The agreement was formalized at a signing ceremony in Beijing, China. The implementation of the core banking solution by Accenture and SAP is part of the bank's efforts to transform its operations and prepare for future growth.

Established approximately 10 years ago, CMBC is the first privately owned nationwide commercial bank in China and its founders consist mainly of non-
state-owned enterprises. CMBC's reforms to its IT systems, which have been closely watched by the financial services industry in China, include taking the lead in achieving data centralization beginning in 2001, undertaking its "Eight Grand Projects" and related change management programs at the end of 2002 and implementing a centralized operation processing system and process reengineering in 2004. Today's announcement demonstrates that CMBC, a corporation that believes in the vital role of transformation and innovation in maintaining rapid business growth, is committed to continuing to take a leading role in the industry by being one of the first Chinese banks to standardize its core banking system.

CMBC decided to transform its current core banking system to help fulfill its growing business needs. After careful consideration and evaluation, CMBC chose Accenture and SAP to revamp the bank's software systems. CMBC expects that the SAP implementation will assist the bank in achieving its growth ambitions and respond to market demands as the Chinese financial market deregulates. CMBC aims to set up a service-oriented banking system architecture - a system designed to enable the bank to accelerate the development and launch of new products and to provide the bank with strong technical support in serving its rapidly growing customer base.

"CMBC competes in a banking environment that is increasingly open, international and compliant with global standards and practices," said Han Wei Xi, general manager for IT at CMBC. "We wanted to choose internationally renowned solution providers and implementers that have a strong reputation, deep experience, ability to manage risks and deliver on a long-term partnership and with an excellent track record for delivery. Our final decision to choose the plan jointly proposed by Accenture and SAP was based on these criteria. We will leverage the opportunities created by this transition to further strengthen our business capabilities, enhance our performance and build a solid core operation system platform that will enable us to grow into a recognized industry leader and a competitive bank on a global scale."

By implementing the SAP for Banking solution, Accenture and SAP will help this leading Chinese commercial bank continue to drive advancement and innovation in the industry. The solution - which includes deposit and loans, treasury management and general ledger processing functionalities along with a front-end solution for tellers - is designed to enable CMBC to manage all transactions through one integrated system. The software will help CMBC streamline its operations, better manage costs, increase profitability and reduce operational risk. As part of its standard core banking software for CMBC, SAP will incorporate localized functionality specific to deposits and loans in China. SAP for Banking will also enable CMBC to more effectively satisfy the demands of China's banking industry laws and regulations.

"CMBC is taking a lead role in transforming China's banking industry by industrializing its processes to become more competitive with both foreign and domestic banking leaders," said Jean-Marc Ollagnier, global managing partner for Accenture's Financial Services Solution group. "By starting this implementation now, CMBC will be putting itself ahead of the game by updating and streamlining its core banking system onto one robust platform."

"By selecting SAP and Accenture, CMBC demonstrates the increasing demand for banks in Asia Pacific and worldwide to standardize their core banking processes," said Thomas Balgheim, senior vice president, Financial Services, SAP AG. "SAP for Banking will enable CMBC's processes to be efficient, flexible and scalable."