First Securities ASA, a subsidiary of Swedbank and a leading player in the Norwegian securities market, selected the Odyssey Wealth Management solution for its new private banking venture, First Private Banking AS. The system was chosen to enable the rapid growth of its client base across a wide range of private banking services.

First Private Banking is implementing all the components of Odyssey's Wealth Management Solution including the Relationship Management and Portfolio Management workstations. The integrated workstations will support First Private Banking's comprehensive range of private banking services for clients primarily in the Norwegian market. These include asset management and diversification strategies, pension planning, income and wealth protection, inheritance and generation transitions, and tax management.

Jon Herheim, head of First Private Banking says: "We selected Odyssey's Wealth Management solution following in-depth analysis of the solutions on the market. Odyssey's solution offers advanced functionality within a user friendly environment, which supports our strategy of delivering superior private banking services. By efficiently automating the entire investment process we are able to rapidly grow the business on a very scalable platform."

The Odyssey Wealth Management solution eliminates routine administrative processes and facilitates regulatory compliance, allowing investment professionals to focus on value-added services and attract and retain clients. The system seamlessly integrates with existing or third-party applications and is accessed through a sophisticated browser-based web user interface.

Steve D'Souza, general manager, Northern Europe, Odyssey adds: "I am delighted to welcome First Private Banking as our first client in the Scandinavian region and to be working with First in supporting the launch and the success of their new business. Odyssey's private wealth and asset management solutions and services are designed to grow with a financial institution's needs because of our component-based technologies. Following the successful implementation of our Wealth Management Solution at our first client in Scandinavia we predict significant growth in what is one of the fastest growing on-shore private banking markets in Europe."