Laurentian Bank chooses Emergis' electronic solution for completing
mortgage transactions
Montréal, June 12, 2007 - Emergis Inc. (TSX:
EME) today announced the signing of a letter of intent with Laurentian Bank
(TSX: LB), whereby the bank will use Emergis' Assyst Real Estate electronic
solution for completing residential mortgage transactions with real estate notaries
in Quebec. Laurentian Bank, an important player in the Quebec residential mortgage
market, is in line to become the fourth financial institution in the province
to adopt Assyst Real Estate.
"This agreement with Laurentian Bank advances our position as the leader
in electronic mortgage processing in Quebec, where our solution has been a great
success since it was launched," said François Côté,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Emergis. "It also points to the
interest that Assyst Real Estate is generating among the major Canadian banks,
as we launch the solution nationally."
Upon signature of a final five-year agreement, the solution would be offered
progressively to Laurentian Bank branches beginning in November 2007, allowing
bank employees to send mortgage instructions to notaries electronically. As
well, when the agreement comes into effect, Emergis expects to be processing
up to 75% of residential mortgage mandates in Quebec.
"We want to capitalize on the leadership, reliability and extensive reach
of the Emergis solution as we prepare to automate our mortgage processing activities,"
said Luc Bernard, Executive Vice-President, Retail Financial Services and SME
of Laurentian Bank. "Assyst Real Estate will help make our processes more
efficient and enable us to enhance the quality of service we offer to our customers."
Emergis' bilingual Assyst Real Estate mortgage solution is designed to
facilitate instructing, funding and reporting of mortgage loans for lenders
and the legal community. With it, lenders can send mortgage instructions electronically
to notaries, lawyers and their staff in real time. In turn, these professionals
can complete mortgage transactions from end to end online, in a more secure
and confidential manner. Assyst Real Estate speeds up the processing of transactions,
reduces paperwork, cuts back on costs and reduces the risk of clerical error.
Emergis manages the enrolment of notaries and lawyers on the mortgage platform
and collects fees based on their usage of the solution to complete residential
mortgage transactions. Since Emergis launched its mortgage solution, more than
80% of real estate notaries in Quebec have adopted the solution.
As part of the national launch of Assyst Real Estate in partnership with a
major Canadian bank, Emergis will deploy its solution in British Columbia and
Ontario over the summer, in the Western provinces before the end of 2007 and
in the Atlantic provinces during 2008. These deployments will be supported by
an adoption program designed to increase the number of notaries and lawyers
who use the solution in each region. As part of this program, Emergis has signed
agreements with software suppliers to the legal community, such as RemoteLaw
– now OneMove Technologies - and Pro Suite in British Columbia, as well
as Do Process Software in Ontario.
For more information about Assyst Real Estate, visit: www.emergis.com/RealEstate.
About Emergis
Emergis is an IT leader in Canada that focuses on the health and financial services
sectors. It develops and manages solutions that automate transactions and the
secure exchange of information to increase the process efficiency and quality
of service of its customers. Emergis has expertise in electronic health-related
claims processing, health record systems, pharmacy management solutions, cash
management and loan document processing and registration. In Canada, Emergis
delivers solutions to the main insurance companies, top financial institutions,
government agencies, hospitals, large corporations, real estate lawyers and
notaries and 2,800 pharmacies. Its electronic health record solutions are also
delivered in the U.S. and Australia. The Company's shares (TSX: EME) are included
in the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
Certain information in this news release, in various filings with Canadian
regulators, in reports to shareholders and in other communications, is forward-looking
within the meaning of certain securi¬ties laws, and is subject to important
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. This forward-looking information includes,
among others, information with respect to the Company's objectives and
the strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as information with respect
to the Company's beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates
and intentions. The words "may", "could", "should",
"would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe",
"anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend",
"plan", "target" and similar words and expressions are
used to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information
in this news release describes the Company's expectations as of June 12,
2007.
The results or events predicted in such forward-looking information may differ
materially from actual results or events. Material factors which could cause
actual results or events to differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or
projection in such forward-looking information include, among others: general
economic factors, adverse industry events, the adoption rate of the Company's
solutions by customers and by related electronic trading communities, its ability
to deliver development and implementation projects in a timely manner, the non-renewal
of major contracts which expire in the near term, complexities and timing of
signing large customer contracts, customers developing internally the capability
to perform the services which the Company performs on their behalf, its response
to its industry's rapid pace of change, the limited time to capitalize
on market opportunities, competition, pricing pressures, fluctuations in its
operating results, its ability to make and integrate acquisitions, failures
or material changes in its strategic relationships, exposure under contract
indemnities, defects in software or failures in the processing of transactions,
security and privacy breaches, its ability to attract and retain key personnel,
its ability to protect its intellectual property, intellectual property infringement
claims, and industry and government regulation.
When relying on the Company's forward-looking information to make decisions,
investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other
uncertainties and potential events. In making the forward-looking information
contained in this news release, the Company does not assume any significant
acquisitions, dispositions or one-time items. It does assume, however, the renewal
of certain customer contracts. Every year, Emergis has major customer contracts
that it needs to renew. One of these represents slightly more than 10% of its
annual revenue. In addition, the Company also assumes the signature of contracts
in new markets in the public health sector. In this regard, Emergis is pursuing
large opportunities that present a very long and complex sales cycle, which
substantially affect the Company's forecasting abilities. The Company
has made certain assumptions regarding the timing of the realization of these
opportunities which it thinks is reasonable but which may not be achieved. Furthermore,
the pursuit of these larger opportunities does not ensure a linear progression
of the Company's revenue and earnings, since they may involve significant
up-front fees followed by reduced ongoing payments. The Company has assumed
a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also assumed that the
material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not result in such
forward-looking information to differ materially from actual results or events.
However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change
and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual
outcome of such items or factors. For additional information with respect to
certain of these and other factors, refer to the risks and uncertainties section
of the Company's 2006 MD&A and to its 2006 Annual Information Form
(risks and uncertainties) filed with Canadian regulators.
THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE
EXPECTATIONS OF EMERGIS AS OF JUNE 12, 2007 AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO
CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. HOWEVER, EMERGIS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY INTENTION OR
OBLIGATION TO UPDATE OR REVISE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION, WHETHER AS A
RESULT OF NEW INFORMATION, FUTURE EVENTS OR OTHERWISE, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY
APPLICABLE LAW.