Front Capital Systems, part of SunGard, says Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) has bought its FRONT ARENA system to support its interest rate derivatives, money market and structured loan activities. The bank is replacing its legacy structured loan system.
A customer of Front Capital Systems since 1996, BNG will also be able to further consolidate its fixed income and related derivatives into one solution with complete straight-through processing support. Additional risk enhancements gained include yield curve calibration and improved support for historical valuation.
“The latest version of FRONT ARENA, which includes a fully integrated back-office, will help BNG to reap the rewards of a more consolidated IT architecture, including a reduction in operating costs and faster, more efficient processing of trades,” says Hans Moerman, head of portfolio management at BNG. “We chose Front Capital Systems as a long-term strategic technology supplier in order to reduce our dependence on maintenance of multiple trading systems.”
FRONT ARENA’s integrated back-office functionality will provide a more streamlined trade flow for BNG, from trade entry through financial reporting and risk management. FRONT ARENA’s exception-based processing and sophisticated rules handler will also help improve the bank’s trade processing administration, including payment and settlement management procedures, by allowing BNG to set customer-specific processing parameters that flag settlement risks in an otherwise high STP rate environment.
“BNG’s decision to roll out the FRONT ARENA 2.0 is testimony to our successful working relationship with the bank. The functional and technological enhancements empower financial institutions with a solution to integrate their trading activities both across desks and also vertically, utilising FRONT ARENA’s fully automated trade life cycle management capabilities,” adds Gordon Russell, regional business manager at Front Capital Systems.