BeCogent inks NAB UK call centre management deal

BeCogent has been awarded a major five-year contract by National Australia Group Europe.

Under the contract, which runs from March 2006, beCogent will operate National Australia Group's contact centre in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, providing both telephone and Internet banking support for
Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank customers, and help to unlock further value through both technology and process improvements.

beCogent's Managing Director, Charles Breslin said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for beCogent and we are absolutely delighted to have won this major contract with National Australia Group. Having been chosen after a comprehensive selection process is a great endorsement of the skills, quality and capability beCogent has to offer. This contract will make a major contribution to our growth in the next five years and will provide at least another 400 jobs in the beCogent group."

He continued: "beCogent is an increasingly strong contender in the provision of outsourced contact centre services to the UK financial services sector." beCogent's strong focus on innovation, flexibility
and creativity proved key factors in winning this competitive outsourcing contract. The company will implement its distinctive blended live agent and automated solution to give the customer more
choice and improved service, whilst delivering significant efficiency savings for National Australia Group over the course of
the contract.

This announcement follows National Australia Group's recent decision to invest £5 million to upgrade the telephony infrastructure at its Kilmarnock site, and confirms the group's commitment to Ayrshire and
to outsourcing contact centres within the UK.

National Australia Group's Head of Contact Centres, Kevin Page said: "Investing in the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank brands and in electronic and direct channels such as telephone and Internet banking are key aspects of our UK growth programme. We recently undertook a review of our overall strategy for call centres and other channels such as Internet banking, which resulted in an overwhelming commitment to invest further in these areas of the business," he continued. "After an in-depth re-tender process, we
chose beCogent as our outsourced contact centre services provider for Kilmarnock because its innovation, flexibility and creativity best matched our own business strategy going forward. We look forward to working closely with beCogent to ensure that our customers receive an excellent service."