Dresdner Van Moer Courtens is operating with Thaler Wealth Management in Software as a Service (SaaS) mode to support its activities in asset management and brokerage. Thaler Wealth Management is a front-to-back office core banking solution that includes pre-configured modules to enable a fast, low-risk implementation.

By choosing the SaaS delivery mode, the company has outsourced its entire back office infrastructure, enabling it to benefit from a hands-free approach to IT and focus internal resources on product innovation and customer service. Dresdner Van Moer Courtens now operates from a single centralised platform across its four offices in Brussels, Antwerp, Liège and Namur.

As part of its growth strategy, Dresdner Bank Luxembourg in Belgium acquired two local Wealth Managers, Damien Courtens & Cie and Van Moer Santerre & Cie, which specialised in Private Wealth Management and financial instruments trading, in 2007. Both companies merged in April this year to concentrate their strengths under one name, Dresdner Van Moer Courtens. As a result, the company required a single integrated banking solution to replace the two former companies' in-house systems, enabling it to continue to deliver the high quality services and security expected by its clients.

The company turned to Callataÿ & Wouters based on the strength of its Thaler Wealth Management SaaS offering, which met all of its functionality requirements, including credit and SWIFT messaging as well as integrated front-office capabilities and Portfolio Management. Thereby, Dresdner Van Moer Courtens has achieved an important and necessary milestone in its move towards the full supply of Private Wealth Management services.

The implementation project began in late 2007 and included pre-configured Thaler modules for portfolio management, FX & MM, client reporting, risk management and accounting. Dresdner Van Moer Courtens went live with Thaler in Jully 2008, connecting the solution on Clearstream's servers in Luxembourg to Belgium via the global corporate network of Dresdner Bank.

In early 2007, Callataÿ & Wouters launched its 'bank-in-a-box' solution based on the SaaS model in partnership with Clearstream Services. The partnership combines Callataÿ & Wouters' expertise and front-to-back office functionality with Clearstream's hosting, infrastructure and application support, creating a complete and reliable outsourced solution that includes disaster recovery. With the solution hosted on Clearstream's servers in Luxembourg, banks can avoid the peak in expenditure associated with the set-up of traditional IT projects.

Thaler is a scalable core banking and multi-channel solution, which addresses retail banks, wealth management firms and corporate banks. It is designed to run either as an end-to-end solution, covering the entire range of core banking activities, or on a modular basis to support individual lines of business.

André Oly, CEO of Dresdner Van Moer Courtens, commented: "Following the acquisitions in Belgium, it was critical for us to have the right systems in place to support our future growth plans. With Thaler in SaaS mode, we can fully outsource our key IT operations with the confidence that our processing requirements are taken care of reliably. A further advantage of the SaaS approach for us is that we have a variable approach to costs, which is a function of the volume of our activities."

Marc De Groote, CEO at Callataÿ & Wouters, added: "This is our second SaaS implementation of Thaler, and the first carried out in Belgium, and it is a prime example of the benefits of our international Thaler solution. By deploying a pre-configured system there has been minimal customisation required, allowing Dresdner Van Moer Courtens to avoid costly and extensive development work and concentrate on developing their business and continued nationwide expansion."