Logica Inc. of Lexington, Mass., and BT Financial Services Information Systems Corp., a subsidiary of Bankers Trust Corp., have announced a partnership to market the bank's PC-based credit risk management system.
The Bankers Trust software, called the Core Portfolio Management System, is a Windows-based software application used for managing credit facilities and transactions. It will be marketed by Logica to banks throughout North America, Europe, and Asia through the company's worldwide network of offices.
The deal is Logica's first partnership with a major bank and a "significant step in Logica's overall risk management strategy," said David Gilbert, senior vice president of wholesale banking and financial services for the systems integration and software firm.
Risk management has become a focus for Logica. The company has been providing software for measuring rate risk to financial institutions through its BankMaster system, currently used by 130 banks.
The Bankers Trust system complements Logica's offerings with the addition of credit risk management capability.
Mr. Gilbert said that Logica chose the system for its capabilities and because "it's already been tested and is being used by a sophisticated financial institution."
He added that Logica will continue to expand its risk management product and service offerings worldwide.
For BT Financial Services, the agreement brings access to Logica's distribution network and systems integration skills.
"With Logica's financial and systems integration expertise, we will expand the distribution of our CPMS product to financial institutions around the world and help them to effectively monitor client credit portfolios and manage risk," said Thomas F. Wiese, vice president of $97 billion-asset Bankers Trust and director of BT Financial Services.
The Bankers Trust subsidiary - which develops applications for the bank's own use, then markets the applications to other institutions - has been using and enhancing the portfolio management system for about five years, said Mr. Wiese. A commercial version of the system was completed last year, he said.
The system the bank uses runs centrally in New York and distributes information to other locations. It uses information from 200 bank systems throughout the world, said Mr. Wiese.
Targeted at banks with assets of approximately $500 million to $1 billion, as well as subsidiaries of large banks, the portfolio management system provides tools for limiting exposure to risk across a number of areas, including lending, foreign exchange, and capital markets trading activities.
The system, which runs using the Paradox relational data base software on a single personal computer or a PC network, enables banks to examine credit risk at multiple levels, including client, industry, region, and currency.
A major benefit, Mr. Gilbert said, is that the system draws information from accounting systems that don't communicate with each other. By tying together information, banks get a complete view of customer portfolios across all product lines, he said.
Peter Bearor, vice president for wholesale banking and financial services at Logica, added that "there are virtually no limits to the types of products accommodated within the system - all lending products, treasury activities, and capital markets positions can be stored and aggregated."
In addition to Bankers Trust, Brussels-based Kredietbank NV is using the system at its New York office, Mr. Gilbert said.
