FinArch

Financial Studio ensures Basel II compliance for Bank of Baroda

Ghent/Brussels, 13 June 2007 - Financial Architects (FinArch), international provider of a Finance Resource Planning (FRP) platform for the finance industry, today announced that Bank of Baroda has selected FinArch’s Financial Studio Basel II solution. The solution integrates a sophisticated Basel II calculation engine and supports the Common Reporting (CoRep) standards.

Bank of Baroda, being a FinArch customer for many years, now has the opportunity to consolidate its financial reporting onto one single database, using the comprehensive Financial Studio compliance solutions for regulatory and Basel II reporting purposes. Its ‘out-of-the-box’ functionality, with highly customisable modules and a scalable database, allows for rapid deployment of any sized project, from small local implementations to full-scale enterprise-wide solutions on a global basis. As it comes with a widely-used industry-specific data model, Financial Studio enables smooth integration with the bank’s standard source systems, databases and platforms, and gives Bank of Baroda the flexibility to quickly and cost-effectively implement the Basel II solution.

FinArch is listed by Gartner as a leader in the Basel II space and has acquired global experience with Basel II implementation projects across different jurisdictions and different approaches, across a multitude of banking products and portfolios. The combination hereof with its many years of regulatory reporting experience has resulted in quite innovative solutions that allow financial institutions to simplify the Basel II implementation process from data capture to report submission. Built on a comprehensive risk data model, where all required data is pre-defined and documented, the Financial Studio Basel II solutions allow for quick and easy interfacing.

Juan Carlos Bernardo, Compliance Manager at Bank of Baroda, adds "We need to ensure that the regulatory reporting is done promptly and efficiently. We also need efficient and professional support in case of problems. We have chosen the flexible FinArch solution for this purpose, taking into consideration the long and efficient collaboration between Bank of Baroda and FinArch as far as the regulatory reporting is concerned."

Frédéric Simons, VP Regional Development at FinArch, comments "We are obviously pleased with the continued confidence from our customers. In the current climate of continuous extensions and changes of regulations, the ability to accurately and quickly report is of utmost importance to the banks. We deliver the means to do so, comfortably and cost effectively.”

FinArch’s Basel II solution embraces much more than a basic, rapid, short term solution. It enables the banks to meet regulatory demands for stricter compliance, while at the same time gaining additional business benefits by improving reporting flows, increasing return on IT investment through a cost-saving exercise. It is a future-proof solution, as it guarantees automatic future compliance, but also supports expansion from a Basel II Standardised Approach into IRB. And as it shares a common data model with the Financial Studio platform solutions, it ensures a smooth transition to an advanced risk package, or to a complete FRP (Finance Resource Planning) solution, in case the bank should wish to embrace one integrated solution that leverages the convergence between compliance, accounting, MIS, and risk management issues.

About Bank of Baroda
Bank of Baroda is one of India’s leading commercial banks. As of 31st March 2006 we had 2.704 branches in India spread over 27 states and five union territories. In addition, on a consolidated basis, we have an international presence in 19 countries across the globe. As of 31st March 2006, we had a work force of 38.774 people serving over 25 million customers.

At 31st March 2006, we had assets of Rs. 1.166.979,74 million and our net worth was Rs. 81.088,36 million on a standalone basis. We were established in 1908 in Baroda as a private bank and following nationalization became a wholly-owned Government bank in 1969. Our head office is in Baroda and our corporate office is in Mumbai. We had our initial public offering in 1996 at which time the shareholding of the Government of India was diluted to 66,83%. We have a diverse shareholder base, and we believe Government support to the Bank is regarded favourably by the general public. We have been profitable continuously and have a consistent record of paying dividends to our shareholders. We maintain the highest credit rating for both our short-term and long-term borrowings from the following rating agencies: CRISIL; ICRA; and FITCH. Moody's have given us a financial strength rating of 'D(FSR)' and a rating of 'Ba2' for long term deposits, which reflects a stable outlook. In addition, we were the first public sector bank to obtain a corporate governance rating, and were assigned a rating of "CGR-2" from ICRA, demonstrating the high quality of our corporate governance.

Bank of Baroda, Brussels has been in existence since 1976. We are located at Rue de la Loi 28, 1040 Brussels in the capital city of Belgium. Brussels being capital of European Union has opened up large banking business opportunities to all International Banks. We, being one of the leading Indian Banks and first to establish in Belgium amongst all Indian Banks we certainly aim to enhance our position as a cost efficient and customer focused institution thus providing comprehensive banking & related services. We intend to achieve our objective by focusing on customer centricity & technology upgrading.

www.bankofbaroda-be.com

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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