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In addition, when we merged our banks, it became evident that man- aging our money would be much more efficient and profitable done centrally. Our Treasury Services Division is now managed out of our corporate headquarters. 

By organizing our management teams to most efficiently and effec- tively manage our local banks and our strategic product areas, TCF has the best of both worlds – informed, timely local decision-making that allows us to compete in our markets on a daily basis and long- term strategic product management positioning us for the future. 

TCF believes that innovation and continuous improvement are key to an organization’s success and competitiveness and we have created a process to encourage and recognize innovation and innovators. We believe the best innovators are those who are constantly searching for new ways to use old ideas, taking a concept that was successful in one area and transplanting it in another, or taking an idea from another industry and molding it to fit TCF’s strategies. TCF has created a culture and an environment that supports innovation, and our long list of innovative products and services speaks to its effectiveness. We continuously plant the seeds of innovation and harvest the rewards of our innova- tive products and services. 

## Planting the Seeds 

## INNOVATIONS 

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Evidence of TCF’s innovative culture exists in virtually all areas of our business. The TCF Express Phone Card was the first debit card loyalty program to reward customers for card usage by giving them free long- distance phone minutes. TCF Express Coin Service machines offer free self-service coin counting to TCF customers and incent non-customers to open TCF accounts. TCF Small Business Banking, built around our unique “Free Small Business Checking” account, has matured into a full-ser- vice small business resource and our customer base has grown rapidly. 

In 2002, TCF continued to expand the scope of our innovations. TCF Express Business, our Internet-based commercial banking system, was introduced to address the cash management needs of our commer- cial customers. In our Consumer Lending division, we launched TCF Command Protection, an industry-leading service providing waiver or deferral of debt for TCF loan customers under a number of personal or financial need scenarios. TCF Express Leasing (a division of TCF Leasing) introduced an online front-end leasing application system to facilitate the efficient processing of lease applications and stream- line documentation. The result – in 2002, 97 percent of TCF Express Leasing’s applications were processed using this system. Long widely recognized for innovative marketing programs, TCF last year enlisted “Spongebob Squarepants ™ ,” a popular Nickelodeon$^{®}$cartoon character, as a mascot for our very successful checking and savings account promotion aimed at children, parents and “Spongebob” fans in the Chicago area. 

TCF HAS CREATED A CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS INNOVATION. WE CONTINUOUSLY PLANT THE SEEDS OF INNOVATION AND HARVEST THE REWARDS OF OUR INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. 

