WestLB eTrader

Eurobase provided a web-based FX/MM trading solution to a major international bank, enabling the bank to reduce maintenance costs and to provide client access to the system via its internet portal.

Background

WestLB AG is a European commercial bank and is one of Germany’s leading financial service providers. With an international commercial presence, it acts as a financial partner to savings banks, major corporations and medium-sized companies, institutional clients and public sector clients, thus providing those clients with a link to the global financial markets.

WestLB wished to replace a legacy trading application with a modern browser-based solution. The legacy application was a traditional n-tier client-server system written in C++.  The new system was intended to be installed at 100 clients, incorporating 600 users. Bank intended to realise a number of key benefits, most notably:

• A significant reduction in the on-going cost of maintaining and releasing a legacy application installed across multiple platforms and companies;
• To deliver a high-performance, scaleable, leading-edge technology solution;
• To use a solution built on a proven business engine with scope for enhancement to meet future business needs;
• To create a modern ‘shop front’ for their trading operation in line with their corporate image as embodied within the WestLB portal;
• To offer a range of financial products over the web, backed up by the relevant management information in the form of dynamic rate displays and deal lists for post trading review.

Eurobase Banking Solutions has specialised in treasury management and dealer support systems since 1978, with customers ranging from major global dealing institutions to smaller specialised organisations. First launched in 2002 the core business engine, Siena, has been a 100% Java solution and more recently has been enhanced to extend trading services over the web using the new Siena eTrader thin-client product.

WestLB commissioned Eurobase to provide a thin-client solution to its trading partners using eTrader, underpinned by the Siena business engine to be used at the Bank. The Bank’s intention was to replicate the functionality of the legacy client-server system and to improve upon it where appropriate.

Implementation

Following an implementation study at the Bank covering business, technology and project management requirements, Eurobase summarised the Bank’s requirements in a Requirements Catalogue. On approval by the Bank Eurobase then provided a formal Functional Specification which specified the proposed solution down to a detailed functional level.

The scope of the project included the following functional areas:

• FX products (Spot, Outright, Option Outright, Swaps, Option Swaps, Takeups, Spot Fixing) ;
• FX Limit Orders (Spot, Outright - TP, SL, OCO, OSO);
• MM products (Term MM, Call Money);
• Limit monitoring;
• Price streaming;
• Blotters;
• Tickets;
• Dealer Intervention (To enable the Bank to process cases which breach auto-execution rules).

The Eurobase solution included a generic multi-language solution enabling Siena eTrader to be rendered in the target language of choice (in this case German). Eurobase worked with the Bank to tailor the ‘look and feel’ of eTrader to match the style of the WestLB portal, through which WestLB offer various banking services to their clients.

The Bank requested a phased delivery of the requirements in order that user acceptance testing (UAT) should start at the earliest possible stage. Due to the straightforward nature of Siena eTrader, both from an installation and useability perspective, the Bank was able to undertake all end user (thin-client) training at the client sites.

Result

The Bank successfully proceeded with the roll-out to all its clients, during which time Eurobase were commissioned to deliver a number of system enhancements arising from user feedback.

Going forward the Bank is looking at extending the scope of Siena eTrader to provide pricing and trading capability for extra asset classes to its clients.

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