Contact Solutions (CSI)

by

DIAMOND Marketing

Fred Diamond, 703-628-6910

pr@freddiamond.com

Contact Solutions (CSI), the industry leader in contact automation, announced that Columbia Bank (Tacoma, WA, NASDAQ:COLB) is a new customer of the firm's shared IVR (interactive voice response) services. Columbia Bank has over 50 branches throughout Washington and Oregon. Columbia Bank will be using CSI shared IVR services for its many self-service consumer banking applications such as funds transfer, account management and balance review. Customers can use the system via either Touchtone or Speech.

Columbia Bank had been managing its corporate-owned IVRs for the past decade before deciding to outsource its contact automation to CSI. Like many financial services institutions that decide to move away from IVRs that they own and manage, Columbia Bank was attracted to the substantial cost savings benefits of outsourcing the management, development, and monitoring of its IVR applications and services to a company that specializes in it.

"Our focus has always been on fundamental banking and strong customer service. Outsourcing key customer service functions to Contact Solutions, a company that understands the importance of customer satisfaction while reducing our self-service costs, will help us continue to best serve our many customers," said Peter Wild, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Columbia Bank.

Among the reasons why Columbia Bank decided to outsource its contact automation were:

-- Limited internal resources to optimize contact center automation

-- Concern regarding technology obsolescence and rising maintenance costs

-- Removal of capital expenditures

-- Attractiveness of the "pay as you go" model

Customers will also be able to pay loans and stop check payments at the IVR. If necessary, a customer can transfer to a credit card vendor, a check reorder vendor and bank customer service in the event an ATM or check card is lost or stolen.

Contact Solutions Chief Executive Officer Paul Logan said, "The timing was right for Columbia Bank to move from their on-site IVRs to our shared IVR service, which allows them to continuously improve the self-service offerings they make available to their customers. Columbia Bank is a very customer-focused financial institution and we are confident they will be very pleased with how our solutions improve customer satisfaction."

Logan also said that CSI has been able to make immediate customer service improvements for Columbia Bank's customers. "CSI employees focus non-stop on our customer's automation requirements. For example, our IVR experts have already revamped the IVR call flow which means customers will be able to get what they need at the IVR easier and feel good about using the automated solution in the future."

About Columbia Bank

Headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, Columbia Banking System, Inc. is the holding company of Columbia Bank, a Washington state- chartered full-service commercial bank which was selected by Washington CEO magazine as one of 2008's "Washington's Best 100 Companies to Work For." With the 2007 acquisitions of Mountain Bank Holding Company and Town Center Bancorp and the 2008 internal merger of its subsidiary, Bank of Astoria, into Columbia Bank, Columbia Banking System has 53 banking offices in Pierce, King, Cowlitz, Kitsap, Thurston and Whatcom counties in Washington State, and Clackamas, Clatsop, Tillamook and Multnomah counties in Oregon. Included in Columbia Bank are former branches of Mt. Rainier National Bank, doing business as Mt. Rainier Bank, with 5 branches in King and Pierce counties. Columbia Bank does business under the Bank of Astoria name at the Bank of Astoria's former branches located in Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside and Cannon Beach in Clatsop County and in Manzanita in Tillamook County. More information about Columbia can be found on its website at http:// www.columbiabank.com.

About Contact Solutions

Contact Solutions (CSI) saves its call center clients millions of dollars by significantly improving their contact automation while uplifting customer satisfaction levels. Deploying time-tested shared IVR services, world-class IVR applications and procedures, and an industry-leading project management approach focused on Continuous Improvement around six distinct Centers of Excellence; the company has helped the contact center industry redefine contact automation standards. Large enterprises such as American Express, Delta Airlines, Motorola and many government entities benefit from the company's focused, cost-effective contact automation approach. Contact Solutions is based in Reston, VA. Visit Contact Solutions at www.contactsolutions.com.

(c)2008 Contact Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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