“We chose Digia as our partner because they are a skillful and reliable system provider for the finance sector. Cooperation during the project was excellent, even when timetables were tight”, says Ville Rissanen, Aktia’s IT Manager.

Solution benefits

• Centralised information storing system for customers’ assets
• Easier management of customer relations with sales tools
• Real time trade orders and rate information
• Single interface for all transactions
• Compliance with EU’s MiFID investment services directive
• Functions for monitoring customers’ positions, limits and fees
  
  

Towards integration

In order to manage the investments and securities custody of its customers in the best possible way, Aktia is devoted to constant improvement in system quality. The aim is to provide better services to branch office and internet clients. During spring 2006, Aktia started a project to replace its several separate portfolio, investment and custody systems with a single integrated solution.

The integrated solution to be implemented in the project needed to offer the centralised support services of Aktia functionalities for trade settlement, custody and account operator services. In addition, also other centralized support services, such as securities administration, corporate action monitoring and execution as well as control over the entire customer reporting was set out to be included in the integrated solution.

Extensive solutions for the finance sector

An easy-to-use branch office interface was required for Aktia’s branch office network in order to handle customers’ investment services. The branch office interface needed to provide a single interface for executing customers’ mutual fund and share orders in the branch offices or internet.

In addition, the solution needed to include advanced functionalities for monitoring and reporting customer position, limits and fees. By cutting down the number of separate systems, Aktia achieves cost savings in its trading and custody services and concurrently builds a flexible platform suitable for future development.

Delivery in three phases

Digia delivered its Digia Financials solution in three phases. In the first phase, in spring 2007, Aktia’s system for handling foreign securities was replaced. In the second phase, mutual fund order handling was taken into use in branch offices and web. The new system was installed into branch offices and user training was arranged at the same time.

In the third phase, in December 2007, administration of all of Aktia’s domestic book-entry accounts was transferred into the new system. Thus all the holdings of every customer were visible and manageable through a single system. In addition, the transaction history including all purchase prices was converted from the old system to the new one.

Applied technology

• Digia Financial Solution
• Microsoft .NET
• Oracle 10G2
• Crystal Reports