ABN AMRO standardises on CBA’s IBAS Global Trade Finance Factory –  implementing CBA’s new front-end system across its global operations.  New trade finance front-end system from CBA will replace Surecomp’s allNETT solution, simplifying the bank’s infrastructure and reducing total cost of ownership.

Commercial Banking Applications (CBA), today announced that ABN AMRO will be implementing the new IBAS Customer Front-End System for Trade Finance across its global operations as part of a project to offer additional functionality to customers, increase efficiency and reduce total cost of ownership.

The new IBAS front-end interfaces seamlessly with CBA’s IBAS Global Trade Finance Factory (IBAS GTF) mid- and back office solution. IBAS GTF is already being used by ABN AMRO to manage its trade finance operations across Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. The bank expects to put the new IBAS front-end into production in Q4 2017, replacing Surecomp’s allNETT solution in the Netherlands and manual processes elsewhere.

“CBA is a long-term strategic partner to our business,” explained Frans Westdorp, business developer, Trade Finance, ABN AMRO. “We first deployed IBAS GTF to support our trade finance operations in the Netherlands back in 2010.  We were very impressed with how easy it was to implement and use the software and soon began rolling it out across our international offices.” 

Based on Java and a component-based architecture, IBAS GTF allows ABN AMRO to manage its international trade finance operations in a single global environment.  The solution is managed centrally in Rotterdam, but allows users to easily accommodate any country-specific requirements using configurable business rules.  The bank estimates that it has cut operational costs by at least 50 per cent by taking a centralised approach that eliminates the need for dedicated IT support staff in each location.

“No other vendor could deliver the same degree of flexibility as CBA,” added Westdorp.  “It was a logical next step for us to work with them to standardise the front-end software we use across our global operations.  All our customers will be able to access the system directly to input their requirements including requests for documentary credits, documentary collections and guarantees.  We expect the IBAS front-end to deliver significant cost savings – not just in terms of processing efficiencies and better and more user-friendly functionality, but also by removing the need to update and maintain interfaces between IBAS and allNETT.”

The upcoming implementation of the new front-end follows several other projects successfully delivered by CBA at ABN AMRO. These include the implementation of the IBAS Workflow Management and Monitoring System and IBAS Service Level Management and Monitoring System – allowing the bank to maximise efficiencies and agree set processing times for handling specific tasks.

At the end of 2016 ABN AMRO went live with the IBAS Electronic File and Document Management System.  Up until then the bank had some 50,000 hard-copy guarantee records stored in its head office.  All documents have now been scanned and can be accessed electronically through IBAS GTF, saving some 200m2 of office space, as well as providing the team with much faster access to any relevant documents they need to view.

Rolf Hauge, CEO, CBA commented: “Our mission at CBA is to help banks realise real efficiency savings, using our software to streamline and simplify their global banking operations.  We are thrilled to be implementing the new IBAS front-end at ABN AMRO and look forward to continuing our close collaboration – supporting the bank on future projects such as the implementation of SWIFT’s MT 798 messaging as well as developments with blockchain.”

For more information, please contact CBA.

Related link Case study: ABN AMRO and CBA – partnering for success in trade finance (PDF download 193Kb)