NDB’s core banking system recognised at RBI Asia Trailblazer Awards

Wednesday, 19 March 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NDB set another record recently, winning the award for ‘Excellence in Core Banking Technology’ in the Service Providers’ category at the 5th Annual Retail Banker International (RBI) Asia Trailblazer Awards held in Singapore. The award recognised NDB’s strategic directive to converge multiple core-banking applications into a single core banking system that centralised the control of all operations of the bank. Commenting on the award, Chief Executive Officer of NDB Rajendra Theagarajah said: “It is a pleasure and an honour to receive this international recognition of NDB’s core banking technology, especially at a time when core banking replacement is becoming a hot topic in Banking. During the last few years, we have seen banks across the world turning their attention to the need to replace their legacy core banking systems with solutions that are functionally and technologically superior.

“In line with this thinking, NDB embarked on a vendor-driven core banking solution to replace its three legacy systems. As such, migrating to a single core-business application has resulted in better operational flexibility for the bank; by accommodating consolidated management information, easy regulatory reporting and simplifying technological complexities surfaced when managing different platforms. The core banking system will enable successful execution of our aggressive growth strategy which places great emphasis on concepts such as branchless banking, greater convenience and speedier delivery etc. The recognition received at the RBI Asia Trailblazer Awards, further affirms the excellent potential of this system, and I’m thankful to the system provider Temenos T24 and staff at the IT department as well as all those who were involved in making the successful migration and implementation of the core banking system at NDB.”

Core banking replacement at NDB commenced in October 2009, with the gradual replacement of previously used Flexcube and Globus systems and was completed during the 3rd quarter last year, following the replacement of the Nucleus application with the core banking system ‘T24’. The success of the migration and implementation of the system is attributed to the bank-wide commitment, effective change management processes and constant pre and post monitoring. Having a singular Core Banking system has enabled NDB to have a centralised view of its customers, facilitating enhanced Customer Risk Management and Customer Relationship Management. Customers too have accredited the system, given its ability to provide information at a glance, improving service delivery. With this enhanced core banking system NDB asserts more innovation, as the new system pertinently supports new product development. “Today, the banking industry is undergoing significant change. Technological advancements are blurring industry boundaries and allowing non-banks also to compete effectively in the banking space, while new regulations are raising the cost of doing business. Hence, banks need to invest in innovation while lowering their costs. This is no mean feat and requires Banks to make smart, strategic investments in technology. To this end, Temenos T24 is unique in that it is a highly flexible, open and customisable ‘core banking platform’, which delivers the benefits of a rapid core banking implementation without the longer term risks and costs associated. Combined with an open architecture and tooling this will become the basis for gradually shifting NDB’s IT investment from maintenance to innovation. It is through this open architecture approach that NDB hopes to achieve the lowest total cost of ownership and maximum leverage on the in-house development skills to spearhead innovation and outdo competition,” Theagarajah added. Now in its 5th year, the RBI Asia Trailblazer Summit and Awards is a premier event produced for and attended by senior executives from retail banking and consumer finance organisations in Asia. The program is a tribute to the best-of-breed players in retail banking in Asia Pacific. Above all, it is designed to be a fair and objective benchmark for the industry. Retail Banker International (RBI) is a global publication for analysis on retail banking with a strong focus on Asia. RBI’s briefing services provide content ranging from news and updates to in-depth insights and retail banking analysis in critical areas including: product innovation, marketing strategies, multichannel distribution and competitor analysis. The RBI Asia Trailblazer Summit and Awards are organised by Timetric, a London based, provider of online data, analysis and advisory services on key growth economies and sectors. Timetric is renowned for its innovative and independent content that enable financial and professional services organisations to drive business value and manage business risk effectively.