WASHINGTON — Catherine Allen, president/CEO of BITS, the technology arm of the Financial Services Roundtable, has announced plans to step down as of May 1.

Allen, the founding CEO of BITS, will continue to work in the financial services industry through her consulting firm, the Santa Fe Group. The Santa Fe Group manages the Financial Institution Shared Assessments Program and Payments Partner Group, two programs that initially started with BITS. Allen has served as CEO of BITS for more than a decade.

BITS has worked on a number of emerging critical issues related to payments, e-commerce, risk management, IT security, crisis management, and fraud reduction. CUNA is a member organization.

“Catherine is a leader and a visionary,” said BITS Chairman William A. Osborn, chairman/CEO of Northern Trust Corporation. “She has tremendous integrity, she has earned the trust and respect of the industry and the regulatory community, and she gets results. She created BITS and made it what it is today. I look forward to her continued success and to working with The Santa Fe Group.”

Allen commented, “It has been an honor and a privilege to work with the CEOs and senior executives at our member companies. I am tremendously proud of what we've accomplished at BITS and look forward to its continued success. I'm also excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for The Santa Fe Group as we work with leading organizations on strategic issues.”