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Temenos Software Rapidly Accelerates BMCE Bank of Africa’s Journey to Become First Moroccan Bank to Expand Operations into China

Temenos Transact, the leading cloud-native, cloud-agnostic banking software helps BMCE Bank of Africa to rapidly scale and innovate at speed

Press Releases, June 4, 2019

Temenos – Company

GENEVA, Switzerland – June 4, 2019 – Temenos (SIX: TEMN), the banking software company, today announced that BMCE Bank of Africa, a leading Moroccan bank with international operations, has implemented Temenos Transact and Financial Crime Mitigation, both running on the Temenos Cloud. Temenos banking software will power BMCE Bank of Africa’s growth ambitions and enable it to launch operations in corporate banking and trade finance in China.

BMCE Bank of Africa is the third largest bank in Morocco, and the 11th largest bank in Africa, with an international presence in 32 countries. The bank was looking to launch an all-new China branch under the BMCE brand. The new subsidiary will serve as a bridge for import and export between China and Africa, supporting the bank’s trade finance operations.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission granted BMCE Bank of Africa a temporary license at the end of 2018. In order to meet requirements, BMCE Bank of Africa had to have all operations up and running within six months. After undergoing a full audit, and with Temenos’ support and expertise, BMCE Bank of Africa demonstrated that it met all Chinese regulatory requirements, and was granted a full banking license. The bank launched the new branch on a modern, scalable platform, at a low total cost of ownership. The Temenos model bank approach of providing pre-configured country-specific functionality, as well as best practices from banks across the globe, enabled BMCE Bank of Africa to meet Chinese market and regulatory requirements in an efficient and cost-effective way. 

Said Adren, General Manager BMCE Bank of Africa Shanghai, commented:

“As the first Moroccan bank to open in China, this expansion will act as a catalyst for economic relations between Africa and China. As the implementation timeframe was so short, Temenos’ packaged software, Temenos Transact, was vital to our plan. By offering a banking platform that is already compliant with Chinese regulations, and running it on Temenos Cloud, Temenos accelerated the launch of our operations in China. Thanks to Temenos’ model bank approach, we obtained a new banking license, and have implemented a new core banking system that meets local regulations while supporting BMCE Bank of Africa’s ambitious growth strategy.”

Laurent Bramy, Regional Director – French Speaking Territories, Temenos said:

“We are delighted to partner with BMCE to complete this major milestone in their story. By deploying Temenos’ next generation core banking platform, Temenos Transact, banks are able to benefit from the richest banking functionality with ground-breaking, cloud-native technology to deliver unprecedented speed, scalability, and resilience. Temenos Transact, will enable BMCE Bank of Africa to offer new, innovative services rapidly, at the pace of market demand and will allow the bank to scale as it increases trade between China and Morocco. With our 25 years of global expertise and we are perfectly placed to support BMCE Bank of Africa in this pioneering move into China.”