FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2, 2003

New Company Launched

The five prairie-based financial co-operative organizations sponsoring Project Sunrise are pleased to announce the formal launch of a new information technology company, Celero Solutions, effective January 1, 2003. The new company is a joint venture formed from the existing information technology groups of Credit Union Central Alberta, Credit Union Central Manitoba, Credit Union Central Saskatchewan, CUETS (CU Electronic Transaction Services), and Co-operative Trust Company of Canada. The name Celero is drawn from Latin, meaning "to perform quickly". It builds on the new organization's desire to be recognized for Relationships, Reliability and Responsiveness.

Project Sunrise is an initiative launched by the five organizations in April, 2000. Its objective is to find ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of information technology services while strategically positioning these organizations and the customers they serve for continued success in the increasingly competitive financial services marketplace. The focus of the initiative is to find ways to do more with the available resources, rather than reducing the level of resources employed.

The principal market for the services offered by Celero is the five parent organizations and the customers they serve. These include credit unions across Canada as well as other organizations, primarily those engaged in the financial services industry.

"We are excited about the opportunity to help our customers accelerate their success" said Bas Wheeler, the Chief Executive Officer of the new organization. "Information technology is a key component of the financial services industry, as consumers demand new ways to access their financial information from any where at any time. By bringing together the information technology groups of our five founding organizations, we are positioning ourselves to capture the synergies of a larger work force, while building on the past successes of our parent organizations. This new venture will not be without its challenges but I believe we have a great pool of talent to draw from, as we move forward."

Celero will be a virtual organization, maintaining staff in their current locations in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina and Calgary. The management team will also be distributed across the four cities. Few, if any, staff reductions are expected, as the objective is to accomplish more with the available resources.

The new organization comprises approximately 350 staff in the four cities. They will initially remain employees of their parent organizations, assigned to work for the new company. They will be formally transitioned to become employees of the new company by the end of 2003.

For further information on this initiative, please contact: