IBS Journal March 2015


Julius Baer embarks on core system renovation ...continued from front page


Incidentally, ERI was not part of the selec- tion process at Julius Baer. As to the reasons for choosing


Temenos, Hilsenkopf feels there were three major points in the vendor’s favour. First, the system’s architecture, ‘particularly its ability to scale and capacity to integrate with other systems at the bank’. Second, Julius Baer was keen on ‘progressive reno- vation’, so that it could apply the new solu- tion ‘piece by piece, in a controlled manner’, and Temenos could address this require- ment. Third, the international footprint of T24 matched the bank’s strategy of global IT renovation.


Discussions and evaluations are now


underway for Temenos’ other solutions, such as Temenos Connect for channels, and Datasource for enterprise data man- agement, says Hilsenkopf. ‘The bank is open-minded about its software,’ he notes. Indeed, in its latest annual results release, Julius Baer states that whilst Temenos has been selected ‘to initiate planning of its


In parallel, selected enhancements will be carried out in Switzerland in line with the scope of the project,’ the bank states. No negative impact on the target cost/income ratio is anticipated during the implemen- tation period, whilst improved efficiency is envisaged upon completion. Hilsenkopf echoes the sentiment say-


Jean-Michel Hilsenkopf, Temenos


core banking platform replacement’, the bank has retained ‘flexibility to select the optimal providers for additional compo- nents and applications’. The bank also confirms that the IT


overhaul in Asia, which is a fast-growing region for Julius Baer, representing nearly a quarter of the group’s business, is just the beginning. ‘It serves as an ideal template for future implementation in other regions after its anticipated completion in 2017.


Philippine Postal Savings Bank ditches Misys Equation for deposits


Government-owned Philippine Postal Sav- ings Bank (Postalbank) has committed to a full roll-out of the ConnectCore core bank- ing system from Indian vendor, Idealinvent. The bank had originally opted to install the loans, general ledger (GL) and reporting components of the system, having earli- er abandoned attempts to install 3i Info- tech’s Kastle Core Banking offering, but will now extend the use of the system to cover deposits. On the way out is Misys’ Equation, which the bank has been using as a stan- dalone system to support deposits func- tionality. The implementation will be car- ried out by Idealinvent’s local partner, QNX Solutions Inc (QSI), with a target go-live of November this year. The project has kicked off in the last


few weeks, with the gap assessment now being carried out before sign-off from the bank. ‘The next stage will be to bring the


16


documents to Idealinvent for possible customisations and development, before the full implementation,’ says Emmanuel Ramasola, president and general manag- er at QSI. Postalbank conducted an evaluation


of ConnectCore’s deposits module as well as an upgrade path put forward by the incumbent Misys to the newer version of Equation (now known as Fusionbanking Equation). Ramasola explains that the bank concluded that the hardware set-up and recurring maintenance costs were favour- able for ConnectCore from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective. ‘The Misys system runs on IBM AS/400 [iSeries], and the IBM machines are more expensive in terms of maintenance,’ he says. Connect- Core is technology agnostic, with the set- up at Postalbank comprising Dell hard- ware, Oracle database, Linux, and JBoss


© IBS Intelligence 2015 www.ibsintelligence.com


application server, ‘which works out cheaper altogether’, states Ramasola. In addition, the bank wanted to make


sure that it had an integrated system (it has always operated with separate applications for deposits and loans, says Ramasola), and the fact that ConnectCore had already been rolled out for loans and GL meant a less complex second phase. ‘When we imple- mented the loans and GL modules of Con- nectCore, it already contained the custom- er information file (CIF). That will be a big help for the deposit module implementa- tion because the deposit module also works with the CIF in transactions,’ says Ramasola. Ramasola also suggests that should the


bank wish to add further functionality such as loan origination or cards management, the approval workflows have already been built into the platform, as well as integration with the local ATM switch.


ing that the successful completion of the implementation within the current scope will demonstrate that ‘we are ready to do more’ and will ‘set up the basis for global projects’. In the course of 2015, Julius Baer is


set to complete the integration of Merrill Lynch’s International Wealth Management business, which it acquired in 2012. It is also now in the process of integrating the private banking business of Bank Leumi in Switzerland and Luxembourg, as Bank Leumi is exiting this sector. The transfer is set to conclude by the end of 2015. The resultant entity will have over 50 locations across 25 countries.


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