The implementation has included modules for mortgage illustration, application processing and post-completion administration together with systems for savings and branch operations, supporting around 40,000 customer accounts.

The Society is also likely to implement, in due course, Interact, AttentiV's internet banking module, with work due to start on this project during 2005. One of the key drivers to the system replacement project at National Counties was to achieve compliance with the FSA's forthcoming Mortgage Conduct of Business regulations.

Tony Gration, Deputy Chief Executive and Secretary, National Counties, commented, "Following a competitive tender process, The Society selected AttentiV, who have a strong commitment to the market and who were already providing our mortgage application processing system. It therefore made both technical and business sense for us to select AttentiV for this project, which now gives us seamless integration from front to back office. The National Counties and AttentiV project teams worked hard together to complete the implementation on time and within 7 months - which is understood to be a record for a full Summit implementation."

The project went live over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend in May to ensure that customers were unaffected by the conversion work. At that time existing customer records and related historical transaction details were migrated from the incumbent system into Summit. The Society expects to see a number of benefits as a result of the project, including:

A mortgage compliant system in time for November 2004

A system environment that will enable the Society to bring ever more sophisticated mortgage and investment products to the market quickly

Greater flexibility in the administration of customer records and accounts

The seamless integration of mortgage case management processes including enquiry management, application processing and post completion administration

A significant decrease in end-of-day and end-of-month processing times

An open systems server architecture with a user friendly, Windows-based front end

David Webber, Managing Director of AttentiV Systems commented, "This has been a record implementation time and is testament to the hard work and commitment of both organisations. I look forward to working with National Counties over the coming months to prepare for Mortgage Day in November."