FI-TS goes international with Halifax Bank of Scotland
In October 2008 Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), one of the UK’s oldest and largest banks, broke fresh ground when it expanded into the German market by opening an Internet-based personal-savings bank. FI-TS is supplying the IT infrastructure for the new HBOS presence and, with partner Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS), also provides the core banking system to power HBOS direct banking in Germany.
Make or buy?
When in 2007 HBOS took the strategic decision to enter the attractive personal-savings market in Germany, it was clear the business would be Internet-only to begin with, focusing on instant-access savings accounts. HBOS set an ambitious timeframe for the project, to be sure of capturing strategic market advantage.
Speed being the essence, the bank soon had to decide what path to follow for implementation: should HBOS adapt its own banking system to the strict provisions of the German market, or should it conduct the project with a local partner? Making the case for cooperation were the faster time to market, and the opportunity to reduce the risk and cost of market entry. In addition, the UK high-street bank‘s own system was not geared to the requirements of the German market, lacking interfaces to the BaFin (the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) and the German credit information agency SCHUFA. With an internal solution, the project would obviously not come in either on time or within budget. The way forward was clear: HBOS elected to use the expertise of a local partner from the outset.
Selecting the right partner
“We were convinced the success of our project would be contingent on selecting the right partner”, reports Bertil Bos, Managing Director at HBOS. “Alongside reliability and trustworthiness, what we were looking for was a partner with specific knowledge and understanding of the local market and above all of the particular requirements of the German finance industry.”
Following initial talks in May 2008, HBOS chose FI-TS and our strategic partner Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS) and the contract was signed just weeks later in June. The alliance between FI-TS and OFSS proved a winning combination: with its banking software Flexcube, OFSS supplied a direct-banking solution for the German market, and we provided the corresponding IT infrastructure in the form of a full-service offering that can flex to fit the needs of HBOS. This enabled the internationally-oriented high-street bank to enter the German market within months of the project start – the bank’s online presence went live in October 2008.
Bertil Bos, Managing Director at Bank of Scotland Germany:
“The profound knowledge of the market and industry which FI-TS brought to bear on the project, their reliability and flexibility, are key to the success of our banking activities in Germany.”
Reliability at all times
Since then, we have had overall responsibility within the project for integrating and organising all the associated service providers. We also manage the system architecture and host the IT platform. By complementing classical infrastructure provision with services such as application hosting and banking support services from third-party providers and integrating everything into a unified offering, we are able to offer HBOS a complete “bank out-of-the-box” solution. And, with FI‑TS guaranteeing resilience in operation and the ability to adapt flexibly to specific requirements, HBOS is free to focus totally on its own core competence: banking.
Flexibility and professional expertise make the difference
Even before 2008 was out, this first joint project with our business partner OFSS demonstrated how strongly we are positioned. Just a few months into the partnership, we succeeded in winning the business of one of Europe‘s largest banks; despite the obvious challenges in the wider economy, we have already carved out an impressive position on the market through professional competence, local knowledge of the banking sector and a comprehensive service portfolio which flexes to fit our customers’ demand profiles.
Value-added for customers, service, and strong partnerships and alliances are the credo by which we do business – with HBOS also. These values are the basis by which we are committed to continuing and expanding this business relationship after such a successful start.