Rapid deployment marks positive start to Fortis Bank Netherlands international corporate banking operations

GENEVA, Switzerland - 26 October 2009 - TEMENOS (SIX: TEMN), the global provider of integrated core banking systems, today announced that Fortis Bank Nederland N.V. (FBN) has gone live on TEMENOS T24 (T24) in just five months at its Singapore office. Driven by the separation of Fortis Bank Belgium in Brussels, Fortis Bank Nederland is currently implementing a new banking infrastructure internationally. Using T24, Fortis Bank Nederland will roll out T24 Model Bank for Corporate Banking internationally from one central hub based in The Netherlands, ensuring the continuity of services to all its international corporate banking clients.

This successful implementation forms the first stage of the centralisation project being undertaken by the bank to achieve full operational integration on a single, open platform. The bank is now working to roll out T24 in the UK, US, Hong Kong and continental Europe, and expects the project to be completed by Q3 2010 in line with the separation timescale requirements of the bank.

As a global organisation aiming at a truly centralised operating model, it was imperative that the bank implemented a highly flexible system that could support its multi-country 24x7 operations on a single platform, whilst being able to accommodate local requirements across multiple countries that it serves. FBN selected T24 Model Bank for Corporate Banking (services for large and medium-sized companies), based on the strength of its pre-configured products and best practice processes, to address local and international requirements across customer segments, products, regulation, currency, languages and taxation from one central point.

In today’s highly competitive market, corporate banks require a single, global infrastructure to service their multinational clients as effectively as possible with consistent levels of service. Traditionally, corporate customers have been served by a number of specialist organisations within a bank. This organisational structure has made it difficult to obtain a single customer view and cross product transparency, as well as an enterprise-wide risk management profile. Using T24, Fortis will be able to generate a single customer view across all countries and currencies in which the bank operates, generating higher quality management information, improved, real time client reporting and higher visibility of risk.

Frans van der Horst, COO, FBN, says: “Having achieved a successful and rapid first phase go live, we are already seeing the adaptability and truly global nature of the T24 platform which will enable us to meet our challenging separation deadlines and fully support our corporate banking operations across the world at a reduced cost of ownership. Risk management and cost control will continue to be a prominent business driver for us in the years ahead. T24 will enable us to acquire a comprehensive and real time picture of all credit exposures across the corporate relationship for a sound understanding of counterparty risk. We look forward to building on the successful first phase of implementation in full confidence that T24 will contribute to a modern core architecture that will support our future ambitions.”

The implementation is jointly managed by Temenos professional services and Fortis following the proven Temenos Implementation Methodology and process led implementation expertise of Temenos’ Management Consulting Service.

Andreas Andreades, CEO, Temenos, adds: “This successful and rapid deployment further reconfirms T24 Model Bank as the product of choice for the world’s leading banks in providing unparalleled functionality and flexibility on the most modern architecture at a significantly lower cost of ownership compared to traditional, custom developed applications. This project illustrates how through our T24 Model Bank methodology and professional services, we can provide best practice business processes and deliver banking systems faster, safer and more cost effectively than ever before. We are delighted to be supporting Fortis’ corporate banking operations and I am fully confident that T24 will exceed the bank’s expectations and reinforce its leading position in the market.”

Fortis Bank Nederland
Fortis Bank Nederland offers a comprehensive package of products and services to private, corporate and (alternative) institutional clients. The broad services vary from consumer finance and credit cards to factoring, trust, corporate, energy, commodities and shipping finance, transaction banking, clearing, custody and fund services, investment banking and financial markets services.

About Temenos
Founded in 1993 and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX: TEMN), Temenos Group AG is a global provider of banking software systems in the Retail, Corporate & Correspondent, Universal, Private, Islamic and Microfinance & Community banking markets. Headquartered in Geneva with 51 offices worldwide, Temenos serves over 700 customers in more than 120 countries. Temenos’ software products provide advanced technology and rich functionality, incorporating best practice processes that leverage Temenos’ experience in over 600 implementations around the globe. Temenos’ advanced and automated implementation approach, provided by its strong Client Services organisation, ensures efficient and low-risk core banking platform migrations. Temenos annually invests around 20% in R&D, significantly more than its peers, into a single fully packaged upgradeable software release, which ensures all Temenos customers benefit from modern technology and support indefinitely. Temenos is top of the IBS Sales League Table 2008, winner of the Best Core Banking Product category in Banking Technology magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards 2008, winner of the Financial-i Leaders in Innovation award for the most innovative core banking systems solution 2008 and is listed in the American Banker top 100 FinTech companies.