International Bytes

European Investment Bank selects Trema Finance KIT as backbone system; China Merchants Bank implements Reuters Internet Toolkit; Banque Privee Edmond de Rothschild selects SunGard MINT ISO15022 software.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg will install Finance KIT, a management system from the Finnish-based Trema Group.

The EIB decided to use Trema's software after doing an extensive evaluation of the company to find out how to improve their operations and risk management. The Trema Finance KIT is a real-time STP treasury, cash, risk and asset management system that the EIB will apply to oversee its treasury, borrowing and lending operations. The Finance KIT also will help the EIB to consolidate its various systems and interfaces.

The system will be implemented in three phases, with the first covering the treasury business including foreign exchange, money markets and securities. This phase will be followed by the implementation of the Finance Kit across the front, middle and back office of the treasury area. The third phase will cover the bank's processing of the complete lending portfolio in a fully integrated solution and bank-wide risk management.

"We have taken a holistic approach in this project because we recognize that the efficiency of our operational procedures and the interaction between our business areas is instrumental in our success," said Rene Karsenti, director general of Finance European Investment Bank. "Being the largest non-government issuer, the Bank generates large volumes of business and deals with sophisticated products and instruments that involve high transaction values. We expect to significantly improve our performance with appropriate reengineering and we are pleased to have selected the technology and company which should enable us to achieve our objectives."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

China Merchants Bank has implemented Internet Toolkit from Reuters, the global news and technology group, to provide global market data on its Website. They are the first major bank in China to offer Reuters global Foreign Exchange (FX) data over the Internet.

The new China Merchants Bank Website will provide real time FX quotes, global and regional news, rankings and advanced charting with comparison options and technical studies. Other functions that will be provided include look-ups, a search capability and individual watchlists and portfolios localized for the China market.

"China Merchants Bank has always been in the forefront of creating and offering e-banking services," said Li Hao, vice president, China Merchants Bank. "We believe by partnering with Reuters, we can tap its global financial information and technology to expedite our effort in globalizing our online financial services in China and thereby efficiently exploit the opportunities in this borderless market."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In order to meet SWIFT's impending ISO15022 deadline, Banque Privee Edmond de Rothschild (BPER), Geneva, Switzerland, has tapped SunGard's MINT ISO15022 management system.

SunGard's MINT program will help BPER complete its in-house ISO15022 development by automating message conversion so as to be ready for SWIFT's new message types. BPER currently uses MINT Knowledge Broker and MINT Knowledge Manger. BPER chose SunGard's product due to their cost and time effective ability while also minimizing disruption to existing legacy systems.

"We were the first MINT client in Switzerland, way back in 1983, and our strong relationship has lasted continuously since then, based on robust technology and great service," said Terry Denton, IT manager at BPER. "Indeed, many of the technicians who originally installed the MINT system are still with company. SunGard's depth of knowledge of knowledge of financial messaging is also a real advantage over competitive offerings."