Avaloq gains new live site in Switzerland

Sberbank (Switzerland) AG, a Zurich-based subsidiary of Russian banking and tech giant Sber, has gone live with Avaloq’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) core banking platform.

Avaloq says it won the deal to provide Sberbank with its tech “after a highly competitive tender process”. The implementation and migration took ten months.

It is understood the new system has replaced the legacy OBS solution from German vendor Die Software Peter Fitzon.

“Sberbank has long prioritised digital excellence as a core means to enhance competitiveness, cater for fast-changing customer needs and capitalise quickly on growth opportunities,” says Annett Viehweg, CEO of Sberbank (Switzerland) AG.

The bank provides a range of corporate client and financial-market services that include trade finance, structured finance, transaction banking and global market products. It is the hub of Sber’s commodity trade finance for international commodity traders and producers.

Avaloq has announced a change at the top as CEO Juerg Hunziker steps down after three years in the role.

New Avaloq co-CEOs Martin Greweldinger (left) and Thomas Beck (right)

Chief product officer Martin Greweldinger and chief technology officer Thomas Beck are stepping up as co-CEOs.

The vendor paid tribute to its outgoing CEO, who will take up a position as a senior advisor. “He transformed Avaloq from a founder-driven firm to a mature, scalable business,” it writes.

Hunziker led Avaloq through its $2.5 billion acquisition by Japanese firm NEC in October.

The firm says his departure and replacement “ensures leadership continuity” as it positions itself to “respond to global demand”.

It plans investment in the development of its core banking platform, and scaling of its core-agnostic offerings.

“First and foremost, I would like to thank all Avaloq employees for their dedication and hard work,” says Hunziker.

“I followed the success story of Avaloq almost since its inception, and I consider being part of this company a true honour.

“However, I have now come to a point in my life where it is time to reinvent myself.”

Greweldinger says he will focus on “providing banks with access to innovative solutions” and “driving innovation throughout the whole organisation.”

Beck adds: “Co-CEO is always a special setup and with Martin I could not wish for a better partner at my side.

“I am very excited about the next chapter in Avaloq’s history as it will be one of accelerated growth and unequivocal focus on client-centricity.”

Related: Sberbank Switzerland outsources core to Avaloq

Taiwanese financial institution CTBC Bank has selected Avaloq to provide core banking software for its international banking operations.

CTBC boasts more than 116 branches across 14 countries

The Swiss financial services software firm will initially see its Avaloq Core solution rolled out across CTBC’s business units in Hong Kong and Singapore.

CTBC is Taiwan’s largest private bank by consolidated AUM and boasts more than 116 branches across 14 countries – the largest international presence of any Taiwanese bank.

Avaloq claims its digital banking solutions are used by 150 financial institutions across the world.

It says the relationship with CTBC will drive further growth for the firm in the Asia-Pacific market, building on its local presence with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila, Pune and Sydney.

CTBC claims Avaloq Core will allow the bank to consolidate its wealth management and retail banking offerings while ensuring banking resilience.

The bank’s executive VP Frank Shih adds the firm selected Avaloq as they believe it has the capability “to meet the requirements of our distinguished clients”.

Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK’s largest wealth managers, has gone live with Avaloq’s core banking solution. The project was first announced in early 2019.

Brewin Dolphin in core revamp with Avaloq

The new platform, delivered on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis, will replace a legacy core system and is “a key pillar in Brewin Dolphin’s focus on greater operational efficiencies as well as technological agility”, Avaloq says.

The legacy and the new tech will run in parallel for some time, “to de-risk a very complex systems integration”, the vendor says. The old system will be eventually decommissioned next summer.

Sarah Houlston, chief operating officer at Brewin Dolphin, describes the initiative to modernise the company’s core processing solution as a “transformation journey” and commends “Avaloq’s flexibility and the collaborative nature of the project delivery team”.

Capping off 2021, FinTech Futures takes a look back at some of the year’s top core banking deals.

From community-owned banks to international giants, the year has been peppered with financial institutions looking to update their legacy systems and provide their customers with the 21st century services they require.

Here are five of the top core banking stories across 2021.

Taiwan’s CTBC Bank signs core banking deal with Avaloq

In September, Taiwanese financial institution CTBC Bank selected Avaloq to provide core banking software for its international banking operations.

CTBC is Taiwan’s largest private bank by consolidated AUM and boasts more than 116 branches across 14 countries – the largest international presence of any Taiwanese bank. The Swiss financial services software firm will initially see its Avaloq Core solution rolled out across CTBC’s business units in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Avaloq claims its digital banking solutions are used by 150 financial institutions across the world.

It said the relationship with CTBC will drive further growth for the firm in the Asia-Pacific market, building on its local presence with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila, Pune and Sydney.

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Thought Machine wins major core banking deal with JP Morgan Chase

Thought Machine founder and CEO, Paul Taylor

Also in September, Thought Machine secured a deal with major US bank JP Morgan Chase for the deployment of its flagship core banking system, Vault.

JP Morgan’s Chase retail bank will transition to Vault in the US. The bank selected 10x Future Technologies to power Chase’s UK operations.

The deal was another major step for UK-based Thought Machine in its quest to break into the US market. The week prior, it signed another US client in Arkansas-based Arvest Bank.

Rohan Amin, Chase chief innovation officer, said the partnership gives the bank an opportunity to “take full advantage of the cloud”.

The bank reportedly tested the Vault core system through the simulation of large traffic volumes.

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Mambu wins new digital banking deals in Colombia and Vietnam

In August, banking technology vendor Mambu won a pair of new deals, in Colombia and Vietnam, for its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) core banking platform.

Colombia’s Financiera Dann Regional picked Mambu to power the launch of IRIS, the lender’s new digital bank for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In Vietnam, Mambu won a deal with Timo, a new digital bank which claims to be breaking new ground in the country.

“We selected Mambu’s cloud banking platform as we understand the value in leveraging a cloud-native, true SaaS core banking platform as we look to scale our business,” says Henry Nguyen, CEO of Timo.

“The fact that Mambu’s platform utilises AWS’ comprehensive suite of services also gave us an additional layer of confidence.”

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Egypt’s MIDBANK picks Temenos for digital banking revamp

Temenos secured a number of deals this year

In November, Egypt’s MIDBANK tapped banking software firm Temenos to power its digital transformation.

The bank will deploy Temenos Transact as its core product and the Temenos Infinity digital banking platform to replace its legacy systems.

MIDBANK, known as Misr Iran Development Bank until a rebrand in March this year, provides retail, corporate and investment banking services and says it wants to become an “agile, high-touch, high-tech bank”.

MIDBANK will switch all its existing banking services, including retail and corporate customers’ accounts, savings and card facilities, to Temenos Transact.

Temenos Infinity will underpin the bank’s pivot to digital-first mobile and online banking, in line with the Central Bank of Egypt’s efforts to boost financial inclusion and the country’s move to a cashless society.

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Russian digital bank Tinkoff taps Finastra for Asian expansion

In December, Russian neobank Tinkoff selected Finastra and its Fusion Essence Cloud core banking solution as the firm looks to bring its digital banking services to Asia.

Tinkoff, which currently serves more than 18.5 million customers, plans to open a subsidiary bank in the Philippines as part of its wider Asian expansion strategy.

Reports that the firm was seeking a banking licence in the country came to light back in August. It’s believed the bank’s offshoot in the Philippines would have an initial capital of $40 million.

George Chesakov, international expansion lead at Tinkoff, says the bank was looking for a partner that could “help us launch quickly, enable rapid growth, and help us to navigate the local requirements of a new market”, and that Finastra’s platform “meets all these needs”.

Finastra says its cloud-native Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering will allow Tinkoff to “build a system tailored to its requirements”.

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Taipei Fubon Bank is implementing new core banking software, provided by Avaloq, for its private banking business.

Taipei Fubon Bank modernises its tech with Avaloq

The roll-out will start in Hong Kong and Singapore, followed by the onshore market of Taiwan.

According to the vendor, “the key considerations of the selection process were effectiveness and adherence to regulatory requirements”. In addition to ticking these boxes, Avaloq says its wealth management platform also “enables quicker time to market with comprehensive investment solutions, for onshore as well as offshore private banking offerings”.

The initial deployment will focus on customer relationship management (CRM), know your customer (KYC), regulatory compliance and product management.

The platform will support equities, currencies, mutual funds, dual currency investment and structured products like equity-linked notes.

James Wang, senior executive vice president of Taipei Fubon Bank, says the bank plans “to scale and serve clients in other key markets” and “looks forward to a fruitful partnership” with Avaloq.

Taiwan’s Cathay United Bank has gone live with Avaloq’s core banking solution.

The bank has deployed the Avaloq Core Platform

The Swiss vendor says its Avaloq Core Platform will support the bank’s continued growth as it looks to cater to increasing demand for private banking from Taiwan’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

Avaloq managing director for North Asia Pascal Wengi says the platform “creates a solid foundation for Cathay Bank” as Taiwan’s onshore private banking market “continues to mature”.

Avaloq’s core banking system supports a range of financial products, including securities, exchange traded funds (ETFs), foreign exchange and lending. The platform also ensures all financial products comply with regulations across multiple jurisdictions.

The implementation follows a recent relaxation of Taiwan’s wealth management regulations.

Since 2020, certain financial institutions have been given the go-ahead to offer a broader range of financial products and services to domestic clients, designed to increase competitiveness and scale within Taiwan’s private baking industry.

Cathay United Bank CEO of private banking Robert Fuh says: “Avaloq’s core banking system will support our continued growth by efficiently processing sophisticated financial products and monitoring compliance in our various growth markets.

“This will help us to create a one-stop service for our clients in Taiwan and allow us to focus even more on providing highly personalised investment advice.”

In January, Taipei Fubon Bank picked Avaloq’s core banking software to revamp its private banking business.

HCL Technologies UK, a subsidiary of HCL Technologies, is to acquire Swiss digital banking and wealth management firm Confinale AG.

HCL UK to acquire Confinale

The deal, expected to be completed shortly, will see HCL expand its footprint in the global wealth management market with an emphasis on consulting, implementation and management capabilities.

Confinale CEO Roland Staub says the firm strongly believes “in the need for banking expertise combined with software competence”, adding HCL’s reach “will enable us to further our growth and at the same time expose our team to new learning and innovation opportunities”.

Founded in 2012, Confinale focuses on IT consulting across key areas in the banking and wealth management sector and its in-house products and solutions are designed to accelerate the implementation of the Avaloq platform.

HCL says the acquisition forms part of its strategy to become a leader in the end-to-end implementation and lifecycle management of the Avaloq platform, building on its recently extended partnership with the firm.

HCL president of financial services and digital process operations, Rahul Singh, says: “There is significant disruption taking place in global wealth management and this means an opportunity for technology-led innovation.”

Mega International Commercial Bank has chosen Avaloq’s core banking platform to launch its latest offering of onshore private banking for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs).

Mega Bank taps Avaloq for core banking platform

Mega Bank will deploy Avaloq’s core platform to support investment products and digitalise its private banking business, while automating processes to increase efficiency.

Avaloq says its platform will enable Mega Bank to “quickly scale the business and ensure data integrity” across its internal platforms and operations.

Following recent regulatory amendments in Taiwan’s wealth management sector, local authorities are issuing new regulations to select financial institutions for onshore private banking services.

Mega Bank claims to be among the first batch of banks to receive regulatory approval for onshore private banking in Taiwan and says it will “help shape this new market for HNWIs”.

Chao-Jung Josephine Chen, senior executive vice president, Mega Bank, says: “Avaloq’s core banking platform will help us to quickly establish our private banking platform and expand our onshore business for HNWIs with a short time to market and in compliance with Taiwan’s new regulatory landscape.”

UnionBank in the Philippines has tapped Avaloq for its core banking technology as it looks to boost the digital transformation of its wealth management business.

UnionBank will implement the Avaloq Core Platform

The firm will implement the Avaloq Core Platform to offer its clients access to wealth management services such as family wealth structuring, philanthropy, sustainability advice and professional succession planning.

Avaloq says its tech will offer automation and standardisation of front, middle and back-office functions, including client relationship management, compliance and payment processing.

UnionBank will also be able to provide an upgraded retail offering with investment and insurance brokerage following its recent acquisition of Citi’s Philippine Consumer Business.

“We opted for Avaloq’s core banking platform as it offers the most efficient and comprehensive features to cover our wealth management needs,” says Jose Emmanuel Hilado, SEVP and treasurer and centre head – global markets group at UnionBank.

He adds the partnership will enable UnionBank to “compete not only locally but globally”, with Gery Dachlan, managing director South Asia and Australia at Avaloq, adding that his company’s tech is designed to “scale and expand wealth management businesses internationally”.

It is understood the new solution will replace the legacy Prospero system from another Swiss wealth management tech supplier Finartis (formerly Sage).