Software development and consulting for the financial industry
A credit union had to participate in the bank stress test required by ECB and EBA. Data to fill the Funding Template were collected, processed and quality assured locally. The figures were aggregated for the group message and reported as Excel workbook to the supervisory institutes.
For a credit union, a decentralized and centralized control process for recording and processing the planning data within the EBA Funding Plan requirements was implemented. Based on the EBA Data Point Model validation rules were generated which visualized rule violations directly in Excel and ensured the data quality up to the creation of XBRL.
Under the EBA funding plan a XBRL converter based on RapidRep was developed for use in a specialized bank. The figures, which are in an Excel workbook, are transformed into the XBRL format in one go, so that they can be submitted to the Bundesbank in a format compliant to the regulatory specifications.
For the regulatory requirement of the EBA for a bank to report benchmarking portfolios, a converter was developed which makes it possible to transform the corresponding figures into the XBRL format. The numbers are in Excel workbooks and can be converted without further ado and reported in a format compliant to the applicable rules.
In the context of a requirement to improve data quality in the field of anti-money laundering monitoring as well as §24c-KWG*-reports from a large German securities bank, FINARIS supported the reorientation of the required monitoring in direct collaboration with the Compliance department. In addition to compiling a comprehensive technical concept, FINARIS was responsible for creating a detailed set of rules for data mapping.
FINARIS was also responsible for testing the newly developed ETL-software-solution. Based on the set of rules, the RapidRep® TestSuite was used to implement a test automation system which determines the desired results for extensive test data, compares them with the actual results, and compiles a comprehensive reporting. This approach allowed a complete test in all iterations. The comprehensive and detailed test evaluation significantly contributed to the quality of the software and thus to the success of the project.
* KWG = Kreditwesengesetz; Banking Act of the Federal Republic of Germany
For a securities house, a preliminary study was conducted to convert ABACUS DaVinci to Abacus360. The aim was the analysis of the rough requirements, the identification of possible conversion alternatives, an indication for the hardware procurement as well as the preparation of a rough planning (resources, deadlines, costs, dependencies and risks). For this purpose, a cross-departmental questionnaire of IT and reporting was developed. The questions were then discussed with the manufacturer in workshops on "preprocessing", "reporting and data analysis", "preview and simulation calculations", "liquidity management" and "testing".
For the risk function of a regional state bank, the processes of decentralized market risk and P & L-determination (proprietary trading) as well as the proprietary calculation engines were recorded and analysed. The aim was to assess the quality of the current architecture and software products, to outline alternatives and to assess the technical and procedural aspects for realignment.
For the purpose of continuous testing of a major bank's payment factory, a pilot was designed for the rule-based testing of the cross-system process chain. The automatic regression testing implemented with the concept shows immediately defects as well as functional changes of new software versions and significantly shortens test cycles.
As part of the migration of two major banks, the connection of Calypso, Murex Currency and a CFD system to the booking system has been tested professionally. The focus was on the posting logic, the consistency check of P & L and the correct mapping of positions and trades. The tasks included participation in the appropriate business and test concepts and the review of test cases, the test execution and their documentation.
Following ABACUS / DaVinci an evaluation database for liquidity risk controlling for a cooperative financial institution was conceived and implemented. The generic concept makes it possible to react flexibly to changes in the data model of the source application and distinguishes itself by its simplicity in operation.
Analysis of the processes for the front-to-back P & L tuning of the finance function for the proprietary trading of a major bank. Documentation of the target architecture and design of target-agreement processes for reconciliation at a granular position or trade level. Implementation and automation of the product-specific agreement with the aim to relieve the employees in favor of qualitative analysis.
For a major bank's fiscal settlement system a rule-based, highly automated test automation for the validation of the amounts on annual tax statements and income statements was implemented. The rule sets are understandable to management as well as technically unambiguous and became an integral part of the request documentation.
Finaris was a leading support in the development of global market data systems at two major banks. In the development process all phases (like requirements analysis, creation of professional and technical concepts, quality management, selection of software and hardware components, implementation of the system and tests) were supported by applying the integrative approach. In a later development phase of the system Finaris actively helped with the development of a Financial Library for calculating derived market data (yield curves, credit curves, volatility surfaces etc.) as an integral part of the overall system.
To verify the correctness of the entire process chain of a large mortgage bank from the results of the regulatory Basel computer to the ready filled registration forms, an automated test solution has been created, which determines the target results for the reporting form filling on the level of individual transactions and then compares these results with the filling determined by ABACUS/DaVinci. By this procedure, errors in the interface supply of ABACUS/DaVinci and errors in ABACUS/DaVinci could be very quickly and comprehensively revealed. A complete regression test is possible with the solution in minimal time which is why the solution was used later for regular quality assurance.
A Dutch major bank implemented a purchase solution for calculating and reporting Basel ratios. This solution was parameterised and tested for the standardized approach, F-IRB and A-IRB for the respective national supervisory authorities. The setup and program adjustments were developed centrally and then distributed to all subsidiaries worldwide.
As part of the Basel consultations for a large universal bank a simulation engine for the standardized approach, FIRB and AIRB as well as Principle I was designed in order to quantify at an early stage the capital requirement of the Bank's overall portfolio for the consultations and to assess changes due to the new approaches.