SmartStream Technologies, the financial Transaction Lifecycle Management specialist, today announced that Austrian firm Investkredit Bank has gone live on TLM Trade Finance, delivering a single trade finance platform for both Investkredit and the Volksbanken group.
Vienna-based Investkredit has grown from being a niche player in long-term financing into a bank for corporates and entrepreneurs, offering specialised services across Central and Eastern Europe. With Investkredit taking on the trade finance business of the Volksbanken group, it looked to replace manual back office processes with an automated solution that could manage the both entities trade finance volumes.
Investkredit selected SmartStream's TLM Trade Finance solution to create a centralised platform that would enable it to fully integrate Volksbanken's trade finance processes. In a phased approach the bank went live on Guarantees, Letters of Credit and Collections, with every element delivered on time.
Barbara Dorner, Senior Vice President and Head of Trade Services, InvestKredit Bank, said: "With the Volksbanken Group joining Investkredit we felt the need to fully integrate its trade finance business through a single, automated solution. When examining the market we received positive feedback from existing customers of the TLM solution, particularly in Austria. Using TLM Trade Finance we now have a single, automated processing solution that makes our combined business more efficient. It enables us to process higher volumes, while also improving the quality of the trade finance services we can offer."
Christian Schiebl, Executive Vice President, SmartStream Technologies, said: "We are delighted, that Investkredit has chosen TLM Trade Finance as the backbone of their trade finance business. SmartStream's TLM Trade Finance allows Investkredit to reduce risk and cost by automating all the routine banking processes involved in the provision of international trade services. This was a complex project integrating two businesses into a centralised processing platform. The fact each element went live on time is further evidence of TLM Trade Finance's flexibility to meet critical processing needs and SmartStream' capabilities to effectivelly manage complex trade finance projects."