Financial Objects, a leading provider of software solutions for banking, wealth management and energy, has today announced that SBAB has successfully deployed its activebank Retail solution.
This implementation will enable the Swedish residential mortgage provider to improve and extend the services it offers to savings and loans customers.
Wholly owned by the Swedish Government, SBAB was mandated to contribute to competition in the residential mortgage market in Sweden. SBAB now has a total market share of 10.6% (as of 31December, 2006) and continues to increase its market share. In 2005 SBAB's mandate expanded to include borrowing for the public. This new objective to offer savings accounts in addition to residential mortgages and corporate loans, led SBAB to opt for a new banking solution. Following a competitive tender it selected activebank Retail from Financial Objects due to its advanced web services, SOA architecture, and the ease and cost effectiveness of running the system.
Following a successful pilot of payments transactions, which was trialled by more than 100 SBAB employees, the Nordic-customised front and back office system went live in April 2007.
This system replaced the previous payments system at SBAB, and processes manual and standing instruction payments securely. activebank Retail has extended the functionality of SBAB's existing system to enable its customers to register accounts, make loan repayments and manage all related transactions online. The solution's customer centric database provides all core information and processing. Additionally it has been further enhanced to meet SBAB's individual needs.
activebank web services provide a consistent method for accessing the rich set of functionality provided by the activebank Retail solution. Based on industry standards and supplied as a fully documented package, activebank web services enable SBAB to provide core functionality in real-time with ease and without complexity through their Service Oriented Architecture - the back bone of their overall solution.
Some of the benefits associated with providing activebank functionality as web services, include an improved integrated development cycle, rapid prototyping, and a consistent approach to security and access control.
"We were very impressed with the speed and efficiency of the installation, as well as the support from the Financial Objects' team," said Ulf Tingström, chief information officer at SBAB. "Not only can we now take deposits to the open market and lend against these, but we can also bring new products to market quicker. The capabilities of activebank Retail have improved the services we offer to existing customers and we are now better placed to attract new ones."
"Our software supports SBAB's changing business model and empowers it to operate like a full service retail bank," said Karim Peermohamed, CEO of Financial Objects. "This was an important and strategic project for us as we grow our business and strengthen our position as a leading software solutions provider in the Nordics."