Mar.15, 2010, 00:00

Keen to defend its customers deposits against fraud, Imperial Bank has invested Sh76 million in several products aimed at raising the bank’s defences against business risks.

Although the bank says it has not been significantly affected by the increasing fraud levels in the industry, it said it was keen to streamline its processes with a view to proactively tackling the vice.

“The sector has definitely seen an increase in fraud over the last year though Imperial Bank has not been affected too much by this. We need to create a strong foundation of risk and compliance to boost stakeholder confidence and address the emerging national and international compliance mandates,” said Don Ochola, Head of IT at the Bank.

Over the last six months, a growing number of players in the country’s financial sector have moved to secure their processes against fraud, which the Central Bank of Kenya says are on the rise.

CBK’s Banking Fraud department has noted an average of Sh100 million is stolen every month in fraud-related cases across the country.

Imperial Bank, which embarked on a modest branch expansion strategy in 2009, is angling itself to target middle income groups, as well as grow its customer deposit base and quality lending portfolio.

In addition, the bank has increased its reliance on technology solutions to extend a wider range of products to its customers.

Customers of the bank can now access their funds in over 300 ATMs countrywide through partnerships with Kenswitch and PesaPoint as well as it own.

The bank has also introduced internet and mobile banking platforms which can expose banks to security risks due to their nature.

“By relying on technology to complement our network of 11 branches, the bank will increase product distribution and maintain its premium customer service positioning,” said Abdulmalek Janmohamed the bank’s Managing Director during a recent results announcement.

Imperial Bank has selected five products from global service provider Oracle’s Financial Services Analytical Applications Suite, namely the Oracle Reveleus Basel II, Oracle Reveleus Basel II Analytics, Oracle Mantas Anti Money Laundering, Oracle Mantas Fraud and Oracle Reveleus Analytical CRM solutions.

Mr Ochola said his bank believed the investment in the Oracle products would be critical to its continued growth, central to building stakeholder trust and vital to its actively contributing to the regional development of the market.

Money laundering

The bank will use Oracle Mantas Anti Money Laundering to detect, investigate and report suspected money laundering activity, through the automated, comprehensive, and consistent surveillance of all accounts, customers, correspondence, and third parties throughout the transaction process across all business lines.

Through Oracle Reveleus Basel II, Basel II compliance will be achieved quickly and efficiently, establishing a strong corporate governance policy, boosting customer confidence and ensuring compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements.

Finally, Oracle Reveleus Analytical CRM will help the bank obtain a complete view of its customers, their product relationships and transaction behaviour to drive loyalty, customer satisfaction and targeted campaigns for customers and prospects.

“These products have the ability to address and strengthen the institutional governance, risk and compliance measures, improve transparency, as well as addressing any evolving regulatory requirements in the region,” said K Suryanarayan, Vice President of Sales, Africa at Oracle Financial Services Software.