Misys gears up to tap Basel II opportunity

BANGALORE: UK based banking software and services major Misys recently bolstered its risk management offering when it bought France based Almonde for Euro 15 million.

The acquisition helps Misys add components like Almonde's banking asset and liability management (ALM) tools and regulatory compliance software for BASEL II, to its existing suite of risk software suite.

According to Misys Risk Management System CEO Michel Van Leeuwen, “ Misys has been around in the risk space for the last 15 years. We have been partnering with Almonde in the last two years. We had a choice of building or buying the product and we decided to buy, since the market is taking off with the Basel II deadlines nearing.”

Besides following an inorganic strategy, the company is also ramping up its risk management development team in India. The current 110-strong team would be doubled by the end of the year. Van Leeuwen expects this number to reach 400-500 a couple of years down the line.

The Indian market presents a big opportunity since RBI has taken the view that banks that get 20 percent of the business from abroad need to comply with Basel II norms. "Besides Basel II, the need to get competitive in a global scenario could also be a motivation for Indian banks to go for risk management solutions," felt Savita Verma, who heads the R&D team at Misys Risk Management Systems.

“Indian banks would also have the advantage of leapfrogging technologies since they don't have to deal with legacy systems unlike the West,” added Van Leeuwen.