DENVER, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTEC), a global provider of customer
solutions, signed a multi-year agreement with Banco Santander, an
international financial institution with $335 billion in assets and a presence
in 42 countries.
Under terms of the agreement, TeleTech will provide customized customer
solutions for Banco Santander's home banking and credit card services support,
equipment, machine and vehicle leasing and real estate mortgage services.
Additionally, TeleTech's Brazilian unit will provide investment management
services, support the bank's life insurance products and perform various
administrative services, such as customer account maintenance. In order to
support the Banco Santander relationship, TeleTech added an additional
customer management center and more than 1,200 dedicated employees to its
Brazilian presence.
"Banco Santander is one of the largest and most well respected banks in
Latin America, and has a well-known history of providing superior customer
service," said Marcelo Franca, TeleTech's Latin American president and general
manager. "The bank was very deliberate in its approach to this relationship,
resulting in a comprehensive solution to significantly improve customer
relationships and further differentiate itself as a market leader."
ABOUT TELETECH
TeleTech partners with clients to develop and execute relevant solutions
that enable them to build and grow profitable relationships with their
customers. TeleTech has built a global capability supported by 52 customer
interaction environments that employ more than 27,000 professionals spanning
North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. For additional
information, visit www.teletech.com .
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
All statements not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements
that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In accordance with the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, following are important
factors that could cause TeleTech's and its subsidiaries' actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements, including: economic or political changes affecting the countries
in which the company operates; greater than anticipated competition in the
customer care market, causing increased price competition or loss of clients;
the reliance on a few major clients; the risks associated with losing one or
more significant client relationships; the renewal of client or vendor
relationships on favorable terms; the risks associated with client
concentration; the ability to transition work from higher cost centers to
lower cost markets; the company's ability to develop and successfully manage
new technology or Database Marketing and Consulting sales; the company's
ability to collect monies owed from clients per contract terms and conditions
in a timely manner; higher than anticipated start-up costs associated with new
business opportunities and ventures; the company's ability to find cost
effective locations, obtain favorable lease terms and build or retrofit
facilities in a timely and economic manner; lower than anticipated customer
management center capacity utilization; consumers' concerns or adverse
publicity regarding the products of the company's clients; the company's
ability to close new business in 2003 and fill excess capacity; execution
risks associated with achieving the targeted $40 million in annualized cost
savings; the possibility of additional asset impairments and restructuring
charges; the ability to successfully execute an intercreditor agreement
related to the company's recently amended debt agreements; the ultimate
liability associated with the amount of past sales or use tax obligations for
its Database Marketing and Consulting and North American Outsourcing segments;
changes in workers' compensation and general liability premiums; increases in
healthcare costs; risks associated with changes in foreign currency exchange
rates; changes in accounting policies and practices pronounced by standard
setting bodies; and, new legislation or government regulation that impacts the
customer care industry. Readers should review the company's Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2002, Forms 10-Q for the first and second quarters of
2003 and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
which describe in greater detail these and other important factors that may
impact the company's business, results of operations, financial condition and
cash flows. The company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking
statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors affecting such
forward-looking statements.
SOURCE TeleTech Holdings, Inc.
