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Dianne Douglas
Douglas Communications
+1-415-584-4906
dianne@douglaspr.com

Payments and Lending Expert, Ann Schmitt,
Joins Edgar, Dunn & Company

San Francisco, (April 15, 2008) – Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC), a leading independent global financial services payments consultancy, announced today that payments and lending expert Ann Schmitt has joined the firm as a Director in its San Francisco office.

Ms. Schmitt is a widely respected expert in the payments and lending industries with deep expertise in the areas of ATM, debit card, credit card, merchant acquiring, payments processing, and consumer lending, particularly auto and real estate.  Her career in payments has included senior roles at leading payments companies including Citibank, U.S. Bancorp, and MasterCard International.  In addition, Ann has been a consultant to Fortune 100 companies providing strategic planning, product marketing, business analysis, operations and turnaround management.

Ms. Schmitt’s focus at EDC will be primarily in the Americas market, working with banks, payments companies, specialty finance companies and private equity firms.

“Ann brings a rare blend of payments and consumer lending expertise from a wide range of experience in senior management and strategy consulting roles with some of the most respected companies in the industry”, said Lance Blockley, EDC’s CEO and Managing Director.  “EDC is pleased to add such a trusted and well-respected advisor to its global consulting team.”

Ms. Schmitt’s 25 years experience in financial services and payments most recently includes roles as President and CEO of two private equity-backed financial services companies where she led turnarounds, including assessing and re-positioning loan portfolios and under-performing units. Prior to that, she served in various senior management positions including Vice President, Risk Solutions and Management at MasterCard International, Senior Vice President, Retail Payment Systems at U.S. Bancorp, and Vice President, U.S. Card products Group at Citibank.

From 1998-2002, Ms. Schmitt was a Director at Dove Consulting where she served as a consultant to leading banks, card associations, investment banks, merchants, and payment processors.

Ms. Schmitt has provided thought-leadership as a speaker at payment industry events including the annual ATM / Debit and Credit Card Forums and BAI Retail Delivery Conferences. She has authored numerous industry articles and papers on key financial services issues, such as the impact of regulatory changes on commercial real estate lending, and the positioning of credit unions in the U.S. auto lending industry.  Further, she has co-authored major payment system studies on consumer payment preferences, the economics of debit, and ATM deployment.

Ms. Schmitt holds an MBA with an emphasis in Finance from University of Colorado, and a BS from South Dakota State University.  

About Edgar, Dunn & Company 
Edgar, Dunn & Company (EDC) is an independent global financial services and payments consultancy. Founded in 1978, the firm is widely regarded as a trusted advisor to its clients, providing a full range of strategy consulting services, expertise and market insight.  Global capabilities include in-depth industry and consumer benchmarking, strategy, risk management, marketing, profitability improvement, operations, and new products and technologies. With offices in Atlanta, Frankfurt, London, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney, EDC serves clients in over 30 countries on six continents. More information can be found at www.edgardunn.com

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