NW_20001121_en_VASCO Strengthens its Market Leadership into High-Growth Central and Eastern European Banking Market
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. and BRUSSELS, Belgium – November 21, 2000 – VASCO (NASDAQ & EASDAQ: VDSI), a global provider of enterprise-wide security solutions and the world’s leading provider of authentication security to financial institutions, today continued its rapid expansion into the high-growth banking sector of Central and Eastern Europe with the signing of Vilniaus Bankas, the leading full-service bank in Lithuania. The bank, which provides banking services to over 42,000 corporate and 198,000 retail customers, will use VASCO’s Digipass strong authentication and digital signature security to protect the confidential information and transactions of its customers, as well as to provide remote access for its employees. Vilniaus Bankas thus joins more than 150 banks and more than 5 millions users worldwide who have placed their trust in Digipass strong authentication and digital signature security.
“We chose VASCO and Digipass to secure our Internet banking and employee remote access initiatives because our customers deserve only the very best security,” said Mr. Arunas Barauskas, Director of IT for Vilniaus Bankas. “We believe that we will attract many new customers, and that more of our existing customers will embrace online banking, by the exhaustive steps we are taking to protect their financial assets and personal information.”
VASCO partner Hansab (www.hansab.com), a leading provider of security services in the Baltic Region, is integrating Digipass into the bank’s systems for Internet banking and remote network access. “We have found that VASCO and its Digipass technology is the best solution for our banking and corporate customers, due to its ease of implementation, flexibility, and low total cost of ownership,” noted Rimantas Kaziukenas, Hansab Project Manager.
The signing of Vilniaus Bankas follows the signing of major banks in the Baltic States as well as in other Central and Eastern European countries. “Vilniaus Bankas shows that VASCO continues to establish market dominance in Internet banking security, and in regions that are experiencing some of the most rapid growth in online banking,” Jan Valcke, Executive VP Sales & Marketing for VASCO. “Our growing group of partners such as Hansab continues to help us expand our reach and extend our market leadership in securing the financial industry and the remote access network worldwide.”
About VASCO
VASCO secures the enterprise from the mainframe to the Internet with infrastructure solutions that enable secure e-business and e-commerce, protect sensitive information, and safeguard the identity of users. The company’s family of Digipass® and SnareWorks™ products offers end-to-end security through strong authentication and digital signature, true Single Sign-On, access control and advanced entitlements, web portal security, and PKI enablement, while sharply reducing the time and effort required to deploy and manage security. VASCO’s customers include hundreds of financial institutions, blue-chip corporations, and government agencies in more than 50 countries, among them ABN AMRO Bank, Shell, 3M, Ericsson, Rabobank, SEB, First Union, Liberty Mutual, Cable and Wireless, Nokia, DaimlerChrysler, Volvo, US Department of Defense, European Commission, US Coast Guard, University of Groningen, and Duke University. VASCO’s partners include Check Point Software Technologies, Computer Associates, Intel, Netlife, Novell, Proton World, and Ubizen. More information is available at www.vasco.com.
About Vilniaus Bankas
Vilniaus Bankas is a leading universal bank in Lithuania providing a full range of banking products and services for corporate and retail customers. Established in 1990 and granted an international banking license in 1992, the bank today is number one player in Lithuanian banking system with a market share of about 43 per cent in assets. The bank’s customer base includes over 42,000 corporate and 198,000 individual clients. Vilniaus Bankas operates through an extensive distribution network of 18 domestic branches and 32 sub-branches and also provides services through more than 140 post offices covering all regions of the country. For more information visit www.vb.lt.
About Hansab
Hansab was founded in 1991 and has since become the leading business concern in the Baltic States in the field of selling, installing and servicing safety devices and bank equipment. The company’s primary goal is to offer reliable and high-quality solutions for protecting and handling transactions and information. Hansab sells, integrates, and services leading products from more than 40 companies worldwide. Clients of the company include banks and financial organizations, social and state organizations, retailers, security and cash transit companies, and production companies. For more information visit www.hansab.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar words, is forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.
Reference is made to the Company’s public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding the Company and its operations.
For more information contact:
Americas:
Media: Kerry Roche, Bridgeman Communications, +1 617 742 7270, [email protected]
Investor Relations: Todd Fromer, KCSA Public Relations Worldwide, +1 212 682 6300, [email protected]
VASCO: Mike Lange, +1 630 932 8844, [email protected]
Europe/Asia:
Media (Benelux): Bob Pieters, Anthonissen & Associates, +32 3 286 7777, [email protected]
Media (Europe/Asia): Sven Kersten, HBI, +49 89 99 38 87 33, [email protected]
Investor Relations: Annemieke Blondeel, LBConsult, +44 208 308 7080, [email protected]
VASCO: Ariane Bosmans, +32 2 456 9810, [email protected]