European Banks Lack Document Security

LONDON, March 15, 2010 - New research from Ricoh (www.ricoh-europe.com/) reveals
that financial services companies across Europe are unintentionally putting
their confidential information at risk. At the heart of the issue is the lack
of a centralised document governance strategy.

The research (research.ricoh-europe.com/) also includes
business leaders from the professional services, public services,
telecommunications, utilities and media sectors. The findings show that the
financial industry is the least likely to have a policy in place to restrict
the printing of customer information with just 46 per cent confirming that
they have implemented a formal policy. Just 33 per cent of public sector
organisations have a fully implemented document security strategy. The number
rises to 43 per cent in Professional Services and 48 per cent in
Telecommunications/Utilities/Media. Overall, the results show that even the
most regulated industries can be doing more to protect confidential
information and govern their documents more effectively.

As one would expect, the majority of European business leaders
have a strong understanding of the need for document security and almost half
of the respondents (49 percent) are equally concerned about the risks from
digital and printed information. Yet, despite the awareness, it is the
minority that are proactively implementing policies to protect their
confidential information.

The lack of security measures can be attributed to
decentralised document governance, where no single function is accountable
for this area. In many cases, it is being managed by several people across
the business or responsibility is devolved either to department heads or
individuals. Duplication and inefficiency are a result of this decentralised
approach which also impacts productivity and sustainability.

Ian Winham, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial
Officer, Ricoh Europe said, "European businesses today face increasing risks
associated with the growing regulatory requirements and pressure from
customers, with increased digitisation, to demonstrate responsibility. The
most effective way to manage the challenges and gain return on investment is
to ensure that a businesses document assets are managed as an integral part
of an organisation's overall information management and security strategy.
Also by implementing a centralised and strategic document governance strategy
that assigns clear responsibility and accountability for the document
workflow, businesses will reduce the risk of confidential data getting into
the wrong hands, and critically drive cost and process efficiencies across
the whole business."

To download the whitepaper and learn more about the findings
of the study visit www.ricoh-europe.com/research.

Note to Editors

About the Ricoh Document Governance Index

The Ricoh Document Strategy Index was conducted on behalf of
Ricoh Europe by independent research firm Coleman Parkes Research and is
based on 311 detailed interviews with senior decision makers (C-Suite or
equivalents) of medium and large companies in the Financial Services;
Professional Services; Public and Telecommunications / Utilities and Media
sectors across Europe. Interviews took place in Belgium, France, Germany,
Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom. All respondents are responsible
for document management within their respective organisations and were
contacted in July and August 2009. The survey was controlled to provide
representative information across Europe and within each targeted vertical
sector.

About Ricoh

Ricoh Company, Ltd ("Ricoh Company") is a global technology
leader, specialising in the office and production printing markets. Ricoh
works with organisations around the world to modernise work environments and
optimise document efficiency. With over 108,500 employees worldwide, it
operates in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, China and Japan.

Ricoh Europe Holdings Plc is a public limited company and the
EMEA headquarters of Ricoh Company with operations located in London, United
Kingdom and Amstelveen, the Netherlands. The EMEA operations comprise over 35
sales subsidiaries and affiliates.

In the fiscal year ended 31 March 2009, revenues from Ricoh's
EMEA operations totalled over YEN 523.4 billion accounting for 25.0 per cent
of Ricoh Company's global revenues. Ricoh Company's worldwide sales totalled
over YEN 2,091.7 billion during the year ended 31 March 2009.

www.ricoh-europe.com

    For further information, please contact:
    Ricoh Europe PLC
    Janice Gibson
    Tel.: +44(0)20-7465-1153
    E-mail: press@ricoh-europe.com
    Home page: www.ricoh-europe.com

For further information, please contact: Ricoh Europe PLC, Janice Gibson, Tel.: +44(0)20-7465-1153, E-mail: press at ricoh-europe.com