Financial institutions from across Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) continue to adopt and expand Oracle Financial Services Solutions to improve their operational excellence and efficiency.
Kishore Kapoor, CEO of Oracle Financial Services Software b.v. and Executive Vice President, Global Sales, says, "We have seen a number of important new wins and go-lives in the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2009 across our portfolio of applications for financial services. The continued investment in our financial services solutions has been welcomed by our EMEA customers, who have been looking to improve their business operations, increase their customer service levels, as well as reduce overall IT costs."
• New wins for EMEA from the quarter include:
Imperial Bank, Kenya: A leading commercial bank in Kenya, has selected Oracle Reveleus and Oracle Mantas solutions to ensure strong corporate governance, risk and compliance mechanisms. As part of its growth strategy, the board of Imperial Bank is highly committed to increasing customer confidence and complying with the regulatory requirements set by the Central Bank of Kenya. With the implementation of Oracle Reveleus Basel II solution, Imperial Bank will have a standardized set of analytical processes in place that will improve risk and asset management across the business, as well as compliance with Basel II. With Oracle Mantas Anti Money Laundering and Fraud Detection, the bank will be able to control internal and external fraud through greater detection, investigation and reporting, as well as improving overall transparency of financial activity.
NMB Tanzania, Tanzania: The National Microfinance Bank plc (NMB), Tanzania's largest bank ranked by customer base and branch network, chose Oracle FLEXCUBE as its centralized banking operations platform. Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking and Direct Banking will enable the bank to achieve optimal operational effectiveness, launch innovative products and services, and provide superior customer service and delivery channels through enhanced, standardized processes and centralized controls. NMB also aims to provide a full range ol range of financial services to rural communities and those on the edges of urban areas in Tanzania. With Oracle FLEXCUBE, it will be able to offer decentralized branch operations where there are potential connectivity issues.
UAE Central Bank, UAE: UAE Central Bank will implement Oracle FLEXCUBE in place of its existing systems to keep pace with its rapidly changing operational priorities, improve banking efficiency in the Emirates and provide greater insight into the constantly changing complexion of assets and liabilities of banks in the country. The bank chose Oracle FLEXCUBE as a first crucial step towards providing improved and enhanced services to commercial banks and other financial institutions in the UAE.
Union Bank, Jordan: One of the country's leading universal banking service providers, Union Bank selected Oracle FLEXCUBE Core Banking and Direct Banking as its new IT platform to transform its business operations and improve efficiency. With Oracle FLEXCUBE, the bank was able to automate its daily transactions, provide Internet and phone banking services, improve the response time to customer requests and gain a 360-degree view of the customer to provide a better overall customer experience. Union Bank also deployed Oracle Reveleus for Market, Retail and Corporate Credit Risk to improve the bank's capital management and strategic planning; analyze, evaluate and mitigate market risk factors; and comply with Basel II risk requirements.
• Go-live customers for the EMEA region include:
EHFC, Egypt: Egyptian Housing Finance Company (EHFC), Egypt's first private sector mortgage provider and 100 percent subsidiary of Credit Agricole, has become the first African customer to go live with Oracle FLEXCUBE Lending and Leasing. EHFC is now able to rapidly respond to constantly changing market conditions and has a strategic advantage over its competitors. Oracle FLEXCUBE Lending and Leasing is improving EHFC's lending functionality and increasing customer service levels, by reducing product time to market, as well as increasing flexibility and improving responsiveness to customers. This also helps EHFC meet the relevant compliance and risk management processes.
Bank Respublika, Azerbaijan: Bank Respublika, one of the leading private banks in Azerbaijan, went live with Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking, including Retail Banking, Direct Banking, Corporate Banking and Loan Origination. The implementation gives the Bank increased functionality to optimize its processes and resources, to allow greater operational control and quality of service. Bank Respublika can now rapidly adapt to the dynamic market environment, bring new products and services to market with greater efficiency, improve its risk management practices and optimize business performance.
"This successful implementation of Oracle FLEXCUBE's integrated functionality is already reducing operational costs, while increasing the speed at which we can service our customers. The comprehensive platform offered by Oracle Financial Services Solutions has given us the capability to adapt to changing market forces, as well as build a platform on which to develop future projects," said Khadija Hasanova, Chairperson of Executive Board, Bank Respublika.
"With Oracle FLEXCUBE Lending and Leasing, we are now able to streamline our lending services by integrating our entire Loan Origination and Loan Servicing operations onto the single Oracle platform. We are now looking forward to being the first organization in Africa to benefit from the functionality of this solution," said Maged Tammam, Chief Information Officer, Credit Agricole Egypt.
"As one of the most highly rated commercial banks in Kenya, it is essential that we have an efficient risk and compliance framework in place to mitigate the growing number of market threats and comply with increasing regulation. With Oracle Reveleus, Oracle Mantas and our existing Oracle FLEXCUBE platform, we have great peace of mind in the knowledge that we are using a proven, best-of-breed solution. We identified that technology would be the key enabler to help Imperial Bank achieve its vision, and are pleased that Oracle Financial Services can help us accomplish our goals," said Abdulmalek Janmohammad, Managing Director, Imperial Bank.
"We recognize IT as a key enabler for continuing our growth across the region as we support our business in urban, surrounding areas and especially rural communities across Tanzania. Oracle FLEXCUBE gives us what we need to tailor our offerings down to the smallest of details, running 'what if' scenarios to establish which options will be best for our customers. We expect to stay ahead of the competition, identifying and introducing new products and services to market even more quickly than before. With real-time dashboards providing us the window through which we can oversee and manage our entire operations centrally, we are confident that we can sustainably grow, as we further expand our banking services coverage. Oracle's vast experience in similar implementations and its understanding of the East Africa Banking market place in which we operate made Oracle FLEXCUBE a clear choice for NMB," said Ben Christiaanse, Chief Executive Officer, National Microfinance Bank plc.
"By implementing Oracle FLEXCUBE, we hope to enable technology-driven transformation at our bank as a first step to strengthening the banking system in the country. After our due diligence, we came to the conclusion that Oracle FLEXCUBE can help us create the necessary transformation in a quick and efficient manner and prepare us for the opportunities and challenges of the future. The solution will also help us in several key areas such as payments, currency management, and cost effective operations," said Rashid Al Fandi, Executive Director, Banking Operations, Central Bank of UAE.
"Oracle Financial Services Software is providing us with a best-in-class product footprint that will significantly improve our operational efficiency. With Oracle FLEXCUBE and Reveleus' capability, we will be able to differentiate ourselves from our competitors by offering a superior customer experience. We also have the benefit of a comprehensive, ongoing, product investments from Oracle, something our previous legacy system providers were unable to offer," said Omar Essa, Head of Core Banking Technology, Union Bank.