NationsBank Corp. has selected Kapiti Inc.'s Equation/3 relational data base for the core accounting and management reporting system in its foreign operation.
The system, which went live in the bank's international subsidiary in New York last week, will be rolled out to the bank's foreign offices throughout 1995 and be used at other international subsidiary locations in the United States.
"We will use the system to provide the core functions for our management and accounting operations as well as use it for updating the general ledger at local and international locations," said Michael Bellardine, a senior vice president at NationsBank headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. "We see the use of the system as an oppotunity to increase market share and revenue because of the ease of implementation and its costs."
Anthony Davis, a first vice president at Dean Witter Reynolds, said the implementation of the system is a further commitment on the bank's part to become "a transaction-based player" overseas.
"They want to build a transaction processing and foreign exchange operation abroad and this will give them the foundation to do so," he said.
"They have been expanding throughout Mexico and Canada through Nafta and they are in the process of building strong franchises in Europe and Asia as a provider of transaction settlements and fund flows. This is the first step in completing die loop abroad."
NationsBank is the nation's Fourth-largest bank holding company, with assets of more than $165 billion. It has a domestic reach that stretches from Maryland to Texas. It currently has international offices throughout Asia, Europe, Mexico, and Canada.
The bank is petitioning for an office in Hong Kong, which it plans to open in the first quarter.
"Equation/3 meets our specific needs and will provide us with the foundation as we continue to grow our operation internationally," Mr. Bellardine said.
"The software is a proven modular system which will give us the ability to easily integrate various applications as our needs change."
NationsBank will operate the system on an IBM AS/400 platform. The bank will also use Equation/3 to provide a link to the Swift payments service.
"The system ... eliminates the need for redevelopment of technology at our head office," Mr. Bellardine said. "The platform offers us a unique opportunity which utilizes the client-server functions which will lead to processing efficiencies for multiple branch accounting."
Ted Vivian, a business manager at Kapiti's New York headquarters, said the system cost approximately $500,000 and is priced according to the numbers of users.
