Bank Cainvest enhances customer service with IPBS private banking and wealth management system

Bank Cainvest, formerly Sul America International Bank (Cayman), was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in the Cayman Islands. It provides an exclusive and personalised private banking service to both High Net Worth (HNW) individuals and institutional clients. The bank has implemented a modular private banking and wealth management system from IPBS.  It has enabled Bank Cainvest to enhance its products and services by delivering a fully transparent 24×7 service to customers whilst increasing operational efficiency and compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.

Replacing a legacy system

Bank Cainvest previously used a legacy back office system.  However it lacked the online access and transparency which is increasingly demanded by private banking and HNW customers and no longer adequately met the bank’s operational requirements. Bank Cainvest therefore evaluated products from five vendors to find a replacement system.

David Aboulafia, Operations Manager at Bank Cainvest said, “We selected the modular private banking and wealth management system from IPBS as it offered us a powerful, integrated solution that could meet our current and future needs.  We also wanted a strategic technology partner that we could build a long-term relationship with, and who would be able to support our requirements for many years to come.  IPBS met our technical and commercial requirements perfectly.  Their product is proven at numerous client installations and from the very first day IPBS demonstrated they have a superior private banking system that is backed up by in-depth industry and market expertise.”

Implementing a modular private banking system

IPBS worked very closely with Bank Cainvest on the implementation.  A large part of the ongoing maintenance, such as adding new investment asset classes and strategies, or tailoring the financial statements report ingredients can be done directly by the bank, contributing to a lower total cost of ownership.

The project went live on schedule with internal clients in just 3 months thanks in part to the semi-hosted nature of the solution, whereby the hardware is supported and maintained by IPBS.  This also led to faster system configuration and helped the bank keep internal resources focused on its core business.

Bank Cainvest has implemented four modules from IPBS:

• IPBS/Banking provides all of the operational functionality to manage the traditional banking functions of a private bank.  Transactions are processed in real-time and update all relevant accounting records and positions.
• IPBS/eBanking is the platform that clients use to access their investment portfolios and accounts online as well as place transaction orders with the back office where they can be validated prior to execution.  Flexible access permissions allow users to be granted the ability to view statements, place transactions or authorise transactions, giving the client greater control over who can access the account and what actions they can take.
• IPBS/Investments provides a comprehensive platform for managing client investment assets from the initial portfolio allocation and structuring through to trade order placement, order dealing and trade settlement.
• IPBS/Business Manager has been integrated with a watchlist from World Compliance and enables the bank to meet its AML/KYC obligations.  The watchlist is updated weekly and a copy of the database is stored locally.  Bank Cainvest can carry out immediate due diligence when onboading new clients, and conduct regular checks and sanction screening of individuals and transactions. Any suspicious activity is automatically flagged for further investigation before it is processed thus minimising reputational risk for the bank.

“The modules work together seamlessly and even though each part of the system is designed to meet a different functional need, it is still very easy to use.  For example, settlement of client trading flows seamlessly into the Bank’s accounting records.  It updates both the client cash position with us, as well as our own position with the executing broker and automatically accounts for any fees or commissions taken which gives us a high rate of straight-through processing (STP). Once the trade has been approved in our back office there is nothing else that we have to do other than our external reconciliations. IPBS/Business Manager, with the integrated World Compliance watchlist database, provides an ongoing comfort level that there are no prohibited entities, either as clients, related parties, beneficiaries or benefactors of international payments and transfers,” said Mr Aboulafia.

Building a competitive edge

Bank Cainvest is already planning a number of enhancements to how the IPBS system supports their requirements, for example integrating a market data feed from Bloomberg will happen in the near future.

Mr Aboulafia added, “We operate in a service driven market and the introduction of the IPBS system will enable Bank Cainvest to apply industry best practice to the provision of transparent and efficient private banking services.  By offering secure, 24×7 online access we have differentiated ourselves from other private banks.  The level of service that we have received from IPBS has been of a consistently high standard and I would recommend the IPBS system as it is a future proof solution that has given us a competitive edge whilst enabling us minimise our on-going costs.”

Bruce Raine, Founder and President of IPBS said, ““When our clients invest in solutions, we know they are trusting IPBS to support their business.  Our industry knowledge, robust products, quality of service and support are not equalled in this region.  We are delighted that Bank Cainvest has proven the investment with us is delivering on the promise and strengthening their ability to support customers and win new business.”