This strong alliance will expand Xinhua Finance's offerings for its core client group of investment firms, credit institutions and, especially, retail and commercial banking operations as they move toward compliance with the Basel II Capital Accords and International Accounting Standards. The pact also enables Fermat, which recently was voted the overall global #1 Basel II solution vendor by readers of RISK Magazine, to extend its presence in Asia to the rapidly internationalizing Chinese financial sector.

Fermat's Basel II, Risk and Performance Management software solutions complement Xinhua Finance's comprehensive portfolio of data and analytics products, which include market indices, financial data banks, credit ratings assessments, financial modeling tools and a market risk management platform. In particular, Fermat's regulatory capital calculation and reporting solution, Fermat CAD (Capital Adequacy Directive) Basel II, is expected to fulfill growing demand in China for Basel II compliance systems before the 2010 implementation deadline. The Basel II Capital Accords are recommendations on banking laws and regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, an institution created by the central bank Governors of the Group of Ten nations.

"At present, most Chinese banks' Basel II initiatives are still being defined or in the early planning stages as the market awaits CBRC's detailed interpretation of the Accords. We are delighted to ally with Fermat, the industry leader, in offering the Basel II and risk solution of choice here in China," said Fredy Bush, CEO of Xinhua Finance. "Moreover, we view this agreement as an integral step in the execution of our Solutions strategy. We will continue to leverage our deep understanding of international standards and China's current financial and regulatory environment to help Chinese financial institutions compete in the world economy," added Ms Bush.

Fermat and Xinhua Finance are currently working together to adapt Fermat's range of software solutions to China, creating country-specific configurations in a Chinese-language interface to add on top of an innovative architecture that optimizes scalability and flexibility. The two parties will also develop internal processes in order to meet the local customer service requirements of China's large banking groups.

"Xinhua Finance's on-ground operational agility and unrivalled local knowledge base make it the ideal agent for our China sales efforts. We look forward to working closely with them in delivering industry-best on-site technical and implementation support," commented Gilbert Gagnaire, Co-Founder of Fermat and Chief Operating Officer of Fermat Private Limited, Fermat's Asia-Pacific wing.