Banco Popular selects Temenos T24 Model Bank to replace its core banking platform

08 April 2008

Geneva, Switzerland, April 8th 2008 – TEMENOS Group (SWX: TEMN), the provider of integrated core banking systems, today announced that Banco Popular y de Desarrollo Comunal (Banco Popular), one of the largest retail banks in Costa Rica, has selected TEMENOS T24 (T24) to replace its core banking platform. T24 will support the Bank’s critical credit, deposits and client relationships business, servicing 120 branches and 1.5 million customer accounts.

Established in 1969 as a community bank offering financial services to the working class social group in Costa Rica, Banco Popular is now one of the leading retail banks in Central America. Gerardo Porras, CEO of Banco Popular says: “Following dramatic customer growth in recent years, we realised we needed a core banking system that would enable us to increase our product reach and ensure greater take up of these new products within the market. Our legacy system could only provide a fragmented customer view, so complete customer management was not possible. Our existing system was also expensive to maintain. We were looking for a proven, integrated core banking platform that could support all of our operations and allow us to roll out new and innovative banking products quickly and efficiently. T24 will allow us to place our customers at the centre of our business and focus on client relationship management. The T24 Model Bank approach will also ensure a safe and lower cost implementation.”

From an initial list of 13 suppliers, Banco Popular received proposals from three vendors including Fiserv CBS and ASI, at the final stage of a three year evaluation process, before signing the deal with Temenos on 20 November 2007. T24 will replace the Bank’s legacy core processing systems which have been in place for the last 20 years. The Bank will implement Temenos Model Bank, which draws on Temenos’ experience of over 600 implementations and includes pre-configured products and processes for banking best practice to reduce implementation time and costs, minimise customisation and lower the project risk.

The Temenos Latin America-based Professional Services team will roll out the T24 system which will include functionality for deposits, credit, general ledger, teller, internet banking and international trade. The system will be deployed on Sun Solaris servers with Oracle database, and is expected to go live in 2010.

Andreas Andreades, CEO Temenos, adds: "I am delighted to welcome Banco Popular to Temenos and T24, it is an important win for us because it extends our presence in Central America. It also reconfirms that T24 is increasingly the package of choice in the retail core banking market. We firmly believe that our superior package approach differentiates us from all other competing vendors in the retail core banking market and delivers the richest functionality with the lowest cost of ownership. More importantly our product packaging approach ensures that Banco Popular can take advantage of our high product investment by being able to upgrade to future releases of T24. I am confident that it will exceed the Bank’s expectations and will secure its leading position in its market.”

TEMENOS T24 is a functionally rich, scalable, and proven integrated banking system. It is delivered as a pre-configured Model Bank solution that incorporates industry best-practice, enabling fast and predictable implementations and immediate, measurable benefits. Temenos’ Model Bank approach allows a fast ROI and a highly flexible and responsive approach to banking ensuring maximum business agility based on T24’s flexible features. T24 offers integrated and comprehensive information on the institution at all times including a single customer view, and a single view of the enterprise including risk and profitability.

T24 incorporates modern technology including a comprehensive Service Orientated Architecture (SOA), fully enabled for standard, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) web services, and BPEL process execution and compliant with industry leading ESBs (Enterprise Service Buses). T24 can be deployed on fully scalable, multi-server n-tier architecture. It provides a full front-to-back solution from electronic delivery channels such as mobile devices and internet banking right through to settlement, general ledger and other back office functions all in a fully integrated, reliable and cost effective environment. Temenos’ total commitment to open standards enables its customers to benefit from the latest advances in technology ensuring business agility, continuity, data integrity and reduced downtime delivering a significant, immediate and ongoing return on investment.

-ENDS-

About Banco Popular

Established in 1969 as a community bank offering financial services to the working class social group in Costa Rica, Banco Popular is now one of the leading retail banks in Central America. The bank owns three corporations: Popular Valores Puesto de Bolsa (stock market broker), Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Inversión (investment funds administrator) and Popular Pensiones (pensions); in addition, it has a workers union with an impressive background (SIBANPO), a workers cooperative (COOPEBANPO) and a Solidarity Association of Employees (ASEBANPO).The bank is a party to the National Banking System of Costa Rica and as such is ruled by the policies and regulations issued by Costa Rican Central Bank and its respective agencies.

About Temenos

Founded in 1993 and listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SWX: TEMN), Temenos Group AG is a global provider of banking software systems in the Retail, Corporate & Correspondent, Universal, Private, Islamic and Microfinance & Community banking markets. Headquartered in Geneva with 44 offices worldwide, Temenos serves over 600 customers in more than 120 countries.  

Temenos’ software products provide advanced technology and rich functionality, incorporating best practice processes that leverage Temenos’ experience in over 600 implementations around the globe.  

Temenos’ advanced and automated implementation approach, provided by its strong Client Services organisation, ensures efficient and low-risk core banking platform migrations. Temenos annually invests around 20% in R&D, significantly more than its peers, into a single fully packaged upgradeable software release, which ensures all Temenos customers benefit from modern technology and support indefinitely. For more information please visit www.temenos.com

For more information, contact:

Max Chuard
Temenos Director
Corporate Finance & IR
Member of the Executive Board
Tel: +41 (0) 22 708 1157
Email: mchuard@temenos.com

Ben Robinson
Temenos Investor Relations Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 207 290 3012
Email: brobinson@temenos.com

Peter McKenna
Temenos Marketing Director
Tel: +44 (0) 207 423 3842
Email: pmckenna@temenos.com

Evelina Amanatidou
Team 660
Metia for TEMENOS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 3592
Email: evelina@metia.com