International Bytes

Romagest, the Rome-based asset management subsidiary of Bancaroma Group, has successfully implemented Decalog, a straight-through processing system from SunGard Investment Management Systems, an operating group of SunGard.

Romagest has implemented Decalog for decision support, pre-trade compliance, performance measurement and attribution and trade order management, with the objective of achieving a straight-through processing environment.

"The implementation of Decalog has allowed Romagest to reach important objectives related to the reduction of lead-time, better portfolio analysis, strong real-time position keeping and efficient performance attribution," said Giampiero Astuti, information systems manager at Romagest. "All of these objectives are key for our investment strategy."

SunGard Investment Management Systems is a leading international provider of investment management software solutions for the front-, middle- and back-office activities of global asset management firms.

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South African financial institutions ABSA Bank, Nedcor Bank and Standard Bank have signed up for PRISM, a national credit card fraud detection system developed by Retail Decisions, a Rhode Island-based transactions services business that provides fraud prevention to the finance, telecommunications, retail and e-commerce sectors.

Deployed at a central South African location by Retail Decisions, the PRISM software will enable card issuers and acquirers to utilize a single infrastructure and achieve economies of scale. PRISM uses a self-learning neural network fraud detection model using transaction data that will be provided by ABSA, Nedcor, Standard Bank, Diners Club and American Express, to monitor card transactions.

The new service complements Retail Decisions' existing service, Card Clear, which is used by the leading banks and retailers in South Africa. Card transactions are screened against the Industry Negative Card File (INCF), South Africa's most comprehensive file of lost, stolen and delinquent cards. Retail Decisions will collate and update the INCF for the banks and retailers using information gleaned from the PRISM system. The INCF currently contains more than 2 million records from South African card issuers and over 5 million records from other international card issuers.

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Halifax Cetelem Credit Ltd has implemented a completely automated, external communication system from Docucorp International, a provider of enterprise information solutions.

The new system will enable Halifax Cetelem to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver customized client letters, contracts and retailer statements to its 35,000 customers. Initial estimates place cost savings and added profit generated by the system at close to $55,000 per year.

"Docucorp has provided a flexible, efficient and easy-to-use solution that will significantly improve customer communications and greatly reduce internal dependencies on IT resources," said Gillian Clark, head of information technology for Halifax Cetelem. "With tools to quickly read, translate and prepare mainframe data for output without custom programming interfaces, Docucorp's solution will reduce our operating costs, enhance our flexibility to meet changing business requirements, and enable faster delivery of customized communications."

Halifax Cetelem, formed in 1999, is the leading provider of flexible, creative finance solutions that help UK retailers maximize sales growth. It was developed as a joint venture between Halifax PLC, the UK's largest mortgage provider, and Cetelem of France, Europe's leading retail finance house.