Front Arena will be implemented firm-wide in Monterrey and Mexico City to support trading and position management requirements through to settlement and accounting for all instrument types, including money market, exchange derivatives, stocks and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

According to Mexico's central bank, the Mexican economy has recovered quickly from the 2008 global financial crisis, and it is expected to grow in 2012. As a result, Mexican banks are looking for scalable solutions that can support their growth and offer trade management and position control capabilities.

Banca Afirme will consolidate its foreign exchange, derivatives and fixed income trading businesses onto Front Arena, which will support trading, trade processing and accounting. Banca Afirme will also use Front Arena's tools for portfolio management, operations, general ledger accounting, settlements and profit & loss control.

Banca Afirme already uses SunGard's Ambit solution for risk management and Ambit Credit Assessment solution for credit analysis. SunGard has more than 100 customers across Latin America, including four of the top ten banks.

Alejandro Monroy, market risk director of Banca Afirme, says, "Our decision to select SunGard was based on both the depth and proven global capability of the Front Arena solution, as well as the positive experience we have had in working with SunGard. Front Arena's comprehensive functionality and flexible architecture will provide us with a solid and agile platform to help us grow our treasury and trading business over the next decade."

Craig Schachter, senior vice president of SunGard's capital markets business, said, "SunGard's consolidated trading functionality, back-office tools and local capabilities will help Banca Afirme increase its trading efficiencies across multiple asset classes and take advantage of opportunities in Mexico's growing economy."