Fourth financial services group in Italy, UBI Banca, resulting from the consolidation of 22 banking and financial institutions, is a group of 20,000 people worldwide. It settled in Luxembourg to ensure its dynamic as regards International Private Banking and Corporate Banking.

In this context, the Italian group implements its innovative solutions, such as factoring, from its UBI Banca International structure. Factoring is a financial operation, a modern and flexible tool, to serve companies. It allows debtor companies to be insured against late payments, to intelligently orchestrate their treasury and to outsource an administrative process which only provides little value to the company.

In the same entity based in Luxembourg, UBI Banca International operates tailored services for international private clients.

Trusted outsourcing

In order to support its operations, UBI Banca International relies on IBM Services Financial Sector (ISFS), the ICT services entity dedicated to the world of banking, insurance and IBM’s finance professionals. ISFS, a 100% subsidiary of technology and ICT services world group, has been accredited PSF (Financial Sector Professionals) by the Ministry of Finance since 2004, under the prudential supervision of the CSSF, the Financial Sector Supervisory Commission in Luxembourg.

Since August 2008, UBI Banca International has been trusting ISFS to operate its infrastructure and its computer systems on a daily basis, in the context of an outsourcing contract. In 2011, the collaboration between the bank and the services provider was strengthened again at the instigation of the bank’s management.

“Until the end of 2010, we were involved in a very operational logic with IBM Services Financial Sector, explains Sonja Colli, Deputy General Manager and COO of UBI Banca International. It was a daily technical assistance in the operation and support of our ICT systems. In 2011, we wished to go further and started a strategic reflection on the bank’s position, which also took into account the necessity to make better use of the partnerships built with what has become more than suppliers – allies.”

The UBI Hub

“We have built our relationship on two strong ideas: quality and durability. In 2011, this allowed us to implement a dozen projects that were on stand-by, some of them for a long time. In 2012, we put into production 32 new projects and 2013 looks even more substantial.”, says Sonja Colli.

The trust process was such that UBI Banca International established a technological hub from Luxembourg in order to serve two entities, one based in Madrid and the other in Munich. “All of our services for the subsidiaries are centralized and secured on the hub. After nine months of efforts, together with our team and that of ISFS, we entirely virtualized our subsidiary in Madrid. We also improved our proposal by enhancing security, by offering the implementation of a new Online Banking website or by providing our users with new applications. In June 2013, Munich’s subsidiary will also be 100% operational on our centralized systems in Luxembourg.”

Ready to innovate

Without mishap and with measured steps, the bank, which falls very clearly within a process of progress and change, is going through an episode that is not in favor of the financial sector. “We have seen the energy that was injected by UBI Banca International into its innovative positioning, says Thierry Seignert, CEO of ISFS. In the financial sector, small, medium and large institutions often have the same obligations and problems. By living every day our partnership, we can respond to the bank’s requirements more effectively or better anticipate them.”

With its network of available experts, but also with colleagues who live the bank on a daily basis, IBM Services Financial Sector builds its action in the long term with UBI Banca International. Under the management and supervision of the national authority, the CSSS, ISFS implements a solid governance reinforced by a new order that aims to protect the financial sector’s customers, in relation to the operational risks. The Risk Based Approach (RBA) especially requires stricter controls and audits that can increase the quality of support services offered to the sector.

“With the controls and audits that are carried out by the ISFS teams and by our own auditors in Luxembourg, Spain, Germany and with our parent company in Italy, we can rely on progressive foundations to build our trusting relationship, says Sonja Colli. We are certain that we can adapt our needs to the conjectural opportunities and demands that our environment requires.” A recipe of trust that builds up every day.