Vermeg, announced today that after an intensive selection exercise RZB Group has chosen Vermeg and the Megara suite of modules, as its global custody system. RZB operates one of the largest banking networks in CEE, covering 17 markets across the region through subsidiary banks, leasing companies and a range of other financial service providers. RZB's award winning expertise in custody is well known within the Central and Eastern European markets and has received a number of industry awards. RZB's focus is on best market practices, combined with the latest technology, to bring first-class custody services, able to meet regulatory and client demands across the region.
RZB's strategy to invest heavily in the wholesale custody business to increase its market share instigated a project, where Megara was selected. The project was to install a state of the art custody system in RZB's Head Office in Vienna and in selected international subsidiaries across its CEE network, able to support all local custody requirements. Primary drivers for choosing Megara was the need for harmonization of systems, operations and services across the group, automating processes wherever possible to enable Straight Through Processing (STP). Megara's single platform based on the latest state of the art technology enabled easy implementation of a standardised system, which met industry standards and facilitated top quality service levels across all markets and the provision of world class custody services.
Key winning points for Megara included comprehensive functionality in multiple markets, flexible technology and the capability to operate in a high volume business. In addition Vermeg was also selected as the best vendor due to the level of experience and detailed knowledge of its staff, able to provide support for business operations across the CEE region for RZB. The proof of concept phase of the selection was a resounding success for Vermeg against stiff competition that brought a ground breaking project to fruition. Megara is currently being installed in Austria and the Ukraine with further implementations in the pipeline.
Boujemaa Khaldi, Sales Director, Vermeg said "We are so pleased to have won this project, which underlines Vermeg's continuing success story and the growing recognition of Megara as a formidable system to bring STP to the Custody business and especially the many emerging markets. As the securities industry recovers from the financial crisis, the importance of modern technology continues to grow, as Custodians realise the need to have development flexibility in order to grow business and enhance investor services. Indeed increased regulation such as MiFID 2 is likely to place a concentration on asset protection and Megara is a system that future proofs against regulatory demands. RZB are a prestigious bank and now a very valued customer of Vermeg and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship as we endeavour to assist them to achieve their business goals"
Juergen Sattler, Head of Custody, RZB said "Vermeg provided RZB Group not only with a state-of-the-art system solution for our group but with a client focused approach that offers almost no limits with regards to flexibility, dedication and client focus. It goes without saying that those factors are key criteria in the custody industry and had a strong impact on our selection process of the potential partner and system vendor. The software of Vermeg supports ideally our group-wide custody strategy by technically bringing together the various market practices and standards across our markets in CEE. RZB is happy to have found a solid and profound IT partner to eventually accomplish that goal."
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