CheckFree simply underestimated the
effect of mergers and the speed with
which banks would replace their old PC
banking systems, Kight said.
"I spend way too damn much time on the
road and way too much time with these
banks, in my opinion, to have been that far
off," Kight said. "I am the closest to the
banks. I'm the closest to being able to
know what it is they're doing, what kind of
schedules they're on. I'm the one who has
taken the lead in trying to drive them to the
Net.
"I just didn't expect all of them to do it at
the same damn time."
Brian Maimone, an analyst with ING
Barings Furman Selz, agreed with Kight's
assessment, but believes investors
overreacted. Although CheckFree's growth
is hampered until banks finish their
transition to the Internet, "it's a nice
problem to have," Maimone said. "The
long-term outlook is actually quite positive."
Company executives have no control over
how banks adopt technology platforms, but
once institutions are on the Internet,
CheckFree will be in a solid position,
Maimone said. The company is already the
market leader in electronic bill payment,
with 70 percent to 75 percent of the
market, he said.
The company's revised expectation is
actually cautious, Kight said. "It doesn't
reflect four banks that tell us they're going
to be in market this calendar year," he said.
"I'm not doing this again. I'm not doing
another recalibration [sic], so we've taken a
very conservative stance."
techweb.com:80/investor/story/INV19980812S0006
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