Reliance Trust Named Trustee of Dansko Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

ATLANTA, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reliance Trust Company, principal trust subsidiary of Atlanta-based Reliance Financial Corporation, announced today that it was named trustee by Dansko Holdings Inc., a Philadelphia-based shoe company, to represent the interests of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan in a transaction that resulted in selling Dansko company stock to the ESOP making Dansko 100 percent employee-owned.

"We're pleased that Dansko chose Reliance Trust as trustee of the new Dansko ESOP," said Howard Kaplan, senior vice president of Fiduciary Services at Reliance Trust. "Dansko is a perfect company for an ESOP because of its significant commitment to the Dansko culture and its people. We are seeing more and more companies seek ESOPs as a way to share financial success with their employees and to foster long-term wealth creation."

According to Bill Harlow, president of Reliance Trust, ESOPs are a popular choice for companies like Dansko and especially S-Corporations that transfer ownership to employees in a tax-efficient manner. He added that it benefits the employees as they have the opportunity to accumulate wealth over time through the growth of company value. And in turn, benefits the company because employees of ESOP companies are statistically more productive and actively engaged in the company culture.

"Companies like Dansko see employee engagement to be one of the most important attributes of their culture, and ESOPs are an opportunity to share with the employees the benefits of ownership," said Harlow. He said unlike a sale to a third party, the ESOP is a "friendly" investor and the transfer of ownership is seldom disruptive to the business.

"We needed an independent trustee with the expertise and experience to handle a sophisticated ESOP transaction," said Dansko CFO Jim Fox. "Reliance's Howard Kaplan impressed us as someone who is trustworthy, capable of understanding our business and carrying out his fiduciary duty in a straightforward and no-nonsense way. Reliance's processes and approach gave us confidence that the interests of the ESOP participants would be protected and that the transaction would meet all regulatory requirements."

Reliance Trust provides true fiduciary management services that are designed to ensure strict compliance with ERISA's rigorous standards. Its comprehensive fiduciary services include: investment management services, independent fiduciary services, discretionary trustee services, directed trustee services, ESOP/KSOP plan and trustee services, public company stock services, cash management services, VEBA trustee services and NQDC grantor trustee (rabbi trusts) services. Reliance Trust provides expert consulting services including: selection of plan service providers, DB and DC plan investment advisor services, ERISA litigation settlement services and special ERISA fiduciary services.

About Dansko LLC

Dansko is a leader in providing all day comfort footwear, socks and apparel while standing at the forefront of ethical business practices. Since 1990, co-founders Mandy Cabot and Peter Kjellerup have grown Dansko to approximately $140 million in annual sales and 175 employees. Dansko footwear and a recently introduced line of premium healthcare apparel are sold in more than 2,500 premium U.S. and international retail locations.

About Reliance Financial Corporation

Reliance Financial Corporation is a privately held, Atlanta-based, diversified financial services and wealth management company with more than $88 billion in assets under management and administration. Reliance conducts business throughout the United States through its trust companies, Reliance Trust Company based in Georgia (one of the largest independent trust companies in the country) and Reliance Trust Company of Delaware, and its other subsidiaries and affiliated offices. Reliance offers a full array of trust and wealth management, investment, retirement plan and outsourcing services to individuals, corporations and institutions, as well as to other banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies. Please visit www.reliance-trust.com for information on all of the company's programs and services.

SOURCE Reliance Financial Corporation