Logica Inc., a leading provider of bank accounting and risk management software, has redesigned its BankMaster product for the Windows NT operating system.
The overhaul is the first in seven years for BankMaster and is in keeping with a migration by banks to the newest generation of Microsoft's Windows environment.
Since Lexington, Mass.-based Logica announced in May that four companies were testing the upgraded product, BankMaster Pro, 20 of the 88 users of the previous version have signed contracts to buy it.
Ten new customers also have committed to the software. They include State Street Global Advisors in Boston, Banco Popular in Spain, and Grupo Financiero Banorte in Mexico.
"This interest is stronger than we had expected," said Edward T. Asip, vice president of sales at Logica.
BankMaster Pro is designed to help treasurers, chief financial officers, and asset-liability managers plan for fluctuations in currency and interest rates.
The software lets banks "keep track of profitability and performance measurement," said Stephen M. McHugh, vice president of risk management in Logica's financial services division. "It can manipulate data, forecast positions, provide analytics, reporting, and an audit trail."
Licenses for BankMaster Pro cost $70,000 to $350,000, depending on the number of users and modules.
Steven Kaufman, vice president of asset-liability management at Norwest Corp., said the new version of the software "has a much more extensive user interface than before and is easier to use." Norwest expects to have BankMaster Pro running within a few months, he said.
Another user, $16.5 billion-asset Citizens Financial Group of Providence, R.I., is installing the new system to improve its interest rate risk analysis.
"We have seen a notable increase in the speed, compatibility, and stability with the new version versus the old," said Trey Byrnes, vice president in the asset-liability group at Citizens.
BankMaster Pro competes with products from Oracle Corp., Sendero, Risk Management Technologies, Quantitative Risk Management, and Bancware, said Regan Wong, industry analyst at Tower Group in Newton, Mass.
"The old version of BankMaster already has a widely installed base relative to other vendors and that's a pretty good mark in any financial management application," said Mr. Wong.
Logica "is taking a first step in the right direction in moving to NT," said Mr. Wong. "The next step is in building the analytic functions that it lacks."
Two capabilities which he said are currently missing from the product- option-adjusted valuation and stochastic modeling for interest rate fluctuations-are expected to be added late next year.
Logica is a $60 million company that concentrates on three business sectors: energy and utilities, communications, and financial services.
Financial services accounts for 30% of its total revenues and 40% of its U.S. business. The company's Bank Electronic Suite System for funds transfer and financial messaging is used by 30 of the top 100 banks in North America.
