IBS Journal February 2016


Sound of speed


Fareed Hosain, CIO of Habib Bank (HBL), Pakistan’s largest bank, explains how it went live with a new digital platform for


corporates, Misys’ FusionBanking Corporate Channels, and why an ultra-quick implementation is a fast track to success.


‘Just because we’ve used Misys before wasn’t a factor in using it again without thinking – the vendor had to work for it.’ Hosain makes it very clear that in the


world of international banking systems, any vendor isn’t guaranteed a new deal based simply on sentimentality or for old time’s sake. The bank is a long-standing customer


of Misys, having originally replaced its dis- tributed core banking system, MOBS, with Misys’ core off ering back in the late 1990s/ early 2000s. In 2011, HBL opted to upgrade from


Equation to the FusionBanking Equation version. It also uses Misys’ products for trade


fi nance (Trade Innovation), risk manage- ment (FusionRisk), payments and messag- ing (FusionBanking Payment Manager) and treasury and capital markets (FusionCapi- tal Opics).


The Misys touch Both have enjoyed a strong relationship and once Misys proved itself yet again, more was to come. Hosain says that ‘the clients’ shifting


preferences to digital banking’ prompted a software renovation. ‘The bank’s corporate customers are doing business internationally and need to access their data regardless of where they are in the world,’ he explains. ‘The ability to provide customers with


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a common digital solution for trade fi nance and cash management will be a power- ful sales tool to attract more business and deepen our existing client relationships.’ HBL looked at ‘one or two other ven-


dors’, but it eventually opted for Fusion- Banking Corporate Channels from Misys. The solution is the digital channels


off ering within the FusionBanking Corpo- rate product suite, which was unveiled at the Sibos conference in 2014. The platform has been a year in the


making and unifi es component solutions already in Misys’ vast product portfolio onto a single digital platform for corporate banking. There are the Trade and Cash Portal


solutions, which have existed under dif- ferent guises in the Misys stable, and the online loan servicing solution, which inte- grates with FusionBanking Lending, a com- bination of FusionBanking Loan IQ and FusionBanking Credit Management Enter- prise (the loan origination solution that was integrated with the purchase of CCS, a US-based company acquired by Misys in 2014). The solution is back offi ce agnostic and


FusionFabric Connect is used as the mid- dleware component, along with a workfl ow Software Development Kit. A decision to go for FusionBanking


Corporate Channels was made in ‘about four to six months’ and Misys won out par- tially because it off ered the functionality


© IBS Intelligence 2016 www.ibsintelligence.com


HBL was looking for. As always, pricing was a factor, but HBL


also wanted the right number of features. ‘If a product doesn’t haven’t enough


features, then it’s better to look at some- thing else.’


Hosain adds that the bank wanted


something to work straight ‘out of the box’. There was to be no messing around and no unnecessary drama. ‘We also looked at Misys’ implementa-


tion plan – we have worked with a vendor who has a good track record and we’ve had a good relationship – and all of these things came together very well.’


Be nimble HBL went live with the platform in four months, bringing trade services, cash man- agement and supply chain fi nance onto a single, digital solution. This is certainly a quick timeframe and Hosain explains how it was done. The bank got it ‘running quickly and


created a fl exible environment – so it could respond to whatever the business wants’. ‘The idea was to use a product that is


straight out of the box – especially in terms of customisation and the interface. ‘We said let’s get the code up and run-


ning, and get it live.’ This happened and Hosain is adamant


that four months is a ‘good timeframe’. ‘This means the project team is in place


and very focused.


case study: habib bank news


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