IBS Journal March 2015


Backchat The latest industry gossip


The Bank of St Helena, a government-owned bank based in the British overseas territo- ry of Saint Helena, is believed to be looking for a new core banking system. The bank is a long-standing user of the Bankware system from a UK-based supplier, i-Financial. It is understood that Oracle FSS with its Flexcube offering is among those interested in the project.


The core banking system selection at the government-owned Polish bank, Bank Gosp- odarstwa Krajowego (BGK), has reached the RFP stage as a number of suppliers vie for the contract. It is known that six vendors have submitted proposals to be evaluated in a first phase, which will consider the relevant experience and knowledge of each vendor as well as functionality of the respective systems. A second phase will then invite eligi- ble vendors to present offers. The six hopefuls which have presented proposals include Asseco (the bank’s incum-


bent core system provider, with a legacy system called def3000), local IT consulting firm Sygnity with Misys’ core offering, TCS with its Bancs core system, IBM, Spanish IT firm Indra with its Itecban system, and a partnership between local IT services firm Cube.ITG (a systems integrator of Oracle FSS’s Flexcube) and another local hardware and network- ing provider, Comp. BGK’s tender stipulates that the project budget ranges between $6 million going up


to $35 million, including the software licences, hardware, systems integration and main- tenance. The solution is required to support loans, contracts, deposits, current accounts, CRM, general ledger and regulatory reporting. An earlier selection at BGK in 2011 ended without success after only one bid sub-


mission was received (a collaboration between HP and Sygnity). According to local press reports, the bank cited the fact that the cost of the proposal was over double what it ini- tially estimated it would spend on the project. Preceding the latest selection, BGK invited interested parties to participate in a pre-


bid stage, with seven prospects, including Sygnity, Fiserv, Asseco, FIS, Cube.ITG, Axxi- ome and Orbium involved in discussions with the bank.


Arbuthnot Latham & Co, a small London-based bank that specialises in private banking and investment/wealth management, is expected to go to market for a new core sys- tem soon. The bank will be looking to replace its legacy solution, Bankmaster, supplied by Misys. The bank has been on the IT revamp path over the last few years, namely imple-


menting the Tercero front and middle office solution from a domestic niche vendor, Third Financial. Tercero was taken to replace a largely spreadsheet-based operation, covering investment management, compliance and client reporting, document man- agement, CRM and online access for clients. There was also a subsequent attempt to extend the solution to the back office, to replace the Figaro system from another local vendor, JHC, but IBS understands this has not materialised. Third Financial’s incursion into the back office space is quite new, and the system


is not yet proven in this area. The only known live user so far is London-based Vestra Wealth.


IN THE NEXT ISSUE


SUPPLEMENT: How to run a core banking project CASE STUDY: Farm Credit Bank of Texas – trials and tribulations of revamping lending technology


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