Allied Irish Bank has outsourced its international trade processing to ABN Amro, under a deal which provides AIB's clients with Internet access to a full array of trade finance products and services, including standby letters of credit/guarantees.
Under the agreement, the Irish bank will link its existing information systems with ABN Amro's to create a shared platform offering corporate customers 24-hour Web access to transaction information. Customer service, along with sales and management support, will continue to be provided at a local level, while trade processing will be handled by ABN Amro's global service centre.
John Moyney, head of global treasury services, AIB capital markets says that delays in processing paper through the banking system can add to the cost of trade: "This partnership demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with international trade services that are the most technologically advanced in Ireland and positions us to respond quickest to the evolving trade finance market."
In a seperate announcement, ABN Amro has launched FI Dashboard, an information management tool for trade portfolio monitoring. The latest enhancement to MaxTrad, the Dutch bank's global trade portal, FI Dashboard harnesses search engines, multiple data sort and drill-down capabilities to deliver real-time information to financial institution users.
Clients can access daily activity reports, track a transaction, view customer portfolios, view and release transactions pending approval and create standard or customised reports. The service also allows detailed transaction information, such as volumes, balances and revenues to be viewed in chart form.