This concept encompasses a fully preconfigured solution and an innovative implementation methodology which reduces costs and minimizes the impact on banks' resources, while delivering the same technology and functionality as used by larger central banks.

The Factory Solution is designed to meet the needs of global mid-tier central banks, which face increased regulatory and performance challenges with limited resources. In addition to streamlined implementation, further benefits of the Factory Solution include fixed pricing, a pre-defined time limit and minimized implementation risk. These benefits are unique to this method and, when amalgamated with the fact that client resources are employed to a minimal level, show that this approach has maximum efficiency in mind.

The Trema Suite v.6.5 currently manages over 80% of Eurozone's foreign reserves and is used by a wide range of central banks and government institutions globally. Trema's accumulated industry expertise has been crucial in developing the innovative Factory Solution methodology. The Factory Solution differs from traditional methodologies in that consultation and configuration mainly take place offsite. Mid-tier central banks can now use fewer resources, compared to larger central banks, to implement the same technology, whilst achieving the same benefits. The Factory Solution significantly reduces the effort required on the client side.

Giovanni Mascarenhas, Manager - Treasury Financial Applications, The World Bank, commented, "Solutions providers are key to the evolution of any central bank's infrastructure and levels of efficiency. The World Bank believes that innovation and commercial awareness in system selection is key to our clients' progress in the long term. We will continue to work with central banks on a global basis to implement streamlined technology to improve operational efficiency through training projects."

Terry Beadle, Executive Vice President and Head of the Government sector, Trema, stated, "Trema draws on the combined expertise of central banks worldwide to set the standard for market operations, risk and performance management in this space. The Factory Solution means that we can now offer mid-tier central banks an implementation approach that suits their needs. We have already successfully executed the Trema Suite using the new methodology in the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago and we plan to work with more mid-tier organizations going forward."

Separately, Trema, the leading provider of treasury and asset management software for global corporations and financial institutions, has played "an integral part" in a radical overhaul of Slovakia's public finances, according to the Head of the Slovak Debt Management Agency, ARDAL. At a recent debt management conference attended by Eastern European debt managers and central bankers, ARDAL's Director Daniel Bytcánek acknowledged Trema's key role in helping the agency improve transparency and risk management in Slovakia's debt management operations. The Slovak Republic has undertaken a major overhaul of its public finance infrastructure in recent years, including the creation of ARDAL, to expedite the country's accession to the Eurozone.

Daniel Bytcánek, Head of ARDAL, said, "For us, the benefits are evident. We now spend 80% of our time managing debt and only 20% on data collection, whereas previously the reverse was the case. We have reduced our borrowing forecast for 2005 by 75% compared with actual borrowing in 2004, further, we have also reduced the interest rate on our borrowings by 1.5%. We now see ourselves as an asset management function rather than simply debt management and the Trema solution has played an integral part in this. We are now working with other European debt management agencies to help them improve their processes."

At its creation in 2003, ARDAL was tasked with two overall goals: to improve efficiency and to reduce risk of Slovakia's debt management operations, based on World Bank recommendations. Its operational objectives were: to restructure the country's debt portfolio to reduce borrowing costs; to instigate intelligent financial risk management of debt and cash operations; to improve communication with external markets and investors; and to support the development of the Slovak financial infrastructure.

ARDAL now complies with the guidelines set by the Slovak Ministry of Finance for regulatory compliance, liquidity, risk and debt management, as well as overall operational efficiency. ARDAL has also played a key role in attracting external investors. Slovakia now has an active Eurobond programme, whereas the government previously borrowed from commercial banks at punitive rates.

Trema's solution processes over 80% of Europe's foreign reserves and the platform is used by a wide range of government institutions globally. It provides in-depth, real-time reporting, forecasting and risk management functionalities. The agency now concurs with the Ministry of Finance's objectives for the efficient execution and analysis of portfolio transactions. The Trema Suite enables ARDAL to easily gather and store its data in a single system, rather than the previously disparate in-house databases and the time-consuming paperwork involved in the manual processing of cash.

Terry Beadle, Executive Vice President and Head of the Government sector, Trema, commented, "We are pleased to have facilitated ARDAL's rapid development to become a 'model' debt agency in the eyes of the European debt management community. The Trema Suite is well suited to meet the needs of mid-tier government institutions as well as large central banks. It is encouraging to see the solution has played a key part in helping Slovakia towards its goal of joining the Eurozone."