FinArch

FinArch´s Financial Studio implementation for global BKCP network (including Basel II calculations for Belgium and France)

Brussels/Ghent – March 12 2008.  Financial Architects (FinArch), international provider of a Finance Resource Planning (FRP) platform for the finance industry, today announced that BKCP has selected FinArch’s Financial Studio solution as the core platform to answer all their capital management and reporting requirements.

BKCP, a partner of Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, one of the largest banks in France, is a group of regional banks for retail and corporate clients in Belgium. BKCP has chosen Financial Studio to comply with Basel II requirements in Belgium and in France, and, at the same time, to produce the data required for FINREP (IFRS) reports and legal reporting. FinArch’s solution will be implemented in the entire BKCP network.

Financial Studio’s capital management solution comes with an extensive range of functionality to address the requirements of Basel II, RAROC, economic capital and other risk-related performance measurement ratios. It provides a fully integrated capital and risk management solution that delivers comprehensive support for enterprise-wide credit, market, and operational risk management, ensuring compliance with external regulations. Organisations maximise the investments made to meet the immediate short term requirements, meanwhile building a comprehensive capital framework and enterprise risk management platform with superior internal controls.

"BKCP as a group will greatly benefit from this integrated solution”. Yves van der Beken, Manager at BKCP states. Furthermore, BKCP as a group will gain additional business benefits by improving reporting flows and by turning compliance into a cost-saving exercise.” The selected solution supports expansion from a Basel II Standard Approach into IRB. In case the group should wish to embrace one single solution that leverages the convergence between compliance, accounting, MIS and risk management issues, FinArch’s Basel II solution’s common data model shared with the more advanced Financial Studio capital management solutions provides a direct option to expand usage into other areas, both functionally (such as accounting and IFRS) and geographically.

Frédéric Simons, VP Regional Development at FinArch, commented: We provide BKCP with a solution that leverages financial information with great flexibility and analytical depth, while preserving the high standards of data integrity and completeness to which BKCP adheres to. Financial Studio is a future-proof solution, as it guarantees automatic future compliance through the software updates on supervisory changes that we provide as part of our continuous commitment to our customers. Without any doubt BKCP rapidly will receive return on investment."

Since its inception, FinArch provides customers worldwide with local accurate and timely compliance and global consistency. The Financial Studio FRP (Financial Resource Planning) platform embraces accounting, risk management, MIS and compliance solutions, and is used by numerous financial institutions worldwide. Financial Studio eases the burden of regulatory reporting for financial institutions as it complies with the reporting requirements of central banks, monetary authorities, and other financial regulators in multiple countries, as well as with the IAS directives and Basel II requirements. FinArch is also positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant in the Magic Quadrant for Basel II software applications. The company’s focus coupled with a solution that can be scaled to meet broader corporate performance management, has thus been recognised by the global financial markets.

About BKCP
BKCP, as a group, has a strong presence in Belgium with 48 agencies and over 60 independent resellers. Current members of the group are CMNE Belgium sa, Crédit Professional sa, Banque due Brabant scrl, Federale Kas voor het Beroepskrediet scrl, Crédit Professionel Interfédéral scrl, BKCP-Noord scrl and Banque de Crédit Professionel scrl.

BKCP develops all services of the bank of today. Original customized solutions are offered to individuals, as well as independent entrepreneur and free professionals. BKCP seeks to add value to its customers’ savings, with the BKCP Excellence product line as a starting point and a range of performant investment products linked to it.

The dynamics of the BKCP group are enforced by the synergy with the French Group Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe, the fifth bank in France. This partnership allows BKCP to offer their customers a vast range of products against the best prices.

GEIE BKCP IT (Groupement Européen d’Interêt Économique) is a supporting society within BKCP that groups the Belgian data processing means.

www.bkcp.be

About FinArch
FinArch (Financial Architects nv), with offices in the major financial centres worldwide, is a global value leader in providing a new generation of financial management software. The concept of the platform and the integrated approach of the different modules enable innovative financial institutions to quickly implement tactical solutions meeting the overall strategic objectives in financial reporting.

FinArch provides a unique blend of domain expertise, operational services, and technology solutions that accelerate and facilitate financial institutions’ ambition to implement a cost effective and reliable financial management platform.

www.finarch.com

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