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Our Bureau

Chennai , Sept. 14

Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) has entered into an agreement with Laser Soft Infosystems Ltd to jointly develop a core banking solution.

This is the first of its kind in the banking industry, said Mr N.R. Achan, Chairman, CSB. Under the agreement, Laser Soft will develop a browser-based core banking solution based on the J2EE platform. Post-development, CSB and Laser Soft will jointly own the solution. Other banks can also opt for this project in future.

The cost of implementing this solution for CSB is about Rs 40 crore, including hardware. Laser Soft will specify the hardware requirements and hardware will be sourced by CSB from any vendor.

This software will ensure least cost of transaction and is scalable up to 10,000 branches, said Mr B. Suresh Kamath, Managing Director, Laser Soft Infosystems Ltd. "This will help us scale our business and increase MIS," said Mr Achan.

Covers all areas

The solution will be developed on a service-oriented architecture that will help add or remove banking products (such as insurance, home loan). The solution will cover all areas of banking such as retail banking, corporate banking, rural banking and trade finance. It will also be capable of implementing back office processing centres. Modules such as RTGS, SWIFT, Anti Money Laundering, Online alerts and Basel-II will be deployed, said Mr Achan.

Core banking solution will be implemented in phases. The first phase will target about 50 branches by March 2007, said Mr Achan. The bank has 320 branches, 25 extension counters and 75 ATMs and plans to add 10 more branches by March 2007.

Bond issue

CSB plans to raise about Rs 100 crore through private placement, rights issue and a public issue. The bank has submitted a proposal to the Reserve Bank of India and is awaiting its approval, said Mr Achan

The first capital raising measure would be through private placement of about 60 lakh shares, he said. The total capital (of Rs 100 crore) will be used to increase the net worth of the bank.

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