CIMB Group today announced the implementation of 1Platform, a regional core banking platform across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, and signed agreements with the four main technology partners namely Silverlake Axis, Accenture, IDS Scheer and IBM.
With an all-in cost of 1.1 billion ringgit over the next five years, 1Platform is the largest component of CIMB Group's regional operations transformation blueprint which is expected to cost 2.1 billion ringgit. The other four main components of the blueprint are its financial reporting and management system, integrated human resource (HR) management system, all-new front-end sales management system, and regional transaction banking system.
Due to the scale and magnitude of the project, the implementation of 1Platform will be completed on a country-by-country basis, starting in Thailand and followed by Malaysia, Indonesia and lastly Singapore. The whole Group is expected to be on 1Platform by 2015.
"Our significant investment in our operations transformation, and within it, 1Platform, reflects our commitment towards establishing the internal systems and processes for CIMB Group to operate as one entity across the region," said Dato' Sri Nazir Razak, Group Chief Executive, CIMB Group, who witnessed the signing ceremony.
Nazir said that building a single operations and IT framework across the region will enable the group to generate substantially more synergies from our regional business model, aside from realising significant operational efficiencies from the standardisation of skill-sets across the Group. It will facilitate product development and proliferation across the region, enabling our people to more effectively bundle and cross-sell products.
"This is a major exercise for CIMB Group and we do not underestimate the enormity and complexity of the challenge. We will also dedicate the human resources necessary to ensure its success. In fact, over 300 staff are currently working full-time on our regional transformation agenda, and we expect this number to double in the implementation phases ahead."
"The full impact of our investment in 1Platform and other transformation initiatives will only be felt progressively over the next four to five years. However, we want to ensure that we are building a banking institution that will be successful long after our own careers in the organisation," he added.