(Oslo, 19 December 2001) Terra-Gruppen AS has signed a strategic co-operation agreement with EDB Fellesdata, a wholly owned subsidiary of EDB Business Partner. The agreement covers the supply of IT systems and operating services for the group's 85 member banks, together with strategic co-operation on new self-service and Internet systems. The agreement is for a five-year period, and represents a total contractual value of NOK 600 million.

"This new five year agreement with Terra-Gruppen provides a sound foundation for new business and on-going sales of new strategic systems. We are delighted that the scope and long-term nature of this agreement, together with the close development co-operation between Terra-Gruppen and EDB which it establishes, represent such a vote of confidence by Terra-Gruppen", comments Ole Trasti of EDB Fellesdata.

"The agreement on strategic co-operation with EDB secures our access to expertise and up-to-date technology. This will make it possible to develop new and competitive products for our member banks more quickly", explains Stein O. Larsen, Deputy Managing Director of Terra-Gruppen.

This agreement serves to confirm that Terra-Gruppen has selected EDB Business Partner as its preferred ICT partner, and Terra-Gruppen will provide an important basis for the development of new banking systems. In addition to extending and expanding the existing agreement with Terra-Gruppen for the supply and operation of banking systems, the new agreement also provides for all 85 member banks to use EDB Fellesdata's standard systems platform and applications, together with computer operating services supplied by EDB Teamco.

The agreement provides for strategic co-operation between the parties to extend to the development of new systems for self-service banking products using automated concepts integrated with the Terra-Gruppen banks' other systems, as well as the development of new Internet systems.

In addition the agreement extends the scope of computer operating services provided to include the development of new operating solutions based on centralised servers for the branch offices of the Terra-Gruppen member banks.

Terra-Gruppen has 85 member banks with 216 branches, almost 1,900 employees and total assets of NOK 1.000 million.

Contact names:
Ole Trasti, Managing Director, EDB Fellesdata, and EVP, Bank & Finance, EDB Business Partner. Tel. +47 22 52 82 60, +47 90 08 91 00

Bjørn Trondsen, CEO, EDB Business Partner, Tel. +47 22 94 40 30, +47 91 78 56 17

Stein O. Larsen, Deputy Managing Director of Terra-Gruppen, Tel +47 22 87 81 00, +47 97 58 88 74