Kudos for Commonwealth from CSC chief

Beverley Head
Thursday, 14 October 2010 15:46

Business IT - Technology

Commonwealth Bank chief executive officer Ralph Norris has delved into the ongoing banking technology debate stressing the importance of real time processing to delivering customer satisfaction - an approach which CSC's chief executive said had led to the bank achieving a 'potentially dominant leadership position.'

 

Speaking at a CEDA event in Sydney today Mr Norris said; 'Technology provides a tremendous set of tools for customer satisfaction. With mortgage processing it used to take about 18 working days to process a mortgage from whoa to go, today we have that down to four or five days, and if we have to, we can do it in 24 hours and produce all the documentation.

'That's made a significant difference to customer satisfaction. If you put in straight through systems and go to imaging and move the flow through because you are using imaged rather than paper files, it improves cost and provides a superior customer outcome.'

Mr Norris said banks originally had computer systems to support a banking environment that opened at 10am and closed at 3pm. 'The whole bank equation was pay 3 per cent on deposits, charge 6 per cent on loans and be on the golf course by three in the afternoon.

'Today it is 24x7 business and we've got to make sure that our business and processes are also 24x7.'

In the audience to hear Mr Norris were two of Westpac's leading technology managers - Sarv Girn, Westpac's chief technology officer and Bernadette Inglis, general manager of the bank's $2 billion five year Strategic Investment Priorities (SIPs) programme. Last week the bank confirmed that it was mothballing any overhaul of its core systems until 2014.

While customers at St George have access to real time banking courtesy of the Hogan platform, customers of the parent bank, Westpac, will have to wait until after 2014 to have access to that real time facility when Westpac starts to convert its legacy core systems over to the new Hogan core platform.

CBA by comparison has been overhauling its core banking platform using SAP software.

Given Westpac's continued loyalty to Hogan Mr Sirn and Ms Inglis may have been somewhat bemused by the comments made by CSC chief executive Gavin Larkings when introducing Mr Norris which suggested that CBA was setting the pace in terms of its application of technology. CSC supplies the Hogan system, works with a third of the world's top banks and was also the sponsor of today's CEDA event.