RCBC

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RCBC DReAM Project: Transforming data into compelling information for competitive edge

Since information is a corporate asset, being able to quickly access and analyze data - both historical and enterprise-wide - to useful information enables companies to adjust to changing market conditions or business climates one step ahead of competition.

An affiliate of the Sanwa Bank Ltd in Japan, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), an expanded commercial bank and a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, understands the significance of information and how it will put the company ahead of its competitors in the banking industry.

As a corporate vision, RCBC aims to continually achieve a strong balance sheet and an enhanced profitability through the provision of a whole range of financial services tailor-fitted to the needs and requirements of its customers. To make part this corporate vision a reality, RCBC needs to improve its efficiency and turnaround time in the delivery of services and the provision of necessary information for financial analysis and decision-making.

At present, RCBC has a network of 176 branches and extension offices strategically located in key growth areas, regional industrial centers, and special economic zones. The network is distributed as follows: 62 branches in Metro Manila, 53 in Luzon, 32 in the Visayas, and 29 in Mindanao. Among other local banks, RCBC is currently ranked 9th in terms of local assets, deposits and total loans. In terms of total capital, the bank is ranked 7th and in ROI, it is ranked 25th overall

Pockets of data

RCBC has substantial pockets of data within the operational systems that support day-to-day business activity. These data however, reside in disparate heterogeneous databases that offer limited integration and accessibility. Business analysts together with the technical experts from the Information Technology Department (ITD) often exert laborious effort and extend working hours to prepare regular reports to be submitted to management and other government regulatory bodies. This is counter-productive to the business limiting a number of the staff to clerical tasks.

More importantly, the retention of correct and updated data are not organized and integrated back to the originating operating systems. The need to integrate and organize data to improve financial reporting and analysis becomes inevitable.

Reporting System

As a first step, RCBC together with Fujitsu Philippines, Inc. and its wholly owned software services subsidiary, WeServ Systems International, Inc., launched the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Statutory Reporting Project or the RCBC DReAM (Data Mart of Report Analysis and Management) Project. The overall goal of the BSP Statutory Reporting Project is to provide integrated, consistent, and timely information for BSP Reporting. The scope of the project is focused on the generation of the Unified GL, Trust GL, Transaction Reports and Special Forms using the data sources relevant to BSP Circular 108 Statutory Reporting.

BSP is the main government regulatory body requiring information on bank transactions. Under circular 108, BSP is implementing a GL/SL Form of reporting and is requiring banks to have a reporting system that would enable BSP to control automated reporting links from banks.

The project provides the infrastructure to allow RCBC to deliver a set of desktop tools to enable effective information analysis.

In general, the BSP Statutory Reporting Project aims:

To comply with BSP's objective to rationalize and simplify preparation of reports required of commercial banks;

To produce timely, accurate, and complete reports as well as to generate data in the required electronic formats in accordance to BSP requirements; and,

To generate new report requirements mandated by BSP in less time and with minimal effort.

Specifically, the BSP Statutory Reporting Project shall develop and implement a system that will provide complete, accurate, and timely data required in the preparation of the BSP Circular 108 reports.

With the infrastructure brought in by the development and implementation of the BSP Statutory Reporting Project, RCBC can incrementally develop other reporting and analysis tools to achieve its ultimate goal of having a financial management information system.

Taking the lead

Working with RCBC is FPI, taking the lead in deploying, delivering, and implementing the BSP Statutory Reporting System. Part of FPI's scope of activities for the RCBC project include:

• Project management;
• Identification and analysis of the functional requirements;
• Design and development of the BSP Statutory Reporting Solution;
• Pre-load transformation, data load, and data management using Informix DataStage, a tool used to transform extracted data from source systems into the Metadata repository;
• Coordination of hardware and software vendors in coordination with RCBC IT; and,
• Conduct of user training on the use and maintenance of the BSP Statutory Reporting System.

Felipe R. Manalang, FPI President, said, "Building a reporting system by extracting data from heterogeneous and legacy systems is a complex task requiring skills in many different areas. These areas range from business analysis to technical expertise spanning a wide range of software and hardware platforms."

"FPI has employed a development approach that would ensure RCBC's financial well being through an integrated management view of data captured in a consolidated repository. This would help enhance RCBC's relationships with customers and stakeholders through the use of strategic information."

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