COUNTRY FOCUS : BAHRAIN
“
FINASTRA HAS PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN EXPANDING OUR SERVICE OFFERINGS AND ENHANCING THE INTERNAL TOOLS SUPPORTING OUR CORE TRADING ACTIVITIES , WHICH IS HELPING US TO REALISE OUR AMBITIOUS PLAN TO EXPAND OUR TREASURY OPERATIONS .
Taking the Fusion Advance approach , Finastra started the implementation with a series of workshops in which the National Bank of Bahrain worked with the Finastra team to design two new trading applications including a Market
Conformity Module and Market Limit System . After the design phase , the bank worked with Finastra to outline the technical specifications for the upgrade and configured new modules in Fusion Kondor .
To ensure that the new Finastra solution was optimised for the bank ’ s specific operational requirements , Finastra and National Bank of Bahrain performed rigorous testing of each module based on pre-defined uses cases . After this initial testing phase , Finastra offered training for traders at National Bank of Bahrain before beginning detailed user-acceptance testing . Impressed with the support and expertise of the Finastra Services team during the upgrade , the National Bank of Bahrain drew up plans to work with the Fintech solutions provider to deploy an interface for real time market data for its traders .
Al Mahmood explained that Finastra aren ’ t just providing a product but also a service – and this full solution is essential . “ On an on-going basis they are looking at new technologies , new ways of improving the system , which plays an important role in future developments ,” she said .
By stepping up its trading activities with Fusion Kondor , the National Bank of Bahrain will significantly improve operational efficiency and risk management . Today , the bank is better equipped to explore new avenues for product development .
Hussain said upgrading to Fusion Kondor has opened up the capital markets sector for National Bank of Bahrain and is helping the bank to expand its market share in this arena . “ Ultimately , this will help us to provide more innovative banking services that will help businesses to drive economic growth and infrastructural development in Bahrain ,” he said .
According to Al Mahmood , Fusion Kondor will improve the efficiency of the bank ’ s trading and treasury operations . “ We will be able to settle and process payments faster , react more quickly to market changes and run daily operations more effectively . What ’ s more , Fusion Kondor will also help us to strengthen our risk-management capabilities , which will increase our resiliency in the event of unexpected market changes .”
With the latest version of the solution now in place , the National Bank of Bahrain can explore opportunities to enhance its products and services leveraging the solutions open application programming interfaces ( APIs ).
This will help the bank drive innovation in the sector that can keep pace with changing market conditions and evolving and regulatory requirements .
Hussain reiterated that : “ Finastra has played a key role in expanding our service offerings and enhancing the internal tools supporting our core trading activities , which is helping us to realise our ambitious plan to expand our treasury operations . We look forward to continuing our work with Finastra to build the bank of the future .” •
50 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com