Nordea will use the Sap for Banking platform for compliance with the Basel II rules and also to consolidate processes and enhance reporting standards.

Sap says the Basel II functionality of its banking platform helps firms meet the requirements for calculation of risk exposure and capital, supports the supervisory review and disclosure process, and provides a historical database to calculate and validate credit risk parameters.

Thomas Balgheim, senior vice president, financial services, SAP, says Basel II compliance is one of the biggest challenges facing banks today, yet many companies still do not have a complete global picture of their risks.

Balgheim says Basel II "can be more than an obligation, but also a driver for organisational, technological and business innovation".