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[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

   9-3-95. NYPaper:


   "500,000 Clients, No Branches. Phone Banking Is Catching
   On."

      Bankers from around the world are making the pilgrimage
      to Leeds in the north of England for a miracle cure at
      their stagnant industry's equivalent of a Lourdes. Here
      is First Direct, a bank with half a million customers
      and not a single branch. It is the world's leading
      telephone-only bank; it is the fastest-growing bank in
      Britain. On the walls are sports stadium scoreboards,
      constantly flashing the number of customers on hold and
      how long they have been waiting. While a banker serves
      a customer, his computer screen is displaying all sorts
      of personal information about her. "No Adverse Risk"
      flashes at the top, indicating that the bank would be
      glad to loan her money. Also displayed is the fact that
      she is a 30-year-old single renter with a job as a
      project manager, along with a list of all the bank's
      prior contacts with her.



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