Industry Showcase: LANSA in the banking and investment industry
This showcase was written in November 2003.
In almost no other industry are the demands for continuous availability, impenetrable security and absolute reliability as important as in the Banking and Investment industry. A financial organization's primary role is facilitating and administrating financial transactions and the IT solution is the heart of its business.
Many finance organizations have strict confidentiality rules about the systems that give them a competitive edge, so we can only showcase a few of the thousands of organizations in the competitive and global finance industry that use LANSA. Finance organizations use LANSA-based packaged and in-house solutions to implement core solutions, as well as LANSA-based Web, XML and reporting extensions to existing core systems.
The Americas
Advanced Commercial Banking System (ACBS), from Fidelity Information Services, is a LANSA-based integrated family of commercial lending products that automates the entire range of commercial lending activity, from deal origination through settlement and accounting to risk management and loan trading. ACBS products run on Windows and iSeries platforms or through an Application Service Provider and are licensed to over 40 leading financial institutions, including 16 of the world's 50 largest banks. ACBS has reduced banks' operating costs by dramatically streamlining operations and eliminating redundant systems.
American customers include ABN AMRO, Asian Development Bank, Bank of America, Bank of Nova Scotia, Banque National, Barclays, Business Development Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CoBank, Dresdner Bank, Export Development Corporations, GE Capital, JPMorgan Chase and Merrill Lynch.
Chris Knebel, Senior Vice President Product Planning and Administration for ACBS, said, "LANSA's platform portability is certainly an advantage as ACBS is now available on an increasing number of platforms, including iSeries and Windows. LANSA can easily integrate with third party systems and new technologies such as Interlink, an Internet based document interchange service between banks and investors. And now with LANSA Java Services Framework we can use XML to integrate with any system." Read the ACBS Case Study
Think Federal Credit Union, previously called IBM Mid America Employees Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota serves over 83,000 members and over 300 affiliate companies and organizations. Think Credit Union uses LANSA for the Web to provide its members with Home Teller, a browser-based home banking system. Home Teller integrates with and reuses the credit union's core RPG banking application. The fully functional, secure home banking site was developed in five months with LANSA by Think Credit Union staff.
From the convenience of their home or from virtually anywhere in the world, Think Credit Union members can conduct their financial business on-line in a safe and secure environment using a PC. At the same time, the savings from Internet Home Teller are significant.
According to Carol Timmerman, Vice President of Transaction Services, "Our members can do all their banking, including credit card payments, in one place with us. Plus, adding new functionality in the future will be easier now that the LANSA infrastructure exists."
On average, twice as many members access the Web site than those who use the touchtone voice response system. Based on the success of its LANSA-based Web banking system, Think Federal Credit Union plans to develop a wireless version of Home Teller, which would allow Credit Union members to conduct their financial business using Palm devices. Read the Think Credit Union Case Study
Think Federal Credit Union was a LANSA customer from 1993 to 2011 and continually invested in LANSA-based solutions during that time. The organization recently changed from being a credit union to a bank and is now called Think Mutual Bank.
Wells Fargo and Company is a $280 billion diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance services through 6,000 stores, its Internet site and other distribution channels across North America and internationally.
Wells Fargo uses several LANSA-based solutions, including a secure Web application that allows authorized brokers to look at their daily revenue, as well as management of broker licensing registration.
Theron Drenckhahn, PC Business Manager said, "The major advantage is less re-keying of data and instant availability of information. We don't have to distribute printed weekly reports anymore. LANSA is easy to integrate with our iSeries infrastructure."
The State Universities Retirement Systems of Illinois (SURS) provides benefit services to over 145,000 members from over 70 employers, including state universities, colleges and state agencies in Illinois. SURS uses LANSA to provide online Web access to authorized employer organizations as well as individual members. The Web solution integrates with SURS' legacy system built in Synon.
Employers use the site to provide SURS with real-time reporting of demographic changes, certification of new hires, terminations, and so on. Member participants use the site to directly access their contribution and account information, as well as information contained in their annual Benefits Summary Statement. Members can also estimate their future benefits and update the information SURS staff needs to process benefit claims.
A growing number of Community Banks in America, including First Citizens National Bank and Flag Bank, use SmartSell, a comprehensive LANSA and browser-based Customer Relationship Management, call center and sales automation solution, from LANSA partner Effinis Technologies (now part of Fidelity National Information Services). SmartSell gives sales, marketing and customer service people easy access to information, for efficient management of contacts with customers and prospects across multiple touch-points or channels.
"Without question, the LANSA development tools allowed us to exceed our technology goals, standards and timetables," said Michael Turner, President and CEO of Effinis. "These factors will obviously contribute to the success of our organization."
Euronet Worldwide provides retail banking and secure electronic financial transaction solutions. Euronet serves clients in more than 60 countries and operates the largest ATM network throughout Europe. Services include Wireless and Internet Financial Transaction Services, ATM Management, POS and Merchant Management Systems and Credit and Debit Card Systems.
Euronet Worldwide has used Visual LANSA to develop its Integrated Credit Card and Consumer Finance System (ICCS) that is used by over 20 banks through the world.
ICCS seamlessly interconnects all product categories (including Wireless, Web, IVR products, EFT network connections, debit card products, credit card products, smart card products and POS) into a single solution.
UBS PaineWebber is a leading financial services firm in the US. PaineWebber's Correspondent Services Corp uses a customized version of FNS WebPro from Kingland Systems to support correspondent security firms. These firms sponsor a direct sales force of tens of thousands of brokers for selling securities products to consumers. Kingland has used LANSA for the Web for a substantial portion of the customized FNS WebPro implementation for PaineWebber.
The Bank of Jamaica formulates and implements monetary and regulatory policies to safeguard the value of the domestic currency and to ensure the soundness and development of Jamaica's financial system. As the central bank it issues and redeems notes and coins, administers the external reserves of Jamaica and acts as banker to the Government and the commercial banking community.
The Bank of Jamaica uses LANSA for several of its systems including its Loan Collateral System which tracks the various types of collateral used as security for loans. LANSA code is also embedded in the Bank's other systems, including the Currency Management System that is used to manage the issue and redemption of the bank's currency stock.
"LANSA has proven to be an excellent addition to the range of programming tools available to the Bank of Jamaica, said Livingston Morrison, Senior Director Finance and Technology Division. It allows us to utilize the wealth of information stored in our legacy systems, in a Windows environment for improved operating efficiency in the relevant areas."
The National Housing Trust of Jamaica (NHT) is the largest provider of residential mortgages in Jamaica, with mortgage loans totaling JA$31.4 billion (March 2002). NHT uses LANSA Client to provide a graphical Executive Information System over its ICBS banking system from Fiserv.
Jamaican workers are required to pay two percent of gross salary to NHT. Employers match this with three percent of salary equivalent. Employers deposit these amounts to NHT accounts in various banks. Employers used to send NHT detailed listings with information regarding these deductions and deposits. Soon NHT and Jamaican employers will use LANSA Integrator to exchange information electronically, taking away the need for NHT to re-key a huge volume of information.
Banco del Progreso, a leading commercial bank in the Dominican Republic, uses a LANSA for the Web Intranet in its call center department. The application allows staff to quickly follow up and contact customers regarding credit cards, checks, promotions and other matters. The solution includes a statistical module that helps the bank to analyze its products and services and provide better customer service.
Actinver Sa De Cv (previously called Actinver Casa De Bolsa), one of the most established stock brokerage companies in Mexico, started to use LANSA in 1991, when they moved from Data General to the AS/400 and redeveloped their internal brokerage system in LANSA. In 2000, when new regulations in Mexico recognized the Internet as a legal communication method between broker and customer, Actinver needed only 3 months using LANSA for the Web, to extend their brokerage system to the Internet, and became the first in Mexico to offer on-line stock trading. Today, using Visual LANSA, Actinver is still at the IT forefront offering their customers fast access and new facilities.
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
European banks that have implemented LANSA-based Advanced Commercial Banking System (ACBS) from Fidelity Information Services include ABN AMRO, Barclays, Dresdner Bank, NIB Capital and Rabobank Nederland. Several of these banks have made customized extension using Visual LANSA.
Visa Card Services in the Netherlands, a LANSA user since 1991, has created a customer service front office to its card management system using LANSA. The LANSA front office has helped Visa to greatly improve customer service and save millions of dollars at the same time.
More recently Visa has used LANSA for the Web to implement MOTOMAAT, a Web based service for its Mail Order Telephone Order (MOTO) merchants. Typical MOTO merchants are Internet shops, mail order companies and telephone sales companies.
Dick de Graaf, IT manager of Visa Card Services, said, "With MOTOMAAT, merchants can use the Internet to log onto our secure site and enter their own authorization and payment requests. The main advantage of MOTOMAAT is a notably decreased number of faxes that need to be manually entered by us. As well as being more efficient for the merchants and us, the merchants have the advantage of being able to place their authorization and payment requests at any time of the day and get an immediate answer and quicker payment."
"We developed MOTOMAAT in one week with LANSA for the Web. The online authorization and payment requests are processed by the same system as the internally entered requests. The most difficult part was to setup secure access with SSL 128-bit encryption." Read the Visa Card Services Case Study
NIB Capital NV, headquartered in the Netherlands, was formed in 2000 after the acquisition of the Nationale Investerings bank by ABP and PGGM, two of the largest pension funds in Europe. NIB Capital established itself as a new European capital-market specialist providing investment banking, private equity and asset management services.
NIB Capital's business units, NIB Capital Bank, NIB Capital Asset Management and NIB Capital Private Equity, had software solutions on multiple platforms and wanted to exchange information between business units in a platform independent way. NIB chose XML and Microsoft BizTalk as the means to do this.
NIB Capital Bank, with its core system on iSeries, uses LANSA Integrator to extract and update data from its iSeries-based commercial lending system. It provides this information in XML format in an IFS file to BizTalk. Information flows both ways and LANSA Integrator is used to respond to and initiate data exchange requests.
Gerard Nap, ICTS Manager at NIB Capital Bank, said, "We chose LANSA Integrator for its high productivity, ease-of-use and implementation. Existing interfaces between applications on different platforms have been rebuilt using the BizTalk server as a common transfer point. New interfaces will be built with LANSA Integrator, facilitating a much simpler interface and requiring less time to build. The advantage is that we don't have to bother with the techniques behind XML."
CHP Consulting, a London-based company specializing in solutions for the leasing and asset finance industry has used LANSA for its ALFA range of software products since 1990. CHP customers include Barclays Bank, GE Capital, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland, National Australia Bank, Nissan and ING.
Andrew Denton, Associate Director at CHP, said, "ALFA is totally written in LANSA, with no user exit programs. This made it very easy to port ALFA to the NT platform. To extend ALFA with eBusiness functionality and a browser interface was an easy evolutionary step as well, because we could build further on our existing software and skills. LANSA keeps evolving. We can offer new technologies to our customers without having to re-develop existing logic." Read the CHP Case Study
Banque de Tunisie, Tunisia's second largest commercial bank with a network of over 80 local offices, uses LANSA for its entire core banking system and internal company systems such as Human Resource. The LANSA-based banking system includes modules for credit handling, portfolio management for clients, bad debts, risk handling, international transactions, stock transactions and client accounts. The system is 100 percent developed LANSA with interfaces to Lotus Notes.
Branch offices use a LANSA for the Web-based Intranet to access the central system. And LANSA Integrator has streamlined communications further by allowing real-time updates to SQL Server based systems at the bank's local offices by replacing a program that exchanged flat files at specified time intervals.
From 2004 all banks operating in Tunis must send inter-banking transactions in XML format. Banque de Tunisie uses LANSA Integrator to exchange inter-bank transactions and to access the central bank's Web Services.
Asia Pacific
Banks in Asia Pacific that have implemented LANSA-based Advanced Commercial Banking System (ACBS) from Fidelity Information Services include Asian Development Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a multi-lateral development finance institution dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific region by fostering economic growth and regional cooperation.
In April 2003, ADB selected LANSA-based ACBS to support the bank's lending operations. ADB will replace its current loan accounting system and several manual processes currently in use with ACBS, utilizing the ACBS Origination, Servicing, DataMart and Transaction Server components of the ACBS product line.
"ACBS will provide ADB with new loan administration and servicing capabilities, primarily related to its LIBOR-based loan products. These loans provide financial flexibility for the borrower, but are complicated for the lender to administer because each loan's currency and interest rate basis is tailored to the project," said the Principal Financial Control Specialist of ADB.
The Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd was created through the consolidation of the corporate banking operations of Fuji Bank, Ltd, Industrial Bank of Japan, Ltd and Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. Mizuho consolidated the loan operations of all three banks, including its operations in New York and London, using ACBS.
Guangdong Development Bank, one of Chinas leading regional banks, the Hsinchu Tenth Credit Cooperative Association and the 7th Credit Cooperative Association, use a LANSA-based retail banking management system. The centralized functions include systems for Remittances, Batch and ATM transactions, Payroll, Assets, Accounting and Executive Information. Branch facilities include Customer Management, Passbook & Cheque Deposits, Cheque Collections, Loan Management, Collection, Fixed Deposit and Daily Management.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), previously Sakura Bank, is one of Japan's largest banks. Sumitomo use LANSA for front-end access and data analysis of banking systems in offices in Japan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, U.K. and USA.
Arab Bank Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arab Bank Plc., is one of the largest Middle East banks with assets totaling US $22.8 billion (December 2002) and over 400 offices worldwide. Arab Bank Australia provides retail banking services to individuals, businesses and community organizations from its offices in Sydneyand Melbourne.
Arab Bank Australia uses LANSA Client and Crystal Reports for LANSA for complex reporting to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. LANSA Client interfaces with Midas-Kapiti Equation from Misys for wholesale banking and general ledger information and with B@NCS from Financial Network Services for retail banking information.
Australian Administration Services (AAS), a long time LANSA customer, supports over 3.5 million superannuation members throughout Australia. AAS uses ECOMMAAS, a LANSA-based solution from KAZ Computer Services, to allow employers to send monthly contribution data for employees via the Internet. The system also enables employers to enquire on member contributions, modify contribution amounts and update selected outstanding contribution batches. The system was developed within three months.
Chris Thomas, National Manager Services and Infrastructure, AAS explains, "Our customers now have the flexibility to send information immediately via the Internet. These details arrive straight from our customers within a fraction of a second, which gives us accurate, immediate data to act upon. This means we are able to react quicker than ever to customer requests. Internally, the system has removed huge amounts of paperwork, is saving staff and administration time and guarantees no communication errors."
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia uses LANSA to extend the functionality of their Matrix wholesale banking and trading system from Sungard Systems and LANSA Client to report over its factoring system.
Morrison & Sawers Group, who run one of the largest private mortgage portfolios in Australia, and 20 other Australian Mortgage Investment companies use MISSION, a LANSA-based Mortgage Investment solution from Advance Computing. MISSION has a large installed base both on Windows NT/2000 and IBM iSeries.
John Martin, Senior Developer and Director of Advance Computing said, "We are happy we chose LANSA as our development tool in the late 80s. Initially we offered our software on the AS/400 platform only. In 1993, we used the same program source and skills to deploy MISSION on Windows to expand our market to include investment companies whose preferred computer environment was Windows NT."