Demand for risk management solutions on the rise

Dubai: The main challenges that banks in the Middle East will face this year are transparency, efficiency and network, said a top official at software and IT services firm.

"There are lots of criteria that will drive a decision in investing in certain IT solutions. In these difficult times it has become more competitive to have the right solutions in order to deliver efficiency and cost savings. You have to be creative to stand apart from the rest. You need IT solutions to help to turn your ideas into action and you need IT solutions to comply with central bank regulations with reporting standards and international risk management standards," Wissam Khoury, managing director of Sungard financial systems Middle East, told Gulf News in an interview.

The focus on generating clear and transparent reporting has become a must as central banks in the region have become strict on transparency and clear reporting.

That is why, he said the demand for risk management solutions has been growing and it will grow either by will or by force from central banks.

"If you do not have full-fledged Tier 1 IT solutions you won't be able to," he said.

Big role

To achieve this, he said, "you have to keep up with the technology to attain your goal. Technology is the main driver for transparency. Transparency is having an accurate and timely financial statement reporting. Technology has a big role to play and it never dies."

The requirement for risk management solutions is increasing whether it is Islamic or conventional banking for many reasons. The crisis happened because of lack of transparency, he said, and added that there is room for improvement. "We see demand for more risk management solutions in the region. It has become an objective and compliant," he said.

"There is a misconception that if you have the best risk management solutions you are safe. It depends on how you use it. But it does not work in the other way. If you want to have the best risk management solutions and if you don't have the best IT support you cannot achieve it. Technology is the enabler," he said.

The US-based listed company has more than 100 banks in the Middle East, which rely on its financial solutions.

SunGard serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries, including the world's 25 largest financial services companies.