ORLANDO, Fla. – BAI's 2005 Retail Delivery Conference is all about the customer, according to BAI CEO Debbie Bianucci. "The conference this year will have a focus on the customer. You'll see that thread weaved through the entire agenda to help financial services companies understand serving the customer," said Bianucci. BAI is expecting 5,500 people in attendance, including exhibitors. The Retail Delivery is well-known for its expansive exhibit hall. This year 400 companies will be showing their wares. "When you come you have the opportunity to get information on several different wants, with technology at the top of the list. You see more technology here than anywhere else, but we don't plan it and package it as a tech conference alone. There's so much more value," sadi Bianucci. Credit union attendance is always of interest to the industry. BAI expects slightly over 300 CU leaders to be in attendance. It did note a spike in CU membership, which now numbers 67 CUs. A few credit union leaders will also show up on the agenda, but not many. For example, William Meyers, CEO of Alternatives FCU, will be a panelist on a pre-conference session on targeting and acquiring business from the underserved. There are a number of community banks represented on the agenda. Health Savings Accounts is a new topic this year that Bianucci expects attendees to find of value. A leader from a small bank from Illinois will share his bank's success with HSAs. It already has a few hundred people signed up for HSAs, commendable given how new the product is. BAI as an organization is changing. At the end of March of this year it acquired Bankers Training and Consulting company, a well-established training company focused on banks and credit unions. It works with 200 CUs and has 65 courses geared to CUs. "Credit unions have been a very important audience to us for some time. Bankers Training gives us more momentum," said Bianucci. In total BAI has about 500 member financial services companies. Bianucci noted they are predominantly large organizations. She stressed that BAI is unique in that it is not a trade association, so it does not lobby. "We bring objectivity to the work we do," she said. She noted that many more organizations, other than its 500 members, buy its products. Bianucci has been with BAI for 15 years. She held the chief marketing and sales position for eight years prior to being named CEO. [email protected]