technology, and our partnership with the global leader will enable us to excel in this area."

Blitz is a well-established provider of financial technology in Vietnam. As the only partner of the SWIFT wire transfer network in the country since 2005, Blitz has existing relationships with more than 50 Vietnamese banks and securities firms.

"Blitz is definitely the right partner to help introduce FICO technology to Vietnam's banking system at this critical juncture," said Dattu Kompella, vice president and managing director for FICO in Southeast Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand. "Between Blitz's broad market coverage and FICO's advanced analytics, we are well positioned together to help the banks forge a stronger credit culture." 

FICO's country manager for Vietnam, Patrick Tan, added: "The Vietnamese banking industry needs to ensure it has in place strong fundamentals going forward, to avoid the challenges faced in many other countries around the world.  Areas such as loan application processes need to have mechanisms like credit scoring to ensure responsible lending, lessen the risk of bad debt, and guarantee that credit-worthy consumers get the credit they need, which also stimulates a healthy economy."

About FICO
FICO (NYSE:FICO) delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company's groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO's innovative solutions include the FICO^® Score — the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States — along with industry-leading solutions for managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world's top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their personal credit health through www.myFICO.com. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count^™.

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Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2012 and its last quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2012. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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