Temenos Group (SWX: TEMN), the provider of integrated core banking systems, today announced that Bank Standard, the largest, non-government backed bank in Azerbaijan, is the first bank in the country to go live with Temonos T24 (T24).
T24 now provides the bank with centralised core banking capabilities across its retail, treasury and internet banking operations. The system which went live in June 2008, has been implemented at the bank's branch in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a further 13 sites, including the head office, to go live later in the year.
The bank has deployed T24 with an extensive set of modules including foreign exchange, funds transfer, loans and deposits, money market, nostro reconciliation, trade finance, securities and portfolio management, teller and internet banking. The system was implemented by Temenos' Moscow-based team which brought local expertise to the process. T24 has successfully replaced the bank's locally produced system, which lacked the scale and scope required to support the bank's future growth. Based on this implementation, Temenos has created the Model Bank platform for Azerbaijan, which will be used as a standard for further implementations in the country. Temenos has secured two further wins in the region with its successful Model Bank for Azerbaijan.
Salim Kriman, Chairman, Bank Standard, says: "We realised very quickly that our existing system was preventing growth because of a lack of global standards. As well as expanding the business, we wanted to establish best practice processes. As an internationally established system, T24 is instrumental in helping us introduce these global standards into our business."
The bank will deploy T24 in a further seven branches in 2008. This is part of a two-year expansion plan during which the bank will look to grow its assets and loans by 35-40 per cent and extend its branch network to 21 sites. During a two year long evaluation period, the bank considered several local vendors and i-flex before signing the deal with Temenos in March 2006. The system runs on HP servers with an HP Unix operating system and Oracle database.
Andreas Andreades, CEO, Temenos, adds: "Thiss project is important because it highlights Temenos' partnership approach, which takes us far beyond the traditional remit of a technology vendor. We deliver a complete business solution that matches the local requirements, establishes best banking practices and helps banks optimise their business operations and be ready to scale properly to support their growth plans. This is why banks are now choosing Temenos over competitors and we are delighted to see our client base in this region expand."